SOP sample: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering for MIT
My career goal is to be come a research scientist and exploit the tools of Information technology for the benefit of Civil Engineers. I have chosen this stream as it satisfies my desire to create and to innovate. Recent technological advancements have made it possible to communicate with unprecedented accuracy and rapidity. I want to equip myself with the knowledge of application of information and communications technology to engineering design processes, decision making, information management, and modeling and simulation of complex large -scale systems. Hence, I want to pursue studies in the field of Information Technology.
To achieve my career objective my immediate degree requirement is Master of Science (SM) in the field of Information Technology. I wish to follow it up with a PhD to pursue a career in research. Thus, I have applied for both SM and PhD in IT at MIT. I have received one of the best undergraduate education in Civil Engineering in India at Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee. I was ranked among the top 0.1% of around 1 lakh students who wrote the Roorkee Entrance Exam for admission to it’s undergraduate program. The undergraduate curriculum introduced me to a gamut of subjects laying a strong foundation in Civil Engineering. The desire to innovate persuaded me to undertake a summer project towards the end of my sophomore year. I, along with my project partner, developed a software on engineering surveys under the guidance of Dr. P. K. Garg that was awarded the best civil engineering project under “Summer Undergraduate Research Award” (SURA) scheme. The software processes the raw field surveying data into meaningful results that can be graphically displayed for better understanding. It can also be used for classroom teaching and practical exercises to improve the understanding of the subject “Surveying”. The idea, to do so, impinged my mind when during our practical sessions, after having done field surveying, we would show the results after a week’s time owing to the complex error adjustments and corrections involved in the calculation part. Hence, we decided to create a software to take care of the calculation part and save time in the process. The software was also used in a surveying camp at Haridwar, India during my junior year wherein a topographical map of the region on a scale of 1:50000 was developed using surveying instruments like the Vernier The odolite and the Total Station.
My interest in software programming and Information Technology brought me to the National Informatics Centre, India, towards the end of my junior year where I was in the team of summer interns who developed a Geographical Information System (GIS) software on vehicular tracking system and hazard risk management. The software encompasses all the tools to facilitate the administration in case of an accidental gas leakage, floods, fire and other such calamities. Here, I got acquainted with the use of GIS tools in analyzing spatial data for planning and management. I also undertook a project under the guidance of Dr. K. S. Rao at Centre for Studies in Resource Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, India. We worked together to study the technique of Along Track SAR
Interferometry, which largely lies unexploited in India. The emphasis was on the derivation of the mathematical formulae and on the understanding of the physics behind it. A sincere effort was made to highlight the application part as well, especially, with regards to moving target detection and shoreline modeling. My paper presentations and publications further highlight my interest in the field of IT. The research paper titled “Development of Software for Engineering Surveys” presented at Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi was awarded the third prize in a national level technical contest. The research paper has been confirmed for publication in the July 2004 issue of the Indian Surveying Journal.
Throughout my school and undergraduate education, I have been a keen participant in extra-curricular activities. I am interested in debating and have won several debate competitions. Getting elected as the class representative helped me hone my organizational and interpersonal skills. I have been involved in the organization of the annual technical festival named “COGNIZANCE” in my capacity as the Convener, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee. It has helped me perfect my managerial skills. I have actively taken part in musical performances and made my contributions to the IIT Roorkee Music Section, as its member. On the sports front, I have been the member of the winning
basketball, table tennis and billiards team on vari ous occasions. I am against cruelty to animals and strongly feel for the cause of nature. Also, I am a firm believer in the concept of a unified world and one nation. An extremely distinguished faculty, a milieu replete with academic activity, and a graduate program which blends high quality course work and research facilities at the cutting edge of every sub-field are the factors which have motivated me to opt for Massachusetts Institute of Technology for graduate studies. I believe that the program offered will help me acquire the versatility needed to reach my full potential as a thorough professional.
It would, therefore, be a privilege to pursue graduate studies with adequate financial assistance at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. I am confident that I will match the high standards set by your university.
