PhD app-'statement of research interest'

TheNibbler

Have found a funded PhD that I am really interested in and have decided to apply.Not much time to get my application together as the deadline is next week.

They ask candidates to submit a CV, cover letter and a statement of research interests. Fine with the first two but not sure what to put in the statement! Have done a lot of googling but have found it difficult to find anything that seems relevant.

I have started trying to cobble something together but am finding it hard to get the right tone. How personal should it be? Should it be me writing about what types of topics I'm interested in and why or more of a focus on my past research experience and what I would hope to achieve if awarded the PhD? Or a combination of both?!

Also finding it a little hard to differentiate between what should go in the cover letter as opposed to the statement. In previous cover letters I've written the usual stuff about past experience, why I'm suitable for the job, bit about future plans. Now I'm not sure if some of that past experience and future plans stuff would be more suited to the statement?

Quite confused, any advice welcome! Or if anyone knows where on the web you can get examples of statements of research interest?

Thanks

Ravelleman

In the cover letter I would talk about your personal qualities, what you would bring to the programme and what you seek from it.

In the statement I would talk about the areas of research that I find interesting, what I see as the important issues in the field, the topics that I would most like to work on in the future. From the perspective of the department that is awarding the PhD, I imagine that they want to find someone that is genuinely interested and has their own ideas; someone that would be a pleasure to work with rather than a horrific leech with no original thoughts that they have to endure for 3-4 years. Doing a PhD is a step above anything else in college - you'll have much more personal contact with people in the department and sharing ideas about research is part of that.

I would write the proposal in any style that allows you to convey your interest and ability well. No one will want to read a cold analysis of a recent publication or whatever. You can use clear, purposeful language while still sounding like yourself. Ideally it would read similarly to a conversation with the candidate, albeit with the limitations of the written form.

The topic of the PhD is already established, right?

That's how I work and it is quite successful for me but you may find that an alternative is better.

TheNibbler

Ravelleman wrote: »

The topic of the PhD is already established, right?

Thanks for our advice.

Yes the topic is established, and there is quite a lot of detail in the advertisement on the types of strategies they think should be used to answer the research question. Makes it a bit difficult to add ideas of my own as they have covered so much but will have to try and come up with something in the next week! As it's such a specific topic it seems difficult to come up with suggestions that they will value as they are the experts in the field and I, while I do have some experience in the area and have done an MSc in the general area, do not have the level of specific knowledge that they do.

I have worked with the secondary supervisor previously when doing my MSc so hopefully he'll know I'm able to work within a team and contribute something useful to the larger project of which this PhD is a part.