Sample SOP for MS in Computer Science in the US

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

"If you are not willing to learn, no one can help you. If you are determined to learn, no one can stop you."

Technology has always stood the test of time. A career in a technological field offers many growth opportunities. The way computing has made it easy for the business world to operate shows that computer science professionals do not have to remain idle.

Right from my childhood, my father gave me an advice saying, "The moment you stop learning is the moment you stop leading", and I have been striving to learn new things that may be straightforward or subtle. I have realized that the upgrading technology of today's world needs an efficient skill set not only in the technical field but also in the functional field. I have chosen to progress further with my academics. Practical exposure to the IT industry helped me in understanding the need for dexterity in technical and business fields. In fact, this has spurred me towards higher education in a country like United States that has excelled in the field of science and technology.

I introduce myself as [APPLICANT NAME], currently working as software engineer at [COMPANY NAME]. My academic and professional trajectory so far has been interesting, inspiring, and engaging, which has served my interests while opening the doors to a vast spectrum of prospects for me.

I have always maintained a consistent track record throughout my career till date. Ten years of rigorous schooling has helped me gain a strong foundation in Mathematics and Sciences that helped me develop scientific temper and forced me to choose mathematics and physics as my main course where I successfully graduated with 9.8 CGPA in class 10th and with 97.5 percent in my 12th.

After completing my matriculation with my persistent and diligent efforts, I managed to procure admission in esteemed [UNIVERSITY NAME], a premier institute of learning in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. My interest in technology had me opting for M.Tech 5-year Integrated Software Engineering, a dual degree program which was very intriguing with an amalgamation of computer science and software engineering where I gained knowledge about various disciplines that built my repertoire of knowledge and graduated with a CGPA of 8.80.

It was in my first semester when I was formally introduced to the field of computer science although I've had basic knowledge in programming right from my schooling. I always had a perpetuated passion towards coding and took vital subjects like Computer Organization, Object Oriented Programming, Programming in Java and Data Structures, Operating Systems, Computer Networks as a part of my curriculum. This enthusiasm has helped me in securing good grades in these. The initial programming concepts gained my attention and I developed a profound interest in it in no time. It was my passion in it which made me work seriously on my programming skills.

While the lectures backed me with strong theoretical knowledge, my academic projects had me apply that knowledge to derive effective results. During my academic years at my University, I worked on Skin Disease Data Analytics using Naïve Bayes algorithm and support vector machine algorithm, Deploying online games using Amazon Web Services, Web user Analytics using page rank algorithm and parallel processing techniques for my academic project. I received certifications for completing [COMPANY NAME] virtual Internship, [COMPANY NAME] Data Science and ML with Python Cognitive Class and [PLATFORM NAME] Object Oriented Programming with Java. I have qualified for round 2 in year 2020 [ORGANIZATION NAME] Hackathon hack for cause event and received silver accolade. Also, I participated in [COMPANY NAME] All India Technotsav Hackathon in the year 2020 where I qualified to round 3.

I believe a balance between academics and extra-curricular activities is essential for grooming a student into a well-rounded individual. In order to assimilate qualities like leadership, teamwork and time management, which are highly essential to challenge the corporate world, I ensured that I involved myself in various extra-curricular activities. I was the Event Organizer for the Technical Conference [CONFERENCE NAME] conducted in our university organized by School of Information Technology in the year 2020 and worked as volunteer in [NGO NAME] for empowering rural India with digital education and visited local rural schools and interacted with students in emphasis on digitalized education. All these activities have given me the confidence and inspiration to actively participate in the process of acquiring and sharing knowledge. Utilizing the opportunities that I got being in such leading positions, I developed my people management and communication skills that complement my technical abilities.

The passion and determination to hone my leadership skills helped me in achieving multiple job offers even before my graduation. My employment during my final year CO-OP as an Associate Software Engineer Trainee in [COMPANY NAME], a startup where group of health care IT practitioners coming together with shared vision in developing scalable solutions in pharmacovigilance, demonstrates my overall aptitude. My role in [COMPANY NAME] was to develop RESTful backend web APIs using Spring Boot where I worked on a medical coding dictionary project from scratch till the production by comprehending the clients' requirements. In this project I got accustomed with Frontend API Integration, Spring Boot Rest APIs, PostgreSQL, Oracle SQL, Deployments in Server and unit testing with APIs. Immediately after my graduation, I have started working in [COMPANY NAME] India as full time Software Engineer [PGET], currently working in planning and manufacturing department which is responsible for providing IT solutions for predictive maintenance. I have been involved in multiple projects in creating REST APIs using Python Flask and Fast API for dashboards created in PowerBI which are integrated in Frontend.

I have good knowledge in Java and Python programming which I have acquired during my under graduation. I learned many backend frameworks such as Spring MVC, Spring Boot, Flask, Fast API and Django and have wide exposure to databases such as Postgres, MySQL, Oracle SQL and frontend frameworks such as ReactJS. Also, I am currently working with Node-RED, a popular tool used for IoT development. I have always been striving hard on developing with the known knowledge and analyzing myself to get introduced to the new and updated skills. This helped me to put myself on a dynamic learning curve with experience on cutting edge technologies.

On a desire of pursuing a master's degree from a reputed university with great assistance of faculty and chances of self-exploration made my way to [UNIVERSITY NAME]. Computer Science program is best suited to my area of interest. I could combine my practical knowledge in the subject abreast of the latest developments. Along with practical experience, this would also assist me in gaining a high benchmark of proficiency in this field. This esteemed program will help me get hands-on training focusing on current issues and real-life challenges, being a highly interactive course with industry-oriented exposure. I've always led my life in pursuit of knowledge which is primarily why I am choosing to pursue masters again.

Furthermore, being part of your University learning under the top-notch faculties, robust curriculum, promising facilities, incredible cultural and academic atmosphere of renowned researchers in this field will help me fulfill my ambition. My purpose is to be a significant figure in my field of computer science. For me, this program is a long-term investment in my career goals.

As I was evaluating my prospects for the similar programs offered by many universities across the globe, the curriculum of [UNIVERSITY NAME] instantly caught my eye. It aligns perfectly with my aspirations, with disciplines encompassing a mix of theory and practice that will only add to my understanding. I am particularly interested in working under the guidance of [PROFESSOR NAME] and [PROFESSOR NAME] whose research and experience will help me gain a broader perspective of the concepts at hand. I wanted to start my education at a world-class university like [UNIVERSITY NAME] which is fully equipped with my desired attributes.

If given the opportunity, I am confident that I will uphold the academic excellence of the department with my capabilities and diligence. I sincerely hope the admissions committee will share my confidence and give me the privilege of continuing with my studies at this esteemed institute.

[APPLICANT NAME]