'hungry for an abyss of knowledge in Chemistry' - SOP for masters in Energy Technology

Hi all,

I'd appreciate your feedback on my statement of purpose for an Energy technology master's degree application. I am switching my field from Electrical Engineering to Energy technology course which has chemistry and energy technology as the main focus.

Prompt: Statement of objectives: Please state in your own words why you choose to apply for the program and how you hope to benefit from it. Be specific about your personal interests in the field and your future plans. Your statement must not be longer than one page (important!).

"Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research (ZSW)"

Throughout my schooling, mathematics and science have captivated me and I have always been hungry for an abyss of knowledge in Chemistry. My affinity for this fathomless subject has even helped me achieving 200 out of 200 marks in my higher secondary examination. I finished my schooling with 93.5% aggregate in higher secondary exams and scoring 98% aggregate in Science and mathematics. With such outstanding performance, I landed up in PSG College of Technology one of the top institutions in India. Struck by industrial approach towards education from childhood I looked for courses which would blend both the practical and theoretical methods. Though I had chances of select 4-year courses, the 5 years Electrical and Electronics Engineering sandwich program curriculum attracted me with a mix of both industrial and classroom study (4 years+1 year equivalent work experience).

Fascinated by the chemistry and renewable energy, I started searching for interdisciplinary courses that's when I stumbled upon Energy Technology program in your University. I have always loved working on the computer and have become proficient with MATLAB. This inclination of mine towards computers coupled with my interest in solar energy has developed in me a desire to work on our undergraduate project, which is the Simulation and design of solar power tracker to optimize the technique used to track the maximum power. The project requires us to identify the algorithm which provides maximum efficiency by simulating in MATLAB and implementing the best algorithm in Solar Tracker.

With the intention of expanding my ken of knowledge in chemistry, I approached PSG Institute of Advanced Studies and I got an opportunity to contribute to the project "Study on Polymer Printed Resistor on Plastic adding Nanomaterials to Pedot ". The study is based on Printing of electronics on flexible substrates like plastic and glass will enable the realization of easily deployable systems with added benefit of low cost by optimizing the printing techniques. It was a nice learning curve for me as I got to interact with some of the research professionals and it gave me an insight about how a project is approached stage by stage.

I took my study beyond my classroom kept myself occupied with online courses in edx and coursera namely "Solar Energy" offered by Delft University and "Organic Solar cells -Theory and Practice" by Technical university of Denmark. This helped me get a closer look at the solar energy in various aspects. I was an active member and student coordinator at Solar Energy Society of India (SESI) in college. I worked as a team volunteer for various technical events and organized national level technical meets in solar energy at my college.

Research and Project work I have done previously has given me a feel to specialize in energy technology. Thus, I anticipate doing the same at your exceptional research center, thereby contributing to your university to the best of my capability. It is my conviction that such an opportunity to research at your university under impeccable faculty will be a conductive catalyst for realizing my dream. The research being pursued in "Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research (ZSW)" appears to be consistent with my objectives. This would be the perfect platform to reach the summit of success that I have always aspired for. I believe that graduate education is not merely a continuation of college studies but a process in which the student learns to do independent research. I am well aware of the fact that a career in research calls for personal commitment and personal sacrifice of time, leisure, and immediate reward. I wish to do a master program to sharpen the focus of my interests which would eventually help my doctoral research. I intend to explore emerging areas and take part in interdisciplinary research ventures as well. In the long-term, I want to take up an exciting position, either in the academia or the industry, where I can do independent research on fundamentally challenging and technically demanding problems with an immediate relevance to the everyday world.

Pradeep, since you are switching careers, the first thing you have to do in the statement of purpose is explain why you have decided to switch from one occupation to another. That is because your work experience is relevant in the statement of purpose. If you can clearly explain how your career switch is related to a step up the promotional ladder or as a lateral change in your career, then the purpose of your essay will be clearer. The college education that you received should only be presented in a summary form with only the relevant class information indicated in reference to the Energy Technology focus of the masters degree.

You need to only get the pertinent information from this current version of your essay because the information that you have is not all geared towards a proper statement of purpose. Most of the references you make are related to your college degree when what we need is information that could inform the reviewer as to why you would have a strong reason to move on to a different career. I think the two careers are related in a way. You just have to find the commonality between the two that can justify the career change on your end.

Proceed to explain the research that you did in college that relates to Energy Technology. What was the purpose of the research and what was the outcome? Use that as the basis for your motivation to change careers. If you are applying via the thesis track, make sure to explain your masters degree thesis statement in relation to energy technology. Once you have accomplished those information, just add the paragraph about why you chose to enroll at the university. Try to make that a shorter paragraph because you still have to explain your short term career goal covering a period of 5 years.