How specific should we be on our SOP?

[black.bird]

I was wondering how specific should we be on our SOP? I mean should we know the exact subject of the research we want to do? Should we talk about the methods we will employ? Or all this could be way more subjective?

 

I appreciate any thought! 

[betsy303]

I would say as specific as you can be while also appreciating the natural changes/flexiblity/turns of the research process?

[Gundohinus]

Somewhere between "I just love 19th-century French painting and want to study it" and "I plan to write my dissertation on the depiction of parrots in the early paintings of Manet and their relation to the colonization of Algeria." :-) Seriously, though, this is something you'll want to discuss with your current advisor(s)/whoever will be writing for you. They will help you strike the right balance. In general you'll want to show that you have clear ideas of what materials and questions you want to pursue, but also that you are not bound to one exclusive path. The readers will want to know that you are open-minded and flexible as well as focused.