Length of SOP

[Ziz]

As a UK student, I'm unfamiliar with the expectations of an SOP. I know it will vary somewhat from school to school, but how long is the norm? 500 words or so?

[eucalyptus]

It varies a lot, but a few places I've seen have indicated 1-2 pages single-spaced. This seems like a pretty good amount of space in which to address all the things they want us to address. Mine will probably fall on the lower end of this, I imagine.

[modernity]

It varies a lot, but a few places I've seen have indicated 1-2 pages single-spaced. This seems like a pretty good amount of space in which to address all the things they want us to address. Mine will probably fall on the lower end of this, I imagine.

You have to check with each school. 500 words is the most common, as I have seen it... but I've also had a few that let you go higher, and some that want as few as 250 words.

[fuzzylogician]

It varies, as people have said. The programs I applied to usually had a 2 page limit, which depending on the spacing you use could be up to around 1000 words. My SOPs were around 800 words, which I thought was a good length. It was less than two pages long, and I had enough space to talk about my MA thesis, research and teaching experience, questions I wanted to explore in grad school and fit.

[acup313]

Similar to the other people who have posted the majority of mine have been roughly 800 words due to a two page limit, I double-spaced. I did have one that had a 500 word limit, so be ready to cut some down if you need to.