Occasionally referred to has the ‘soft’ sciences, social sciences combing qualitative and quantitative methodologies.  As such, a social science Statement of Purpose falls somewhere between the no-nonsense science Statement of Purpose and the more creative humanities Statement of Purpose.  Social science Statement of Purpose essays tend to have more or less narrative qualities depending on the type of research the applicant is proposing.  If you are applying with the intention of doing neurolinguistics, your social science Statement of Purpose needs to leave no doubt that you are trained and qualified to undertake such a program.  If you are applying with the intention of doing ethnographic anthropological work, you need to worry less about qualifications and more about making a case for your area of interest.

Additionally, because most fields in the social sciences span such a wide variety of approaches, you need to do your homework when researching programs.  Do not propose to do sociolinguistics at a school that is known for its reputation in cognitive linguistics.  Although both areas technically fall under linguistics, the methodological approaches are completely different.  Make sure you know which way the program you are applying to leans, and reflect that in your Statement of Purpose.  To help you get started we have a collection of social science Statement of Purpose essays from a variety of fields.

Social Science Statement of Purpose Examples:

1. A Love of Language (Applied Linguistics)

2. Words and Their Origins (Comparative Linguistics)

3. An Unlikely Candidate (General Linguistics)

4. At Work (Organizational Psychology)

{Need more help? Check out our ebook Hacking Your Statement of Purpose for a concise guide to writing and revising your Statement of Purpose.}

Despite the ever-on-going cry of “crisis in the humanities,” applications to humanities programs are on the rise.  Most students have been sufficiently warned about pursuing education in the humanities at the graduate level, so we’ll skip the soap-box. With the rise in applications, though, you’ll need a stellar humanities Statement of Purpose.  And we can help with that.

The humanities consist of fields that focus primarily on the study of humanity and culture, including literature, philosophy, history, performing arts, modern languages, such as Spanish, French, and German, as well as classical languages such as Latin and Greek.  Research approaches in the humanities are widely varied, but tend towards qualitative rather than quantitative methods.  This approach is distinct when compared with the primarily quantitative approach taken in the sciences.

You will notice that humanities Statement of Purpose essays tend to be more creative and personal than Statements in other fields.  They still discuss the student’s academic and research goals, but they also contain information about the applicant as a person.  They tend to have story-like introductory hooks, and can even read like a narrative.  Statements in humanities fields do not rigidly adhere to genre conventions like in other fields, and you have a lot of room to be creative.  Just make sure that in your creativity you still include the important information: Why you are applying to this particular school and what you plan to do there.

Below you will find links to our current collection of humanities Statement of Purpose examples.  If you have a Personal Statement that received admission from a program in the humanities we would love for you to share it.  Please do so here.

Humanities Statement of Purpose Examples:

1. Farms and Agrarian Literature (English)

2. The Living Nature of Past Literature (English)

3. Imitating Literature (English)

4. Reading on the Road (Comparative Literature)

5. I Write. (MFA)

{Need more help? Check out our ebook Hacking Your Statement of Purpose for a concise guide to writing and revising your Statement of Purpose.}

Below are links to our Statements of Purposes in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

1. Sciences

2. Technology

3. Engineering

4. Mathematics

{Need more help with your STEM Statement of Purpose? Check out our ebook Hacking Your Statement of Purpose for a concise guide to writing and revising your Statement of Purpose.}

Did you find a Statement of Purpose here that helped you write your own?  Our content is 100% user contributed, and we rely on users like you to remember us after winning admission to graduate school.

Want to help others realize their scholastic ambitions? Contribute your statement of purpose, your own helpful tips, or simply comment on what you wish you would have known before starting your graduate education.

If you do decide you’d  like to contribute, your statement will be edited to remove all personal information. We want to make it easy for you to submit. You can either use the form below, or simply send a copy of your statement to statementofpurposeexamples@gmail.com.

