sample STATEMENT OF PURPOSE Computer Science,

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE  Computer Science

My undergraduate studies in the department of computer Science and Engg at **** have exposed me to a stimulating academic environment where learning and research go together. Through the many opportunities I have had here. I have grown to love research work and have found that I have a strong aptitude for the kind of work that it involves. I have therefore decided to pursue active research as a career. It is with this objective in mind that I wish to enroll for the doctoral program in your university.

I plan to study at the graduate level in the area of distributed computing, specifically the theory of asynchronous systems. I believe that theory and application in Computer Science go hand-in-hand. The study of theoretical aspects of distributed systems is essential for the successful development of applications for heterogeneous and fault-tolerant systems. The possibilities of research in this field fascinate me.

Recent research in the theory of asynchronous computation has yielded theorems describing the computability of tasks in asynchronous systems that can tolerate multiple failures. Attempts are also being made to completely characterize the power of various synchronization primitives in an asynchronous system. As part of my B.Tech project (senior thesis) under Dr. yyy I am currently working on extending these results to stronger synchronization primitives and exploring the possibility of utilizing some of these ideas to completely describe the power of concurrent objects. To further my understanding of these problems I have also enrolled myself for the graduate level course, { Foundations of Parallel Computation} under Dr. yyy.

I have excelled in academics at every step in my education. Throughout twelve years of schooling I have always been ranked among the top of my class. I was introduced to Computer Science in junior college. I was awarded the Merit Certificate for my performance in the All India Senior School Certificate Examination - 100\% in Computer Science, 99\% in Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry. I was also placed seventh in the state wide Physics Talent Test of the Physics Society, Madras. In the highly competitive entrance examination to the *** I was ranked 134th among over 100,000 students. The broad curriculum at **** provided me with a strong foundation in all branches of Computer Science. Of these I have pursued those, which have particularly appealed to me. During the summer of 1994, I worked on a `learning’ program for the gam {Othello} using Neural Nets that I had initially developed as part of my course work. For my seminar (junior thesis) I studied {smart recompilation and incremental parsing techniques} under Dr. yyy. Efficient implementation of these techniques can substantially reduce compilation time in large software systems.

I have also gained considerable teaching experience in ****. I have been a course assistant for the Institute level freshman course, Computer Programming and Utilization for two consecutive years. I have also delivered lectures and given demonstrations on UNIX at various workshops conducted by the Computer Science and Engg. Association. All of these have been well received and have made me confident of developing into a very good teacher. I have also taken the Test for Spoken English in November 1995 . I have worked for two months at ARCUS, Bangalore, and a company that develops VLSI tools and also for Rational, USA at their third party development centre in Bangalore.

My undergraduate program has given me sufficient exposure to various avenues for research and I have chosen Distributed Computing for which I have both an aptitude and a liking. A good graduate program is now essential for gaining a deeper insight and to make significant original contributions to this field. I am confident that I possess the motivation, intellectual ability and preparation to succeed in a demanding graduate program.

My interest in the theory of distributed computing makes UCLA a natural choice for graduate study. Professor yyy is one of the leading researchers in this field and I have studied his work as part of my ongoing thesis and he has encouraged me to apply to your program. Working under an expert whose work can serve as a model will set me on the path to contributing significantly to the ongoing research at UCLA. The research interests of the other faculty members cover a large number of topics in Computer Science and this will enable me to keep in touch with the latest developments in these fields. The excellent facilities offered by your department will provide an environment conducive to successful graduate work. The faculty at **** has also strongly recommended UCLA for pursuing graduate studies.

I look forward to joining UCLA as a graduate student at your esteemed department.

sample STATEMENT OF PURPOSE Communication and Signal Processing,

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE  Communication and Signal Processing

After carefully considering my aptitude, interests, the nature of my training and my ultimate professional ambition, I have decided to pursue Ph. D. in electrical engineering specializing in the fields of my interest namely- Communications, Signal Processing and Information Theory and Coding, ultimately leading to a career in teaching and research. As a statement of purpose of my graduate study, I describe here my academic background, my research interests and my career goals.

The undergraduate programme at **** is a well-rounded programme. It not only helped me build a solid foundation of Electrical Engineering fundamentals, but also helped me develop an overall perspective of the vast field of Electrical Engineering. In the final year I developed a keen interest in the areas of Communications and Signal Processing. I substantiated my knowledge of these areas by choosing electives on Digital Communications, Communication System Theory (Random Processes in Communications), Digital Signal Processing and Information Theory and Coding.

In the Master of Technology Programme, I specialized in Communications. Taking advantage of a fully flexible course structure, I have chosen electives on Statistical Signal Analysis, Applied Linear Algebra in Electrical Engineering, Theory of Error Correcting Codes, Image Processing and Adaptive Signal Processing. Apart from these, I have taken courses on two special topics in Electrical Engineering namely- Computational Vision and Artificial Neural Networks.

