Masters is Security and Information Assurance at KFUPM - Statement of Purpose

mastering cyber security

My name is Muhammad Hilmi H, I am a 23 years old and I was born in Makassar, Indonesia. When I was in elementary school, I have familiar with computer and understood how to use it. At the end year of senior high school, I was really fascinated to continuing my study in university and learn about information technology. Now I have achieved my bachelor degree in informatics engineering at Maulana Malik Ibrahim State Islamic University of Malang with GPA of 3.51/4.0. My undergraduate thesis research is about network forensics with the title "Network Log Investigation to Detect Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Attack Using General Regression Neural Network".

I am so interested in mastering cyber security but sadly there is less institution in Indonesia that provide the course. Hence, I am trying to apply for a master's program in security and information assurance at King Fahd University and Petroleum and Minerals. During in university, I was really enjoyed some subjects like computer network, distributed system and security, and artificial intelligence. To more apprehend these subjects, I was joined study club in department of Informatics Engineering, like Eth0 which learn about computer network and security, UINBuntu which learn about Linux and open source. In UINBuntu, I was mandated to be the one of stakeholders and have some chances be a speaker for the workshop routine with other members. In addition, I was ever attended in some seminars about cyber security, one of them is "Unmask Cyber Crime" that held by Surabaya Hacker Link and Surabaya City Government. The speaker is one of the persons that I admire, he is Ir. Onno W Purbo, M.Eng. Ph.D, a network security expert from Indonesia. Because I combined network forensics and artificial intelligence in my undergraduate thesis research, I tried to join machine learning class in one month that certified by the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology of Indonesia with its Digital Talent Scholarship program. By these experiences, I could finished my research and helped me comprehend better about information technology, especially in cyber security field.

In the master's program, I plan to take subjects like special topics in information assurance & security, computer and network forensics, security in wireless network, wireless and personal communications, and mobile computing and wireless network. By studying these courses, my desire is to develop my previous research by making a real-time system that can detect various attack in network with still implementing artificial intelligence as the core. Accordingly, if it is realized, I am sure that cyber crime cases will be drop gradually.

Studying in King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals is once in a lifetime opportunity for me to learn deeply about my field of study as well as serving as a bridge to realize my future goals. Based on Saudi Vision 2030, I'm very sure that the Kingdom has definitely occupied an absolute world leading position in the field of information technology. I love the environment, culture, people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and I wish the good facilities and high quality lecturers in the university will help me immensely in the achievement of remarkable progress, fulfilling my aspiration to become an accomplished professional in the field of security and information assurance.

I am a 23 years old
have am familiar with computer
At the end last year of senior high school
I was really fascinated to continue (not sure about this one, tho)

Those are couples of things I think should be changed in first paragraph. I am sure other people will add more. Good luck in your study.

@emailbr

Thanks in advance!

Please write a totally new statement of purpose. What you have written above is an autobiography of your academic accomplishments and participation. Which is not the required information for the statement of purpose. The statement of purpose needs to present a logical and career related reason for your desire to study this masters course. This essay does not provide that explanation. However, there are points that you can use to create a new version of this essay. You must use:

- Saudi Vision 2030 in relation to the development of security technology in your line of work. This will be the purpose for your application.
- My undergraduate thesis research ...(DDoS) Attack Using General Regression Neural Network". This will prove your research background and ability which is an important skill to have as a masters student.

- An explanation of your current professional position and how the course relates to the progression of your career. Relate these to the Saudi 2030 Vision program.

- I was ever attended in some seminars ... Surabaya City Government.

The idea is to prove to the reviewer that you have the theoretical and / or practical foundation in Security Information that has prepared you to undertake this course. You also need a definite purpose for your line of study. If you can relate one of the 2030 Vision programs with your career and academic goals, then your essay will be more purposeful in presentation and actually showcase a career direction for you that will benefit from these advanced, additional studies.

If that professor will not be writing a recommendation letter for you, do not mention his name. It will not help your application. You did not intern with him. You only attended a seminar, which simply makes you are only one of the many whom he taught that day. That does not heighten the profile of your application. Additionally, you mentioned that you tried to attend additional seminars / training. Tried to and actually attended are two different things. If you try, that means you did not qualify for the seminar or training, which means you are not prepared to attend an advanced masters course. Never use words that show uncertainty or a lack of preparedness. That will be negative considerations for your application.

Do not enumerate all the subjects that you took. Just focus on highlighting your participation in current training programs and seminars. Since you need to have at least 2 years work experience for this type of masters course, most of the consideration for your application will be on the actual usefulness of the course within your workplace setting. Therefore, you must indicate more recent training in relation to the course.