Project Proposal portion of SOP

[hungrybear]

I wanted to know (and I figured it would be helpful for others): what should be included in the project proposal? How much detail should one go into in the SOP for the project? Some type of general checklist I think would be helpful.

I imagine one needs to include the geographic region, the theme, and the time period. Those seem standard. But what about the things that really make it seem like you've really thought the proposal through? Should one talk about secondary sources that have touched on the proposed topic? Does one bring up primary sources? Archives you have in mind? How you plan to fund the research? Is a preliminary hypothesis offered? 

Thanks. 

Edited July 24, 2017 by miami421

[nhhistorynut]

It's a bit of a difficult balance, I think. You want to let them know that you have an idea of what you want to do, but you also don't want to focus in so narrowly that they think you aren't flexible with it, especially since dissertation projects won't start for 2+ years after starting the program and sometimes ideas/interests change a great deal in that time. For me, I talked about my style of writing and researching and the project I was doing for my MA thesis. I then briefly discussed a very general theme/idea for my PhD program, saying that I want to focus on mid-20th century US race relations, but that I was flexible with the topic beyond that. I think the best thing to do is illustrate your ability as a historian with your WS and your discussion of yourself as a historian in the SOP, rather than focusing in on a narrow topic. Because if you go in and say "I want to study XYZ and have found these sources and these archives" and so on, they might pass you over for someone who is a bit more flexible going forward.

This is just my experience, of course, and I'm sure a lot of this depends on the area of specialization and the specific schools to which you're applying.

Edited July 24, 2017 by nhhistorynut

[AP]

12 hours ago, miami421 said:

I wanted to know (and I figured it would be helpful for others): what should be included in the project proposal? How much detail should one go into in the SOP for the project? Some type of general checklist I think would be helpful.

You should delineate your broad questions and why answering them in a particular place/time is compelling to you. The SOP is not a dissertation prospectus. It is your monologue justifying how going to X school makes sense to answer those questions. 

12 hours ago, miami421 said:

I imagine one needs to include the geographic region, the theme, and the time period. Those seem standard.

You will need geography/chronology because you are applying to work under the supervision of specific faculty that you must name (and contact). They are standard not because they are required per se but because if you don't, then you are not writing a statement of purpose.

12 hours ago, miami421 said:

But what about the things that really make it seem like you've really thought the proposal through? Should one talk about secondary sources that have touched on the proposed topic? Does one bring up primary sources? Archives you have in mind? How you plan to fund the research? Is a preliminary hypothesis offered? 

I'm not sure I understand your questions. No, don't ramble about your topic of interest and definitely don't do name dropping. You will have an opportunity to do this in your writing sample. The SOP should be about your big questions, your experience as a researcher, the department you are applying to, and how you see yourself in that program. In other words, you should show evidence of a coherent transition between a past, a present, and a future. Again, this is not a project proposal, at least not for US institutions. 

I strongly suggest you look at SOPs samples, like this one. You can also search for horrible samples as examples of what not to do. They helped me a lot.