STATEMENT OF PURPOSE GUIDELINES

What is an SOP?
A SOP is a brief and focused statement about one’s career or academic goals. The general purpose is
to indicate your potential for advanced studies.

Standard SOP length - 1000-1200 words (two pages). Also go through the university website to
find out specific word count or other requirements (questions).

Please follow the accepted SOP format given below:

Paragraph 1: INTRODUCTION
1. Write about an important event/experience in your academic, internship or professional life
that affected your choice of the future field of study and specialization. The story should be
unique and preferably recent.
 Avoid referring to childhood stories, family influences, and cliched anecdotes like
getting your first computer or playing games, etc
 Avoid referring to books and/or movies as sources of inspiration
 DO NOT start your SOP with quotes as they show lack of originality – the ad com
wants to see your own ideas/thoughts, not borrowed ones!
 DO NOT write generally about your field – copying material from the Internet
o Example of WRONG intro choice – “Design is an integral part of our
everyday lives; it can improve products, services, and environments, it can
help solve problems and prevent future problems. Design crosses cultural
barriers, making it relevant to everyone.”

Paragraphs 2-4 (more or less depending on your experience): ACADEMIC BACKGROUND

1. Proceed chronologically
2. Mention relevant courses (with respect to specialization), courses you did well on (if you
were a batch, subject or dept topper), additional academic achievements (scholarships,
awards, ranks, additional coursework, etc)
3. Discuss your practical academic experiences - projects, internships, industrial trainings,
workshops, seminars, etc– DO NOT repeat resume information (project summaries or
abstracts) or list experiences
4. For each experience, mention:
a. Why you took up each topic
b. If the work was done in a team, focus on individual contributions - what
kind of difficulties/challenges YOU faced while doing each project, etc –
how did YOU tackle these problems, using what ideas, tools, or methods?
c. What did YOU learn from each experience that will be relevant to YOUR
future program – either hard skills or transferable skills
d. How did each of these experiences motivate you to pursue advanced study
in that particular field
5. DO NOT MENTION CGPA, AGGREGATE, COMPETITIVE TEST SCORES

Paragraphs 5-7 (more or less depending on your experience): PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE (if
any)
1. Proceed chronologically
2. Discuss all practical experiences and achievements at work – projects, initiatives,
additional learning/certifications, trainings undertaken or given, formal awards or
recognitions
3. Show growth from one designation to another, promotions, career progression, leadership,
teamwork, cross-functional or global exposure
4. DO NOT repeat resume information (project summaries) or list experiences
5. For each experience, mention:
 a. Why you took up each job role
b. Mention distinctions like being chosen above others for certain tasks or
roles
c. If the work was done in a team, focus on individual contributions - what
kind of difficulties/challenges YOU faced while doing each project, etc –
how did YOU tackle these problems, using what ideas, tools, or methods?
d. What did YOU learn from each experience that will be relevant to YOUR
future program – either hard skills or transferable skills
e. Explain how each of these experiences motivated you to pursue advanced
study in that particular field
6. Quantify all contributions and impact on the team/organization/business – revenues, profits,
savings (of money, time, labour)

Paragraph 8: Why Master’s, Why Now

1. Summarize your existing strengths that you have already acquired through your experiences
that will be relevant to the future field of work/goals
2. Mention gaps in current knowledge and skills – mention subject or research areas and
relevant things you want to learn from the future program
a. Good example - My projects have imparted knowledge of programming
languages such as MYSQL, C, C++, and Python. The graduate program
would teach me to use IT to support an organization’s operational and
strategic needs. I will gain valuable skills in enterprise data management
and will learn to analyze business processes, redesign, and even automate
them.
3. Explain why NOW – the timing
4. If you are switching fields, explain the following:
f. Your rationale behind the switch
g. Trigger incident that convinced you of your suitability for the future
role/field and sealed your motivation to make the switch (do not mention
monetary gains as motivation)
h. In the background portions above (academic and professional experiences),
please focus on transferable skills – For example, if you are switching from
Psychology major to UI Design, focus on understanding of human
behaviour, critical thinking, ability to understand product-user/market fit,
etc

