Personal Statement

Statement of purpose : des exemples inspirants

Statement of purpose : des exemples inspirants

Un statement of purpose - aussi appelé personal statement - est une lettre de motivation généralement demandée par les universités anglophones pour postuler dans leurs programmes graduates. Doivent y figurer les motivations et intérêts du candidat pour le master envisagé. Découvrez dans ce billet quelques exemples de statements of purpose efficaces pour convaincre le jury d’admission.
statement of purpose exemples
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Qu’est-ce qu’un statement of purpose ?

Comme son nom l’indique, le statement of purpose est un essai visant à expliquer les raisons pour lesquelles vous postulez à un programme particulier dans une université. Vous devez montrer qui vous êtes, ce que vous voulez accomplir et comment le master visé va vous permettre d’atteindre vos objectifs.

Ce document est important pour les jurys d’admission des universités. Il doit permettre de cerner votre personnalité et vos motivations pour la carrière que vous envisagez.


Statement of purpose : exemple 1

As a child born and raised in Delhi, India, I never questioned the idea of my present life being a reflection of my actions from past lifetimes. The ideology of karma, endemic to Indian society, emphasizes that everything in our lives – from the amount of wealth we possess to the sickness we suffer from – is a consequence of our prior actions. However, I began to question/doubt this belief when I chose a biology-focused curriculum in high school and learned about inherited traits, gene function, expression and regulation. Is sickness really an outcome of karma? In the battle between genes and karma, who wins the right to determine a person’s fate? Or is fate a culmination of both karmic and genetic influences? In the case of identical twins, what dictates which one of the two battles cancer and which one will struggle to survive calculus? If it is purely genetic, then what factors are responsible for these life-transforming differences? What genes and pathways are being affected? At what stage of development are these genes being turned on or off? My desire to answer these questions furthered my desire to pursue biology in college so I could better understand the mechanisms that regulate DNA replication, RNA transcription, and protein synthesis; how this varies in different organisms and how it relates to human diseases.

At Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) I have engaged in rigorous coursework in zoology and botany, and also in physics, chemistry, philosophy, humanities, mathematics and psychology. As a freshman, I enrolled in a Plant Signal Transduction honors research tutorial that focused on fundamental molecular mechanisms that govern a plant’s response to its environment. I assisted an upperclassman with data collection and eventually assumed responsibility for the project, thus reinforcing my conviction and desire to pursue research in biological sciences. The undergraduate courses and associated lab work have enabled me to master a variety of techniques such as plasmid purification, transfection, northern blots, HPLC, NMR, growth media and buffer preparations etc. I have used many of these skills in other research projects that I have been involved in throughout my undergraduate career.

In my junior year, I worked in Dr. Danielle Hamill’s lab on a project that focused on studying cell division and early developmental processes particularly in Caenorhabditis elegans. We characterized cell division mutants using molecular and genetic analyses to investigate the parental contributions to this phenotype. Since the process of cell division is highly conserved across most organisms, this study will help understand this process in other similar organisms as well. Though I began with a basic understanding of the project, reading journal articles throughout the year increased my knowledge of developmental processes (signaling mechanisms) and also helped me overcome several experimental problems that we encountered. This project required me to use several advanced microscopy techniques, such as confocal, fluorescence and DIC to visualize whole worms, dividing embryos, spindle formation in cells etc.

