SOP Sample for MS in Computer Science in USA

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

One technological revolution that I have personally lived and grown up with, out of the flurry of inventions that dawned on the world, that led me to choose my stream is the computer. The first of its kind that surpassed the accuracy and intelligence possessed by humans! It came about to be a close friend of mine ever since I was a child. I was enthralled by the nitty-gritty of this creation and was intrigued by the way it functioned. This curiosity took form during the later years of my high school when I was first introduced to the magic that caused the machine to perform—"Programming", and then, there was no turning back. Fast forward to today, I am a computer science undergrad who is comfortable in building projects in advanced computer science fields like AI and Machine learning and I believe I can make significant contributions to the ongoing research in these fields.

Wanting to know the 'how' behind technological marvels led me to pursue computer science as my major in undergraduate studies at [UNIVERSITY_1]. I am thankful to my university for highly emphasizing practical learning and research, motivating us to take up real-time projects every semester, and incorporating AI and ML as core subjects in our curriculum. Many of my professors were working on several research projects in various fields of computer science and hence I got excellent knowledge, motivation, and guidance from them throughout my undergrad journey. The computer science workshops conducted every Thursday in my university further allowed me to meet some genius minds in the field of AI and ML research and this allowed me to decide upon my projects.

In the first year, I and my team built an Android app for 3D-Face identification to suggest suitable haircuts for both men and women by using OpenCV, Google face vision, Python, and Android Studio. This was the time when I realized my passion for AI and ML and felt motivated to take up projects in the same field for the following semesters too. I built a web app that I named "Planton" during my second year. The main objective of this project was to help farmers to detect diseases in tomato plants such as "Early blight", "Late Blight" and "Leaf mold" by using the strategies of deep learning and CNN classifiers. After the successful completion of this project, I was amazed by how one's computer science skills can be practically implemented to help people working in various industries and upbring the society.

During the third year, I worked on a research project on "Side Face Recognition Using GAN Model". We addressed the problem of recognizing faces from a side angle perspective by the surveillance cameras. Apart from my deep interests in AI, I also discovered my passion for cryptography and network security when I took this subject as an elective. I used the skills gained during these classes to work on my major capstone project, an e-voting system, during the final year along with my teammate. A combination of visual cryptography and steganographic techniques was implemented in this project to provide security to election and voter data. This project came out as an interactive and user-friendly e-voting platform that any common man can use.

At [COMPANY_1], I worked as an AI & Deep Learning Research Intern. I and my team worked on a research project to build a lightweight platform that could help visually challenged people to walk safely on Indian roads by detecting stray animals using deep learning techniques. We worked hard to create our custom dataset that had approximately 50,000 images and 30,000 annotations of commonly found animals on the streets. All the images were captured and annotated manually by us. The completion of this internship gave me a great sense of satisfaction that I could use my skills learned to help protect blind people.

During lockdown due to the pandemic, I had to return to my home from university. Those days, I was eager to help my father's company with the knowledge I gained from my major. The company needed an online presence, so I took up some online courses to develop my skills in full-stack web development and built a commercial website for the company.

As I came near the culmination of my undergraduate journey, I found myself drawn inextricably towards exploring the intricacies of computer science. The power of technology is mindboggling, which will direct the way things are done in the future. My academic pursuits, projects, and internship experiences have given me first-hand exposure to the immense possibilities in this realm, and I wish to gain expertise in this exciting domain. I've been fascinated with computers and software since I was a youngster. To solidify my passion, I believe that a master's degree in computer science is an ideal choice. Through this degree, I intend to gain an extensive understanding of the art of computation and algorithmic problem-solving.

I am excited to upholster my knowledge base and skill set to be a learned professional in the years to come and add to the sphere of innovation and change. Post MS, I wish to work as an AI engineer and handle projects related to AI and machine learning.

Furthermore, the course curriculum at your university incorporates practical learning with research projects that focus on the current computer science technology needs, which would help me to expand my knowledge and contribute my part to society. Out of the many universities offering similar programs globally, I am particularly interested in exploring the curriculum provided by [UNIVERSITY_2]. The course structure is designed to provide a perfect amalgam of theory and practice, with modules that focus on meeting the current industry trends. [UNIVERSITY_2], offering innumerable growth prospects, state-of-the-art resources, and a diverse environment to thrive in is an epicenter of innovation and growth, making it an ideal destination for my aspirations to take flight. I am confident that attaining higher education from your esteemed university will provide me with the necessary skills to contribute to your computer science research department.

I bring with me a zeal for innovation, a zest for meeting challenges, and a strong background in computer science. The credibility, knowledge, and confidence that I would be gaining out of a master's degree from [UNIVERSITY_2] are all I aspire to mark my journey in the futuristic computer science domain.