Paragraph 9: Goals
1. Short-term specific goal – Name 2-3 organizations you want to join immediately after
completing MS. Mention the designation. Mention what kind of work you will be doing in
that position – type of projects or impact that interest you. DO NOT MENTION LEARNING
AS A GOAL.
2. Long-term specific goal – Name 2-3 organizations you see yourself working in 10 years after
completing MS. Mention the designation. Mention what kind of work you will be doing in
that position – type of projects or impact that interest you. Do not mention learning as a goal.
3. Long-term goal should be a logical step up from the short-term goal.
4. DO NOT GIVE GENERIC INFORMATION OR COPY FROM WEBSITES.
a. Example of wrong goals para– Post MS, I am eager to implement my
learning of Artificial Intelligence for the betterment of society. AI is an established field, but
nonetheless still growing, meaning that it keeps evolving and I want to learn more about it
along the way. I would also like to extend my knowledge to others in every part of the world.
I believe that sharing knowledge with others would help us to get new ideas and achieve
things for the welfare and benefits of all.
b. Example of a good career goal – Post MS, I want to work as a Software
Development Engineer in top product companies such as Meta, Amazon, Google, or
 Microsoft. I will be involved with designing, developing, and implementing new software
solutions. I will also provide recommendations for continuous improvement of existing
products. In 3-5 years, I see myself leading a team of developers in the product development
domain. In the longer term, transitioning into a Senior Product Architect role, I envisage
making strategic decisions that will positively impact the company's operations and growth.

Paragraph 10: University Specific (refer to the university and program website)
1. Add names of courses you want to study
2. Add names of 2-3 faculty and their research areas/labs/projects in this program that interest
you
3. DO NOT GIVE GENERIC DESCRIPTIONS or copy content from the university website.
Please provide specific details relevant to your career goals.
a. Example of a generic/plagiarized para (wrong choice) – For the thirst to go deeper and
strengthen my knowledge, I began to search for an overseas university to pursue a
master’s program. Arizona State University caught my attention as I was hunting for a
suitable institution. After much research, I have chosen this university because it is
globally well-ranked for setting high standards in education. The state-of-the-art
infrastructure, excellent research facilities equipped with cutting-edge tools and
mentorship of erudite professors would help in refining my computing skills.
b. Example of a good university para – The MS in Computer Science (Cybersecurity)
curriculum at XYZ University offers courses such as ‘Computer and Network Security’,
‘Software Security’, and ‘Data and Information Security’ that align with my goals.
Supplementary courses such as ‘Digital Automation’, ‘IoT’ and ‘AI in Cybersecurity’ are
also in sync with my research interests. I aspire to be mentored by Professor ____, as his
area of specialization includes ‘Network Architecture’, ‘Cyber Forensics’, and
‘Information Systems Research.’ His research ranging from developing health
information technology to creating electronic medical records in hospitals, and personal
health records adoption for consumers, has inspired me to enhance my knowledge of
digital automation under his tutelage.
4. Briefly mention how you can contribute to the learning experience of your peer group and
ongoing research at the university

Paragraph 11: Optional: Extracurricular Activities

1. Discuss any impactful, recent extracurricular engagements that show your character and skills
– leadership, communication, teamwork, empathy, etc
2. Mention some activities you can contribute to at the university campus that relate to your
background and interests

Paragraph 12: Conclusion

1. End with 2-3 lines of conclusion to show your enthusiasm for the program and how you feel it
will help you achieve your goals

POINTS TO NOTE BEFORE WRITING AN SOP:

 Please avoid copying from samples! Plagiarism is considered an academic misconduct

that can result in rejection.
 Do not start your SOP with self-introduction.
 Your SOP should be unique to yourself.
 Do not repeat the resume in the SOP. The resume describes only the facts (what was done),
the SOP should trace the stories behind those facts (why and how it was done).
 It is important to understand the program requirements and establish the skills relevant to the
program in the SOP. For example, a student doing MIS must show analytical abilities, flair
for numbers, understanding of how business and technology are connected and can benefit
from each other, problem solving capacity, team spirit, interdisciplinary communication, etc.