Most people pursuing a degree in business pursue the MBA, masters of business administration.  This degree can be applied to a wide range of jobs, and often attracts an equally wide range of applicants.  Core courses within programs are often cover concepts such as accounting, operations management, human resources, etc.

There are also a wide range of MBA programs, and many are designed to suit non-traditional students.  Depending on the program tracks may be available for full-time, part-time, distance learning, and executive students.

We haven’t received any SOPs for MBA programs, yet.  Do you know someone attending an MBA program who would be willing to share their Statement?  Please send them our way!

In the mean time, check out our resource page for writing a Statement of Purpose tailored specifically to MBA programs, as well as other great resources and MBA Statement of Purpose example we’ve gathered from around the web:

1. Example MBA Statement of Purpose for an MBA in marketing found here.

2. A solid general MBA Statement of Purpose example found here.

3. Here are 5 essays that gained admission to the Harvard Business School.  Make sure you poke around, this site also has successful MBA Statement of Purpose essays submitted to Wharton, Stanford, Chicago Booth, Kellogg, and more.

4. BusinessBecause details how to organize your MBA Statement of Purpose here.

{Need more help? Check out our ebook Hacking Your Statement of Purpose for a concise guide to writing and revising your Statement of Purpose.}

Examples of SOPs for the sciences.  Fields are indicated in parentheses.

1. Palmyra Atoll – version 1 (Biology)

2. Palmyra Atoll – version 2 (Biology)

3. Shoe Boxes & Aquariums (Biology)

{Need more help with your science Statement of Purpose? Check out our ebook Hacking Your Statement of Purpose for a concise guide to writing and revising your Statement of Purpose.}

Comparative Literature (often abbreviated to Comp Lit) is a field that is often held in distinction to English literature programs here in the United States, although some universities have conflated the two fields into a solitary department.  Comparative Literature focuses on the study of multiple literatures and is most often organized along national lines with a strong focus on reading works in their original language.  These comparative groupings are not restricted to national literatures, though, and many programs encourage comparative approaches between fields as well, for example pairing literature with religion or film.

Although Comp Literature’s popularity is beginning to wane in the United States, and Comp Lit departments are being absorbed into English departments, there are still strong, nationally recognized programs.  Each takes a very different approach to defining and outlining study in Comparative Literature, though, and requirements can vary greatly from school to school.  Because of this, you need to write a Comparative Literature Statement of Purpose that sells you as the perfect candidate for their particular program.  Make sure you do your homework so you understand each department’s unique approach and can incorporate that into your Statement.

Comparative Literature Statement of Purpose Examples:

1. Reading on the Road

 {Need more help with your Comparative Literature Statement of Purpose? Check out our ebook Hacking Your Statement of Purpose for a concise guide to writing and revising your Statement of Purpose.}

Writing a Statement of Purpose is hard.  But every year thousands of people do it and are successfully admitted to graduate school.  With a little effort you can be one of the successful ones, and we’re happy to help you get there.  We’ve compiled a list of Statement of Purpose resources from around the web that we believe are well written and will help you in your journey.  Click on the links below to get started.

1. Books.  We’ve reviewed dozens of books about applying to graduate school.  These are our favorites.

2. Websites.  You can find a lot of information for free on the web.  Here are a couple of good resources to help you get started.

3. eBook.  After reading dozens of books and hundreds of websites, we decided to create our own resource.  Most of the stuff we read had lots of filler information, and not very much about actually writing the Statement of Purpose.  This is a concise guide focused only the writing process for your Statement of Purpose.

4. Editing Services.  There are a couple of services out there.  If you are interested in having a professional look over your Statement, you might try these.

Humanities

Social Sciences

STEM (Sciences – Technology – Engineering – Mathematics)

Sciences

Technology

Engineering

Mathematics

Professions & Applied Sciences

{Need more help with your Statement of Purpose? Check out our ebook Hacking Your Statement of Purpose for a concise guide to writing and revising your Statement of Purpose.}