For the past two summers, I have contributed to a research project in Dr. Chris Wolverton’s lab. Our goal has been to examine the relationship between Phosphate (Pi) availability and lateral root gravitropism by quantitatively studying the effects of low Pi concentrations on lateral root architecture of wild-type (WT) and mutants PHT1:1 and PHT1:4 (Pi transporter genes) seedlings of Arabidopsis thaliana. In previous studies we observed that WT seedlings grown on low-Pi medium exhibited an increased gravitropic response. Our results were consistent with our hypothesis that the gravitropic response of both mutants grown in normal Pi medium will be similar to that of WT seedlings grown in low-Pi medium. Understanding this relationship, will allow us to select for plants that have higher productivity and require fewer fertilizer inputs. As part of the project, I used techniques, such as PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction), RT-PCR, gel electrophoresis, automated image analysis, confocal microscopy, time-lapse photography etc. At the end of summer, I presented a poster at the research symposium, summarizing my results from the 10-week program. I also presented my results in a poster session at the Mid-western section meeting of ASPB (American Society of Plant Biologists). Under the guidance of Dr. Wolverton and a former OWU student, I am currently in the process of finishing up the project and documenting results that will be included in a paper that will be submitted for publication. While these experiences reaffirmed my interest in research, the Cell and Molecular Biology course helped me identify a more focused area of research. This course highlighted questions related to molecular mechanisms of eukaryotic cellular physiology. Some of the topics covered included protein structure and regulation; signal transduction; and cellular mechanisms leading to tumorigenesis. I mastered techniques such as SDS page, Northern blot, Nanodrop and Microplate spectroscopy. A very valuable experience in this class was learning to write an NIH-style grant proposal. While I wasn’t able to actually carry out the experiments, I developed a research project that focused on abnormal activation of Wnt signaling pathways and its tumorigenic effects and wrote a grant proposal to examine the interaction between Smo and Ptch proteins in this pathway. In order to design my own experiments and write a thorough and convincing proposal, I read through numerous journal articles that related the concepts we learned in class to current areas of research. Since writing grant proposals will be an integral part of my future career, this training was very useful. The course’s focus on signal transduction pathways and tumorigenesis propelled me in the direction of cancer research.

My education and research experience at OWU have prepared me for a graduate program in ___. There are many faculty members at ____ University doing research I find fascinating. For example, I am very interested in Dr. Lorainne Santy’s research on the role of GTPases in epithelial cell mobility and metastasis. The project uses many techniques that I am well acquainted with including Western Blot, transduction and transfection among others. The Santy lab’s focus on signaling mechanisms affecting cell motility is very much in line with the type of cancer research I would like to do. I want to focus on identifying novel anticancer drug targets by examining cell signaling dysfunctionalities in tumor development and translating these findings into potent therapeutics. My decision to apply to Ph.D. programs stems from my career goal of becoming an independent investigator in the field of translational cancer research. In addition to research, I am committed to having a career that enables me to mentor and lead a group of aspiring graduate level researchers. I believe that the education and opportunities that I will get as a research or teaching assistant will prepare me to successfully fulfill my career goals.

Statement of purpose du site templatelab

Ce statement of purpose laisse apercevoir les origines et le mode de pensée de son auteur. En établissant directement qu’il vient d’Inde et qu’il croit au karma, il montre au jury d’admission qui il est.

La force de ce statement of purpose tient également au fait que le candidat justifie son choix de master à la lumière de ses expériences passées. Il décrit précisément les projets de recherche auxquels il a pris part et ce qu’il en a appris. Il montre ainsi clairement sa passion pour la génétique et l’étendue de ses connaissances sur le sujet.

Son texte se conclut sur ses projets et objectifs professionnels. En indiquant de manière spécifique ce qu’il veut accomplir dans sa carrière, il explique aussi en quoi le master qu’il vise va lui permettre d’atteindre son but. Il se montre ambitieux en décrivant précisément ce qu’il veut faire : le jury d’admission peut voir qu’il a déjà réfléchi aux prochaines étapes de son parcours académique, à savoir le doctorat et le tutorat.


Statement of purpose : exemple 2

When your brother has cerebral palsy, you find yourself asking “why?” a lot. Why does he have it? Why is it harder for him to walk than it is for me? Why do people stare at him when he’s a perfectly typical kid?