I have striven to perform well in the courses and have tried to gain as much as I could from them. But I feel that the real qualification of a good graduate student is his ability to perform independent research work under the guidance of an advisor. My B.Tech. (Final year) project under Prof. Yyy gave me such an opportunity. In my B. Tech. Project I studied convergence issues in Non-Symmetrical and Higher order Neural Networks. First part of the project has been submitted to IEEE Trans. Neural Networks as a brief paper. It has been accepted after review.

In my M.Tech Programme, I did a mini project on determination of rotation parameters of a lamina from its binary images using moment- invariants of the images. I did an intensive seminar (a survey of literature) on Simulated Annealing Algorithm for Optimization.

My M.Tech. Thesis deals with Information across Boolean Functions. It involves establishing relationship between complexity measures of Boolean Functions and an attempt to study the nature of optimal circuit through restrictions of a Boolean function.

The project work and the course work have further interested me in Communication and Signal Processing and have motivated me to learn more of these areas. Also, the ideas involved in finding fundamental limits on capabilities of information extraction and transmission and the attempts at achieving the limits - which form the core of information theory – have interested me very much. I realize that techniques and the tools used there overlap. Therefore I have taken liberty to quote these broad areas as Research interests. Specifically the areas of my interest are Source Coding/ Data Compression, Information Theory and Coding, Statistical Signal Processing, Digital Communication, Multi-user Communication, optimal filtering and detection and estimation.

I am also interested in the application of Neural Networks to these areas.

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UCSB is a well-known center of excellence. The department faculty consists of leading researchers engaged in frontline research. The research interests of the faculty are extremely compatible with those of mine, a fact underlined by the fact that some of the faculty members are pioneering people in their fields. In particular, I would like to work with the faculty involved with the Center for Information Processing and Research. I shall be glad to be a part of the group and witness and contribute my bit to the leading research being carried out at UCSB.

An opportunity to work in the stimulating environment at UCSB will certainly make the graduate study a rewarding exercise and a satisfying experience. In terms of research facilities also, a university like UCSB has more to offer to a graduate student. I, therefore, look forward to joining UCSB as a graduate student.

As professional goal, I would like to take up a career in research and teaching. From the residential system of ****, I have been able to have a glimpse of the academic life and the sacrifices it involves. I feel that it is this kind of life that I am best suited for. I feel that I have enough motivation to see me through the challenges of the arduous but exhilarating career in research.

I thank Prof. Yyy and Prof. yyy for their advice and valuable information.

Sample STATEMENT OF PURPOSE Computer Science 24,

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE  Computer Science

I have always cherished a career in research and training in Computer Science. I feel that graduate studies at a good university like yours in pursuit of a PhD would be a step in that direction. I am confident that I will be extremely successful both as a graduate student and later as a researcher and teacher.

Ever since I was in school, I was interested in Mathematics. My success at the Regional Math’s Olympiad and The National Talent Search examinations boosted this interest. I was also introduced to programming in school and was fascinated by computers. With these interests Computer Science was the ideal choice as my undergraduate major.

The Computer Science and Engineering department at **** has a good faculty and a wonderful course structure. It is undoubtedly one of the best in the country. The undergraduate curriculum here exposed me to all the basic areas in Computer Science and I have consistently performed well in all the core courses. I have always adopted a rigorous approach to learning and have tried to grasp the fundamentals of all the subjects. This is amply reflected in my GPA of 9.09 on 10(3.80 on 4) in a highly competitive class and in my position in the top 5% of my batch in the institute.

Over the past one and a half years I have developed an interest in the field of Programming Languages and Systems, especially compilers. I have performed well in the basic systems courses like Language Processors, Programming Languages, Database management systems and Operating systems (please refer the resume). I have also chosen as one of my electives for Spring 96 the course titled Foundations of parallel computation.

I am currently working on my B. Tech thesis - which is in the field of compilers - under the guidance of Prof. yyy. I am involved in the development of GENSAT - a generator for static analysis and transformation programs. We have already incorporated into GENSAT a framework to implement intraprocedural data flow analysis using bit vectors for the representation of data flow properties. I am extending this framework by providing for the usage of sets instead of bit vectors. This will make GENSAT a generic tool for solving monotone dataflow problems. I am also studying various techniques for interprocedural data flow analysis. My aim here is to abstract a framework in which these techniques can be implemented. In this process I will be modifying existing algorithms and possibly finding a new one.

My interests are well supported by my strong theoretical background. In my junior year I presented a home paper on the “Theoretical Consequences of the Ellipsoid Method”. I have audited (taken as non-credit) a Post Graduate course on algorithms titled “Current Topics in Theory and Algorithms” and I have currently taken another elective on the Design and analysis of algorithms. I have also done a course on Geometric Algorithms, which gave me a good exposure to Randomization in algorithms. I am confident that these and the other courses I have done will stand in good stead in any future research I undertake.

I have always loved solving problems. The pleasure obtained from being absorbed in problems over extended periods of time and finally arriving at solutions is immeasurable. Many times I have arrived at solutions that were very different from those of others. This unique bent of mind coupled with a desire to be at the forefront of a budding field drive me to pursue research. I believe myself to be mature, committed.

