Graduate / The area of Marketing - SOP for PhD [6]

Hii All,
First of all, I would like to appreciate the efforts of the members and coordinators of this forum. I am planning to apply for PhD programme in US Universities, and for that I need to submit a SOP.

After reading a lot of SOPs on this forum, I got motivated and wrote a SOP for myself, but I don't know how to make it more impressive. I hope all of you will help me in correcting it. please feel free to give your suggestions and recommendations.

My SOP is given below:

I believe that academic field gives the opportunity to continuously learn and share knowledge with the society. I have always felt the need to incessantly update my knowledge, apply it in a specific domain and live up to the challenges the life brings to us, which justify my interest in achieving an expertise in the academic field.

In 2003, I was selected in XYZ University, considered as one of the best technical Universities in India, for the MSc. (Hons) programme and majored in Mathematics.

After completing my graduation, I was placed in a reputed IT consulting firm in India. But I declined the offer because I wanted to pursue research career and decided to go for higher education. I decided to pursue an MBA program from the same University (XYZ) since this university allows students to become a Teaching Assistant (TA) while studying for a postgraduate programme. I saw this option as an opportunity to hone my teaching skills, and become involved in the process of knowledge creation and dissemination. I was the only student in my batch who had taken up this added responsibility of a TA. Though it involved devoting considerable time and attention to the profession of teaching, I knew these challenges would also give me the opportunity to not only become a part of the academic community and develop my communication skills but also help me pursue my goal of becoming an academic researcher. During my education, I maintained decent academic performance and at the same time fulfilled my roles and responsibilities as a TA quite satisfactorily.

As an undergraduate and post-graduate student, I have always been interested in studying courses related to the field of Marketing. I gained more knowledge about this area by studying courses like Advertising and Sales Promotion, Marketing, E-business & Internet marketing, Retail Management Systems and Services Management Systems which have given me a strong base of knowledge and skills required to take doctoral studies. Further, my experience of over 3 years in academic field as a Teaching Assistant has helped me develop intellectual independence and advanced critical thinking skills. I have taught various courses like Principles of Management and Technical Report Writing, whereas I assisted Professors/Instructors for courses like Marketing Management Information Systems and Human Resource Management.

I also did thesis, as a part of my undergraduate degree, on the topic: "Developing Brand Strategies That Synthesize Internal Resources and Competitive Strategy" and got 'excellent' grade from my supervisor. That was the time when I got keenly interested in exploring more about this field and conducting research at various levels. Therefore, when I got another chance to do dissertation as a part of my MBA program I saw it as an opportunity to take my research interests to another level. I completed my dissertation on Cause-Related Marketing in May'2010.

Teaching and research is my passion and I have always had the motivation to conduct an independent research and be a future leader in academia by creating and disseminating business knowledge. A Research degree in Marketing would provide me an interdisciplinary environment for generating creative ideas in Marketing (field of my interest) and communicating these ideas effectively to others. Undertaking this postgraduate research study will help me fulfill my desire and drive me to excel in academic field and become a teaching and research faculty member.

ABC University Business School has a structured approach to progressing through the PhD programme and it offers excellent opportunities for professional and personal development. I want to specialize in the area of Marketing and after completing my Doctoral Degree, I would like to teach at a research-oriented university like yours where I can conduct research and instill in my students an enthusiasm for research and the study of marketing