All these “whys” in my childhood sent my 10-year-old self into medical journals, encyclopedias, Google searches, and interrogations with my pediatrician. Only when I was in high school did I learn that “why” was the wrong question. Learning why something happens is only part of solving a problem. To solve the rest, you need a “what” and a “how.” What can I do to make my brother’s life easier? What can the doctors do to make him feel more successful in his daily life? And how can I contribute to the medical field to ensure that fewer children feel different from their peers?

Learning more about medicine only inspires me to dig even deeper. My pre-med research at Michigan State stoked my curiosity further, tantalizing me with possibilities and hypotheses and questions, always more questions. The interconnectedness of the vascular system is like a maze where I never meet a dead end. Spending time in maternity wards, interning with SLPs in elderly care facilities, and tutoring children on the autism spectrum connects my fascination with medicine to the real-world people who don’t need a textbook to define what they are feeling.

I always knew that Johns Hopkins School of Medicine set the standard for medical research and patient care, but after learning more about its Biomedical Engineering program, it became my mission to earn a place in its admissions. After touring the campus and the school’s state-of-the-art facilities, I felt like I was home. It seemed that the “why” in my life really began to matter again, as no scientific study can exist without that innate curiosity. I admire Johns Hopkins’ standard of excellence and the luminary careers of its alumni, particularly Dr. Edwin Gruber – who has become a personal hero of mine. His belief in the role of medical research for genetic conditions has influenced every moment of my study.

My brother is my favorite person in the world, and I wouldn’t change one thing about him. But if there were a way to make his day brighter and his life easier, I’d spend my entire career learning how – which is what I hope to do at Johns Hopkins. It would be my honor to walk the halls of lifesavers who have come before me, and to one day call myself a member of the school’s prestigious alumni.

Statement of purpose du site yourdictionary

L’originalité de ce statement of purpose tient sur le fait que son auteur ne s’appesantit pas sur son parcours académique ni sur ses expériences et réussites antérieures. Ces éléments sont en effet déjà contenus dans son dossier de candidature. La lettre de motivation doit apporter des éléments nouveaux au jury d’admission.

Ici, le candidat s’attache à expliquer sa passion pour la médecine et l’événement particulier qui l’a poussé à entreprendre des études médicales : la maladie de son frère. Il explique également la place importante que tient l’université qu’il a choisie à ses yeux. En citant un ancien étudiant et en montrant son admiration pour ses travaux, il montre qu’il a un réel attrait pour cet établissement particulier.


Statement of purpose : exemple 3

When I came to college I wanted to be a doctor. I was going to study biology, pick up a second major along the way, and go to medical school to become a rural practitioner. I soon realized that I was suffering from my own version of « Med. Student Syndrome. » I did not think that I was sick, but I did realize that I was obviously delusional. I realized that I did not have the burning desire to become a medical doctor. The profession did not interest me; it was my perception of the profession that had caught my fancy. Luckily, by then I had begun to study psychology, so I understood what a good delusion was like.

As I studied psychology more and more, I found what excites me most of all were the investigation, dissection and understanding of problems that I saw around me in the world. I found psychology courses stimulated me to think and explore my world as I took courses in development, psychopathology, personality and behavior analysis. Dr. XXXX’s behavior analysis classes gave me good critical and analytic skills through our repeated analyses, discussion and practice of both basic and complex behavioral principles.

I received research training with XXX, Ph.D. while working on an autism and social behaviors study, and with XXX, Ph.D. while writing an honors thesis and subsequent poster presentation. My work with Dr. XXX helped me develop my observational skills and learn to classify and define abstract descriptors into concrete variables. In my honors research, I started with a broad question, wondering whether young adults’ substance use behaviors were related to both sensation seeking and their friendships and if so how. Once I narrowed my ideas, collected and analyzed the data, I had to deal with the frustration of getting results that did not support the hypotheses. I did more data collection and analyses for a poster presentation at the Society for Prevention Research annual conference, and in post-hoc analyses I found that while I had studied the sample as a whole, males and females had different predictors of alcohol use. Even though I hadn’t supported my original hypotheses, this gave me ideas as to why. One of my favorite biology professors used to say that advances in science are often made by proving something does not exist, something I learned well through my research.

