How to Write a Letter of Interest for Grad School
Set your intentions., Plan your career goals., Connect your life to your academic ambitions., Select graduate programs that will meet your academic needs., Look through the department course catalogue.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Set your intentions.
You should know what you want to achieve by attending graduate school before you start to apply.
This statement is part of your application but it is also an opportunity for you to do some serious self-evaluation about your goals and plans.While you may not know your exact dissertation topic at this point, you should have a good idea of where you’d like to go in your studies.Evaluate your goals based on what you would like to study, and think about whether your particular focus will contribute to the field you’re entering.
For example, your intent may be “I want to study early onset Alzheimer’s disease in men.” -
Step 2: Plan your career goals.
If you are planning to attend graduate school, you should have some idea of what you want to do after graduate school.
Part of your statement should address how you plan to use your graduate degree to further your career aspirations.
It’s okay if your career plans change over the next few years, but it’s useful to have a concrete starting point.
Your career goal may be “I want to obtain a PhD in History in order to become an Assistant Professor of History at a small liberal arts college.” , This is perhaps the trickiest part of your statement of purpose, but it is important to make your goals personal.
Think of this personal connection as why you have chosen graduate school and your chosen career path.
This may take some reflection and thought.Too vague: “I want to become a researcher because I love science and working in a lab.” More specific: “Because I watched my beloved grandfather wither away to a shadow of his former self, I want to devote my life to researching Alzheimer’s disease.
No one should have to lose a loved one before he is truly gone.” Too vague: “I want to be a history professor to inspire students to love history.” More specific: “Visiting civil war battle fields with my parents helped me realize the importance of understanding and learning from our history.
I want to bring that history to life to a generation of students who may not have had the travel opportunities that I had.” , Though it’s tempting to select schools with the biggest names, the process of selecting a graduate school should be a bit more intensive than that.
It’s important to ensure that the graduate institution you choose will fulfill your academic needs and that you and the school are a good fit for each other.Be sure the school offers support for your specific field of specialization.
It is helpful to work with someone who is well-respected in your specific area.
For example, if you want to study East Asian history, make sure you apply to departments with several professors in that field.
These professors should have publications in East Asian history.
Learn about the graduate school process at each institution.
Most programs follow the same general timeline: coursework, comprehensive exams, a formal thesis/dissertation proposal, and finally the thesis/dissertation writing and defense.
Select a school that has a high job placement rate after graduation.
The department you’re applying to should keep some data; if their placement rate is high, they will likely advertise it as such. , If possible, look at the graduate-level course offerings in the university’s course catalogue.This will help you ensure that you will have ample opportunities to take both required and elective courses.
You should be able to get a sense of both the scope and depth of available courses and determine whether there are several professors who offer courses in your areas of interest. -
Step 3: Connect your life to your academic ambitions.
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Step 4: Select graduate programs that will meet your academic needs.
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Step 5: Look through the department course catalogue.
Detailed Guide
You should know what you want to achieve by attending graduate school before you start to apply.
This statement is part of your application but it is also an opportunity for you to do some serious self-evaluation about your goals and plans.While you may not know your exact dissertation topic at this point, you should have a good idea of where you’d like to go in your studies.Evaluate your goals based on what you would like to study, and think about whether your particular focus will contribute to the field you’re entering.
For example, your intent may be “I want to study early onset Alzheimer’s disease in men.”
If you are planning to attend graduate school, you should have some idea of what you want to do after graduate school.
Part of your statement should address how you plan to use your graduate degree to further your career aspirations.
It’s okay if your career plans change over the next few years, but it’s useful to have a concrete starting point.
Your career goal may be “I want to obtain a PhD in History in order to become an Assistant Professor of History at a small liberal arts college.” , This is perhaps the trickiest part of your statement of purpose, but it is important to make your goals personal.
Think of this personal connection as why you have chosen graduate school and your chosen career path.
This may take some reflection and thought.Too vague: “I want to become a researcher because I love science and working in a lab.” More specific: “Because I watched my beloved grandfather wither away to a shadow of his former self, I want to devote my life to researching Alzheimer’s disease.
No one should have to lose a loved one before he is truly gone.” Too vague: “I want to be a history professor to inspire students to love history.” More specific: “Visiting civil war battle fields with my parents helped me realize the importance of understanding and learning from our history.
I want to bring that history to life to a generation of students who may not have had the travel opportunities that I had.” , Though it’s tempting to select schools with the biggest names, the process of selecting a graduate school should be a bit more intensive than that.
It’s important to ensure that the graduate institution you choose will fulfill your academic needs and that you and the school are a good fit for each other.Be sure the school offers support for your specific field of specialization.
It is helpful to work with someone who is well-respected in your specific area.
For example, if you want to study East Asian history, make sure you apply to departments with several professors in that field.
These professors should have publications in East Asian history.
Learn about the graduate school process at each institution.
Most programs follow the same general timeline: coursework, comprehensive exams, a formal thesis/dissertation proposal, and finally the thesis/dissertation writing and defense.
Select a school that has a high job placement rate after graduation.
The department you’re applying to should keep some data; if their placement rate is high, they will likely advertise it as such. , If possible, look at the graduate-level course offerings in the university’s course catalogue.This will help you ensure that you will have ample opportunities to take both required and elective courses.
You should be able to get a sense of both the scope and depth of available courses and determine whether there are several professors who offer courses in your areas of interest.
About the Author
Carol Turner
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