SOP- PhD in Economics, a natural career progression for me

I really need comments to improve this piece as I'm pretty late in joining this community and deadlines are already making me dead!!

My formal introduction to economics happened during the final year of my B.Sc. (Honors) Physics when I opted for 'Introductory Economics' as one of the courses. This brief exposure to economic problems and the concurrent global recession ignited enough curiosity and interest that I decided to pursue my career in the field of economics. As a first step in this direction, I cleared an **** entrance exam for the MA course in Economics at ***** and since then I've found this interest in economics grow further each day.

During the course of study at **** spread over two years and 15 papers, I had the opportunity to touch upon almost all major areas of research in economics that helped me develop a broad level understanding of the subject. The three years of my background in undergraduate Physics had equipped me with strong quantitative skills apart from providing an exposure to abstract mathematical formulation of problems and this experience came in handy during M.A. Economics where I learnt to model economic problems with equivalent mathematical rigor. Beginning with the basic courses in micro, macro & econometrics, I later opted for some of the advanced level courses in Game Theory, Economic Growth, Industrial Organization, Forecasting etc. In addition to the above, I also opted for mathematical courses in linear algebra, real analysis and topology. Out of all the courses that I studied, courses in Game theory and Mathematical economics, appealed to me in particular. The beauty of the analytical framework provided by the above two is reflected from the fact that the same framework can help us gain insights into a diversity of socio-economic problems.

In the summers of 2009, I got an opportunity to get involved in empirical research at *****, where I worked as a summer intern for two months. I was among the select few candidates who got a chance to intern and get hands-on experience in policy research at ****. I worked alongside a team involved in improving the predictions of GDP forecast model under ****. After an initial literature survey, I came up with the idea of developing the forecast model using Artificial Neural Network (ANN) methodology, which I later implemented using SPSS platform and found that I could generate better in-sample as well as out-of-sample forecasts. This project introduced me to the key functional difficulties that one faces before arriving at the final empirical model.

I took another opportunity to get a flavor of development economics by working as an intern in ****** during Nov-Dec '09. I was involved in the mid-term assessment of National Skill Development Mission for the eleventh Five-year Plan and was assigned the task to develop an index which can be used to measure the performance of State Skill Development Missions (SSDM). I developed an index on the lines of Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) that can not only measure the performance of SSDMs but also provide an estimate of intra-state performance disparity.

I joined ***** six months back as a Business Analyst. At *****, I'm working as a part of ****, which uses machine learning and advanced analytics techniques to extract business signals from unstructured data sources like social media networks, chat data etc. The nature of work requires usage of SAS, R etc. for training and implementing the algorithms that extract these signals. This industry exposure and expertise would prove to be an added advantage in empirical research during the Graduate studies.

Given my background and penchant towards understanding economic issues and relations, further studies and research in economics is a natural career progression for me. My primary research interests lie in the area of economic theory with an emphasis on its applications in political economics. The inter-relationship between economics and politics dates back to prehistoric times and in a rapidly changing global environment, study of collective action, political institutions and public policy becomes much more important today than ever, not just from a positive point of view but also from a normative one. The study of the above can help us understand why specific kinds of economic institutions arise under specific political environment and vice-versa. I would definitely like to dedicate my career to solving problems of the above nature. Although, most of the assignments that I've done till now have been empirical in nature but given the symbiotic relationship between theory and empirical work, with one evolving out of the other, it should work in my favor during Graduate Studies. As far as my post PhD goals are concerned I would like to see myself as a researcher and teacher in the field of economics.

Economics Department at ****** has always been home to new and innovative ideas in economics and is reputed for its excellence in teaching and research activities. Since my research interests align with the work of some of your faculty members, the decision to apply to your PhD program is ideal for me. The guidance of eminent faculty members coupled with the dynamic research environment at your University would undoubtedly ensure success in the Graduate Program. I sincerely believe that pursuing PhD from ***** will be a great privilege and will bring me one step closer to realizing my dream of making useful contributions to the overall understanding of Economics.

Still waiting for the reviews!!!!

The best way to get a lot of reviews is to review a lot of essays in the "Unanswered" category, and ask those people to review your essay.


This sentence does not do what it is supposed to do. Of all the things you could tell the reader in that crucial moment when she decides whether to have a positive or negative attitude toward the essay, you can give a sentence that will probably win her interest. This sentence only tells her the name of your econ. course.

The second sentence of the essay is very good, though! It is something the reader can be interested in (i.e. the recession and how the recession can spark a student's interest in econ.)

So... I think you should consider the purpose of that first sentence and choose something great to share with the reader -- to get the essay off to a good start.

Don't capitalize: Graduate Studies.

As far as my post PhD goals are concerned Don't use long phrases that are unnecessary.

I would like to see myself as a researcher and teacher in the field of economics.---not specific enough! You should be writing in terms of the concepts you have been reading about. Again, here:

My primary research interests lie in the area of too wordy.
economic theory with an emphasis on its applications in political economics. ---not specific enough.

I don't intend to sound critical; it is like this: the essay is obviously full of great examples of your seriousness and qualifications, so I am excited about showing you those few examples of places where you can avoid vagueness and long, wordy phrases.

Most importantly, consider your PURPOSE for every sentence of the essay and for the essay as a whole. It is amazing how many sentences we write that actually just take up space, serving no purpose.

:-) Good luck!!!