SOP for department I am already in

[DrZoidberg]

Hi, I couldn't find this topic in the previous posts so I hope I am not asking something that has already been answered frequently.

I am presently working as a post-MSc research assistant at a university in the US. I intend to apply for their graduate program in the same department, same supervisor - how do I adjust my SOP to this? For example, in my 'generic' SOP I have a sentence like "Currently, I am employed as a visiting researcher at the University of X, working with Professor Y doing [research]", but they already know that I am working with them, so isn't that a slightly strange sentence? Could they get the idea that I just use a mad lib kind of template and didn't adjust it to their application? 

My supervisor knows very well that I am applying and he is interested in having me as a graduate student, and he is basically the only person in the department who would be a relevant fit, so I am pretty much writing addressed to him. It seems a little strange trying to write the SOP to someone I work with on a weekly basis, he already knows what I can do and what I want. Does anyone have any experience or good advice? I do not intend to make it an overly personal SOP, not at all, it just seems really odd to write it as if I am coming from outside of the department.

[Edotdl]

If you're that close with him, you could always just talk to him about it?

[DrZoidberg]

You're right, I just wanted to hear how others had adjusted their applications and maybe learn a bit from it. 

[rising_star]

So, I've actually done this before. Basically, I made the fit paragraph/sections even more tailored than they already were. I also used phrases like "I look forward to continuing to work with Dr. X, given our successful research together in the past on A and B" or "I have spoken extensively with Dr. Y about continued collaborative possibilities given our ongoing research together." I mean, duh, you know that this prof knows you but, you also want to make it clear about how you'd benefit from the resources of the entire program, which means thinking about the coursework, who would be on your doctoral committee, etc.

[TakeruK]

This is a really common thing in Canada because the Masters and PhD programs are separate programs and it's pretty common for a MSc student to apply to the same school for their PhD. This means that you usually need to get a LOR from your current advisor too! Awkwardness for everyone!

Two things that I think could help to keep in mind:

1. Phrasing like what rising_star suggested are great. Definitely take extra time to tailor the SOP to your own school. Don't just use your standard template!

2. Think of this as a "due diligence" step. The reason that we do this in Canada is that if the department ever gets audited on its admission decisions, it needs to show that your application did get accepted based on merit, not because you're there for your Masters too. I find this is helpful to overcome thoughts like "ugh this is so useless" and other awkwardness that come from the fact that you are saying things the admissions committee already knows. Write your application so that it will still be strong even if the committee did not know you.

[DrZoidberg]

Thank you so much for your advice, both of you.

rising_star, I have tailored my section to be fairly specific about how I would be a good fit and some specific aspects of what I could work on, but reading this I might just slip in an extra sentence or two to make it more clear.

TakeruK, Thank you for suggesting it as due diligence. I have had a bit of a difficult time getting over the awkwardness, but of course I am also applying like everyone else, and should treat it as such. 

[rising_star]

Definitely! What was super awkward for me was that I didn't get accepted to stay in my department until after prospective admitted students already started visiting! It turned out that students looking to stay went through a different (and, to be frank, more difficult) admissions process which nobody warned me about.