I am currently volunteering for a year in Fairbanks, Alaska, through the Jesuit Volunteer Corps at a parenting resource center. I work in Family Preservation Services with families whose children have been in state custody trying to keep the families together. It’s difficult work; I see kids every day who are very young but who have already had pretty tough lives. Many of these children could be case studies of multiple risk factors. As some here have put it, they are « damaged. » My work here has really driven my thinking about how abuse, divorce, and familial discord interact to affect children in their social interactions, their view of themselves and the world, and the future predicted for them.

Through my undergraduate research, including my honors thesis, I was introduced to the issues surrounding adolescent substance use. I found myself very interested in both the specific issues of adolescent substance use and the ideas of how an adolescent’s context, whether it is familial, environmental or peer, could affect the adolescent’s life. I would like to find ways to help kids like those I work with have more promising lives. I am interested in studying child and adolescent mental health, particularly issues of substance use, risk and resilience, pathology and aggression, and how social and family context affects each of these issues. Essentially I am interested in ways in which we can make growing up less difficult, particularly for high-risk kids.

I see myself spending my career primarily in research and teaching. I see it as crucial to have research that is well informed by clinical practice, and clinical practice well grounded in research. I also see it as necessary to ensure that research is properly disseminated, and that under-served areas gain increased attention as targets of study and clinical practice assistance. For example, most of Alaska does not have a strong university presence, and I believe that the social service programs here suffer from not being up to speed on the latest in clinical developments. I’d like to develop prevention programs and interventions to help address what I choose to specialize in, and a position as a university professor would be the ideal way to achieve this goal. Further, I am very attracted by the prospect of teaching and mentoring college students about what I love.

I decided to apply to XXX University for several reasons. I am attracted to XXX University by the strong emphasis on research and methodology. Particularly, the strong preventive focus of the Child Clinical area of emphasis is one that meshes well with what I am looking for in a program. In researching XXX University, the work of Drs. XXX and XXX particularly piqued my interest. I worked with XXX at XXX University, who exposed me to much of Dr. XXX’s work on children of alcoholics. I would be interested in further pursuing work in risk factors for substance abuse, particularly looking at how familial and social context affect risk behaviors. Dr. XXX’ research in risk and resilience and her prevention work with high risk adolescents is very much what I am interested in doing, as I not only have research experience but the clinical work with similar populations to what Dr. XXX’ is working with.

The Clinical Psychology program at XXX University has everything I am looking for in a program, just as I feel I have what XXX University should be looking for in an incoming student. I would be very excited to join the incoming class at the XXX University for 2000. I feel I am well prepared to enter graduate study, and my strong motivation and career goals are a good match for what XXX has to offer.

Statement of purpose du site templatelab

Ce statement of purpose est solide grâce au projet professionnel bien établi de son auteur. Intéressé par la psychologie et notamment la dépendance aux substances, le candidat explique comment lui est venue sa volonté de travailler pour la santé mentale des adolescents. Il va plus loin en décrivant précisément ce qu’il souhaite accomplir dans sa vie professionnelle : enseigner et conduire des recherches.

Il cite plusieurs raisons pour lesquelles il souhaite intégrer cette université particulière et pourquoi le programme lui plaît tant. Il n’hésite pas à citer les travaux de recherche de plusieurs professeurs et montre ainsi qu’il s’est renseigné sur l’institution et ceux qui y travaillent, ce qui constitue un point fort de son statement of purpose.


Pour conclure sur le statement of purpose

Le statement of purpose est un document crucial dans votre dossier de candidature en master. Les universités étrangères y accordent beaucoup d’importance. Vous ne parvenez pas à écrire le vôtre ? Les experts de Caravelle Academy vous proposent un accompagnement sur-mesure pour vous guider dans la rédaction de votre lettre de motivation en anglais.

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