Statement of Purpose for Economics: Sample, Tips, Guidelines and Requirements at Top Universities

In the Statement of Purpose or SOP for Economics demand applicants to highlight their personal interest, academic achievements, and intellectual curiosity. While an SOP is an integral part of the application package at the graduate level, it is rarely required from undergraduate applicants. None the less, if you are applying for any admission in any top universities in Canada, USA, Australia, etc. it is recommended to submit a well-written statement of purpose.

Guidelines for SOP for Economics

Your statement of purpose for Economics will be slightly different than other programs, in terms of content, structure, and chosen university abroad. Some of these major differences listed below:

• Unlike for Sciences and Arts courses, your statement for Economics must heavily focus on your academic discipline, thereby, outlining the intention of choosing particular academic disciplines for the next 3-4 years.
• Pre-requite coursework in high-level Mathematics is a core requirement for those seeking admission into an Economics program. Even though your transcripts and applications are evidence for this requirement, students are suggested to emphasize on their Mathematics knowledge while formulating their SOP for Economics.
• Work and life experiences are highly significant for graduate applicants. Furthermore, few universities such as the University of Toronto, UBC, etc, ask you to present research work as well.

Now that you have a basic idea of what to incorporate, check out a sample statement of Purpose for Economics for Queen’s University in Canada.

SOP for Economics at Top Universities

Formats, questions, and requirements for each top university around the world that requires SOP for Economics are stated below:

Stanford University

Stanford Graduate Admissions require this document to be in one file, single-spaced, and should not exceed two pages in length. Applicants are advised to use the Western European font or other English-language settings. Applicants are expected to describe the following in their Statement of Purpose for Economics:

• Reason for application to the program at Stanford as well as applicant’s preparation for the program of study
• Research and study interests

Applicant's future career plans, interests, as well as other aspects of the applicant's background that be aid in assessing applicant's readiness, motivation, and aptitude for the graduate program at Stanford.

Harvard University

Statement of Purpose is very important for graduate Economics applications at Harvard University. The University requires the SOP to be:

• Informative
• Specific and focused
• Appropriately highlight the applicant’s research interests and qualifications

In the SOP for Economics, applicants are required to:

• Explain how life and career experiences have influenced the decision to undertake a graduate study in Economics
• Explain goals in studying Economics at the graduate level
• Give a clear picture of intellectual profile that talks about how the applicant has formulated research topics, pursue them, and state out interesting findings in the research

University of Oxford

The University of Oxford required SOP for Economics to be between 500 to 1,000 words and it should be written in English.

• Things to include and describe in the SOP include:
• Areas of study in the program that the applicant is interested in
• How the Master's degree in Economics will contribute or catalyze the applicant's career development plans

The SOP will assess based on:

• Applicant’s interests in development economics (in the Economics for Development specialization)
• Strength of applicant’s academic interest in the particular specialization 
• Previous background in developing countries
• The level of applicant’s preparation for the program

University of British Columbia

The University of British Columbia calls it a ‘Statement of Intent’ or ‘Statement of Interest’, or ‘Description of Research Interests’.  Applicants should satisfy the following questions in the SOP:

• What is your specific area of academic interest and research topic would love to work on?
• How have your previous education, qualifications, and experiences prepared you to be successful in this program?
• What do you hope to achieve in this Masters of Arts in Economics program?
• Why do you think that this program and school are the best program and school for you to pursue your goals and interests respectively?

Other areas the applicant should work on in the essay include:

• Connecting their areas of interest to the values of the department and projects being done in the program as well as mentioning specific faculty members and projects in the process.
• Applicants should do well to highlight any presentations or publications they've made as well as a conference that they've attended
• Applicants should mention any work that they have done in this area like specific skills/techniques developed
• Moreover, applicants should mention any academic publications that have informed their interests with correct citation as a footnote

University of Melbourne

It is referred to as Personal Statement or Statement of Intent at the University of Melbourne in Australia. The University requires an SOP in Economics not to be more than 500 pages long. Things to be considered in the Statement of Intent include:

• Outstanding achievements
• The motivation for undertaking the program and this may include  personal circumstances, work, and life experiences
• Applicant’s personal history that is related to the program or that may affect or enhance the application
•  Applicant’s behavioral characteristics and attitudes may also be mentioned as well as involvement in community projects, work experience, extra-curricular activity, and any other relevant information. 

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München refers to SOP as Motivation Letter and it is required to be in English with a length of 2,000 to 3,000 words. The letter should answer the following questions:

• Application’s goals in pursuing the program as the graduate studies (for graduate applicants)
• Why the applicant would like to complete the program in Economics at LMU Munich

SOP for Economics is not very different from other SOPs bar the fact that experiences in life and work are extremely important for the applicant to explain. The applicant should only mention activities and experiences relating to the specialization or program unless it is otherwise stated by the institution. In synopsis, SOPs are generally simple, straight forward, and doesn't have a plethora of special requirements like the MBA SOP; applicants just need to follow the university’s guidelines religiously.