Referencing faculty in the SOP

[Pamphilia]

Mornin',

How are you all dealing with referencing specific faculty members in the SOP? How many is too many? I know it's not a good idea just to shoot off a list of names robotically in the "fit" paragraph, and I also am aware that most "SOP tips" websites suggest mentioning 1-2 faculty members by name. However, I find that I'm mentioning more than two in most of my SOPs, out of genuine admiration for the profs and interest in their work.

My SOP doesn't conclude with a "fit paragraph" in the traditional sense. I do sort of come back around to why I tooootally love University Awesome for reasons A, B, and C, in the conclusion, but in general my "fit" information is rather sprinkled all over the entire SOP (like, roughly, "I would like to study the intersections of Cats and Dogs, which Professor Catdog has already studied in the context of kittens. I believe that Professor Catdog's graduate seminar on kittenism afford an ideal opportunity to test assumptions about Catdom"; or, perhaps, "I am very interested in cookies, and would appreciate the opportunity to bake with Professor Pillsbury"). Therefore, no where do I have lists of faculty or anything like that. Nonetheless, I think perhaps I'm mentioning TOO many faculty by name (in some cases, several throughout the entire essay).

It would make sense just to cut out a couple of faculty mentions. Yet, I hesitate to do this because 1) I really WANT to study cookies with Professor Pillsbury AND cats and dogs with Prof. Catdog; 2) Prof. Pillsbury already has studied cookies, and I feel that it would come off as naive about the criticism out there if I didn't mention that; 3) I want to show off how well I know the department and its faculty already.

What do you think? How many namedrops is too many? And can neglecting to drop a name make you sound ill-informed about the faculty and/or subject matter?

Thanks ALL for your help!!

P.S. Sorry about all the animal/cookie sh*t.

[JennyFieldsOriginal]

One of my professors told me that it's a good idea to talk a bit about someone who is very established in your field of interest, and also to talk about someone who is up and coming. That way, you cover your bases by mentioning the big shots (so it doesn't seem like you don't know who they are) and also point out that you could work with some newer people who will likely be doing the bulk of the new research at your school. That way when the committee is doing the selecting, you've thrown a bone (food and metaphors and cliches, oh my!) to everyone.

Of course, it seems like you know a lot about these particular departments you're referencing, so as long as your reasoning for mentioning people comes across (i.e. not dropping names like they're hot) you should be completely fine. From your post it appears you've put thought into this and you have solid cause for naming names, so I wouldn't get too worried about exactly how many people you mention.

Don't know if that helps, but hope your SOP writing goes well!

[ScreamingHairyArmadillo]

I suppose I hadn't thought of mentioning too many names. I did include a "fit" paragraph, and specified 1-2 professors I really, really like (also, the ones I have been in contact with). But I then went on that I see myself collaborating with many of the other faculty members such as Dr. A for X, Dr. B for Y, and Dr. C for Z. I'm hoping that I come off as someone that is genuinely interested in many of the things the department is doing and that I fit with their philosophy (because I really am that someone!). I don't want to be someone that just locks myself in one lab and never cares what others are doing - I've had enough of that in undergrad.

[Pamphilia]

Thanks, JFO! That's helpful advice from your professor, and makes perfect sense. As for my SOP, I do feel that I'm mentioning faculty members for specific reasons, I just seem to have a particular fear of having my statement sound like a laundry list of names. For one school in particular, I mention six different faculty members at various points throughout the essay. That's probably too many, I'd imagine, even though I've been in contact with all of them and each is doing work relevant to my interests or parts thereof.

To the Screaming Hairy Armadillo, I would say that if you mention people for a reason, and articulate that reason, you're probably okay (at least I'm hoping that's okay, because it's what I'm doing), though I have heard it's very important to avoid just listing a bunch of people like you copied and pasted the whole list from the "faculty specialization in X" section on the website. At the same time, it sounds like you are applying in the sciences (?), and the advice I've gotten has been specifically directed to applications for literature PhD programs. I don't know if SOP standards differ for science-y programs or not.