I have good reason to believe that I will be successful as a teacher. I have received enthusiastic response from my students when I was a course assistant in an undergraduate course titled “Computer Programming and Utilization”. I have also been a lecturer and tutor in two UNIX workshops conducted by our department at the institute level. Further, I believe that teaching a subject gives us greater insight into it.

I have chosen to pursue Graduate studies at New York University because the facilities there seem to foster a healthy research environment as I could gather from the brochure of your department.

I believe that I possess the motivation, the intellectual ability, and the preparation to set out on this exhilarating and arduous path, to do justice to a demanding Graduate program and to make significant contributions to the ongoing work at the Kansas State University

sample STATEMENT OF PURPOSE Computer Science 12

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE Computer Science

My aspiration to work at the frontiers of scientific research leads me to apply to your university. I believe that a comprehensive knowledge and a good grasp of fundamentals are essential for such a career. I feel that Graduate studies in Computer Science in a good University like yours will help me realize this objective. Therefore I am seeking admission to the Ph.D. Program at Harvard with a specialization in Computer Science. I have compelling reasons to believe that I will be extremely successful both as a Graduate student and later as a researcher.

As a first step towards obtaining a Ph.D., I am seeking admission to the Master’s program at Harvard University with a specialization in Computer Science. I would prefer doing a direct Ph.D., if it is possible.

My superlative performance in school fetched me a number of awards at the national level. I was awarded the prestigious National Talent Search Scholarship in class ten and was in the top twenty-five in the National Standard Examination in Physics in my twelfth. I had developed a keen interest in science and decided to choose it as my career. I therefore, took the Joint Entrance Examination for admission to the five ****, which are considered the best academic centers for science and Engineering in India and qualified in the top 0.3% of those who took the test.

I have always adopted a rigorous approach in order to attain an in-depth understanding of the subject at hand. This has given me a broad conceptual basis, which, I believe, is essential for my research career. My grades in the basic courses reflect my quest for fundamentals. My overall grades in my undergraduate studies have been good, but not excellent. This again reflects my approach to courses more as an introduction to concepts that need further independent study by the student, rather than as a run-up to a semester-end examination.

Over the past two years in Computer Science I have developed a special interest in Programming Languages and Distributed Parallel Systems. I have been involved in research in these areas and have consistently obtained good grades in the related courses. In Spring’ 95, I will be taking two Graduate level courses in these fields namely `Distributed Databases’ and `Advanced Compilers’. I have written an article on “Distributed File Systems’’ with Prof. yyy, which appeared in the September 1994 issue of {bf CSI (Computer Society of India) Communications}. In this article the basic concepts underlying the design and implementation aspects were discussed and contemporary systems like Locus, Andrew and Unix United were surveyed in detail.

I am currently working on Register Allocation Algorithms for my B.Tech thesis under the guidance of Prof. yyy. In my project we have introduced a technique of live range confinement, which adapts the live range of a data item to the availability of register. Instead of splitting a live range like in a Chow-Hennessy allocator we are implementing the confinement technique. Half way through the project we have already sent part of our work for the ACM SIGPLAN’95 Conference on Programming Language Design and Implementation sponsored by the Special Interest Group on Programming Languages, Association for Computing Machinery.

I had also presented a course paper on language Linda, which consists of operators that embody tuple space, model for Parallel programming %and involves Distributed Data Structures.

I have a reason also to be confident of my abilities as a teacher. As part of a nation wide teaching program, I have taught school children subjects like Physics, Mathematics and English for four semesters (three hours per week). This was an interesting experience, which I feel would stand in good stead in the future.

I take immense pleasure in learning new concepts. This inquisitive nature of mine along-with a desire to realize my full potential drives me to pursue research. I am aware that research calls for complete dedication and commitment. I consider myself to be mature, perceptive, persistent and open to criticism % qualities, which I believe are essential for group research.

By working under the guidance of distinguished professors like Prof yyy, whose interests match closely with mine, I am confident of making an original contribution to the field of Computer Science.

I have studied in one of the best institutes of our country and feel the need to expose myself to research in United States, which is currently a world leader in Computer science. I have chosen to pursue Graduate studies at Harvard University because the facilities at Harvard seem to foster a healthy research environment as I could gather from the brochure of your department. I believe that I possess the motivation, the intellectual ability, and the preparation to set out on this exhilarating and arduous path, to do justice to a demanding Graduate program and to make significant contributions to the ongoing work at your University. I have chosen to pursue graduate studies at University of Maryland because by working under the guidance of distinguished professors like Prof, whose interests match closely with mine, I am %confident of making an original contribution to the field of Computer %Science. I believe that I possess the motivation, the intellectual %ability, and the preparation to set out on this exhilarating and %arduous path, to do justice to a demanding Graduate program and to make %significant contributions to the ongoing work at your University.

I look forward to joining Harvard University as a Graduate student at your esteemed department.