Journey to an Economics PhD at US from a non-traditional background from outside US-Part 3:Statement of Purpose and Resume
Please check out the first two parts here:
5. Statement of Purpose
Statement of Purposes(SOPs) are another critical part of your application. You have good grades, you have research experience and have obtained high recommendations .Now what?
You have to explain your intention in doing a Phd in that particular department and why they should invest financial and intellectual capital on you .
I attended a webinar for Phd organised by UC San Diego where they advised a particular pattern for writing a cover letter .This was the template that I followed with a few modifications .
Below I am typing out the general cover letter that I used with a few things left out for my own privacy. This is indicated by………..
A)First Paragraph-
I am writing to express my interest in the economics doctoral program at ……..(University Name)………..
B)Second Paragraph-
My research interests lie in understanding the economic and operational properties of …(a particular economic system)….. and contribute to their design and advancement. I wish to study the problem of ……( a particular property of that economic system)……….(I then go on to describe the current economic system along with the problem that it has or a feature that can be improved upon.)……….This raises a key question: …….(State a general question that you would tackle on your research and dont mention any technical details), what policies………. (should be used to tackle your research problem )…………..Thus I want to use……….( name a few general methods )………… to propose a family of simple and effective algorithms, for……….. (mention what your proposed solution is and how you think it will be better than the present solution to solve the research problem that you are tackling).
C)Third Paragraph-
My resolve to pursue a PhD studies in economics is the culmination of experiences in a variety of roles. …(Now here describe all your research work that you have done under your professor. I described my experiences as a part time research assistant under the Oxford Professor which was about 4–5 lines. This was followed by my experience as working as a full time RA at University of Edinburgh which again was 4–5 sentences. Even though it was a mathematics professor, I phrased it as such so as to relate how my RA work in mathematics which included data cleaning, programming in python ,reading journals and applying models has prepared me to also carry out research in economics)…………
D)Fourth Paragraph
I have also worked as ….(my banking experience)…I have conducted research studies in….(describe the skills and the type of work that is relevant and will help you in doing a PhD for example: programming skills, research skills ,implementing models etc)………
E)Fifth Paragraph
……….(I talk about how my education along with my thesis has helped me prepare for a PhD .Frankly this paragraph is important if you come from a famous masters program and want to stress on that fact that its extremely difficult curriculum has prepared for the vigor of the PhD .I also talk about my thesis to demonstrate my ability to implement models to solve a research question)………………………………………………….
My verbatim paragraph was:
My education to date has given me a strong basis with which to pursue further studies. My masters in Econometric and Mathematical Economics at LSE was a technically rigorous programme which is equivalent to a first-year PhD program in Economics at the top 10 schools in the USA and hence would meet the needs of the challenging core curriculum of the PhD program. I have also taken graduate level courses in stochastic analysis and optimisation while pursuing my MSc in Financial Modelling and Optimisation at University of Edinburgh .This education will supplement my research, and provide me with the knowledge of economics essential for creative research. Previously while pursuing my masters at University of Edinburgh I did my MSc thesis on numerically pricing option prices . I modelled three methods binomial pricing model, the Monte Carlo method, and the finite element method (FEM) on numerically pricing multi-asset options. Using python ,I predicted that binomial pricing model and the Monte Carlo method seem to underestimate the price for large volatilizes, the finite element method is shown to be the only method out of the three that gives reliable estimates. This experience helped me apply relevant mathematical models and data analysis, develop and implement appropriate tools to present and interpret models.
F)Sixth Paragraph
…………….(Why you want to join that particular program? As many people suggests ,don't try to write a generic statement but instead target a few people or the type of research that the department is known for. I actually went for the opposite strategy. I actually wrote a completely generic statement. This is because I did not know who is going to be in the admission committee. Also if I mention a particular professor, he/she may not be willing to take a new student. So with that logic I decided to write generically.)………………………………………………..
My verbatim paragraph was:
My career goal is to remain in academia as a professor so that I can pursue my research interests while training and recruiting others to solve relevant problems in economics . The university provides excellent facilities and resources that are essential for creative research. The Ph.D. will provide me the ideal academic and research foundation for my career. Additionally, the department of economics’ connections with many academic departments and numerous research facilities will provide very attractive opportunities. Because I nd it important to talk with different areas of focus than my own, I like the diversity of the department’s different research areas .I also look forward to teaching as a graduate student as……. (university name)…….has a reputation for having motivated master students who can challenge my understanding of the materials. For these reasons, I would like to spend my next five years at ……. (university name)…… .
Here ,I would like to specifically mention no matter whether you want to go to academia, industry or policy based jobs….Mention that you are interested in going to academia as a Professor. The admission committee members are themselves Professors and they really like to see people who are themselves interested in going to academia. This maybe true or false but nobody is going to check your SOP 5 years after you have completed your PhD and go to your desired placement .So be safe than sorry!
6)Resume:
Its is a standard academic C.V with
- Education (I gave my GPA and a short thesis description)
- Research Experience (under whom and where besides what you did)
- My other Professional Experiences(I tried to use keywords which demonstrated research skills)
- Programming Skills(I gave Python ,Stata, Matlab ,and R)
- Other skills(Latex)
Honestly resume is a place where you put all your details in brief. Everything that you write in your resume must be explained either through your Transcripts, Statement of purpose and recommendations. These three are the most important thing in your application.
In my next and final part, I will discuss how I went about selecting colleges and also tell my personal journey while applying for programs.
You can check the last post here:
