Sample Statement of Purpose (SoP) for Computer Science

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The plethora of successes recorded by mankind from the Stone Age to this era of technological and computing revolution is, without doubts, championed by the  IT industry. We have enjoyed a rapid transformation in the way we live, study, think and socialize thanks to the dynamism of this academic field to which I want to dedicate my entire life researching for new ideas, updating existing theories and enhancing its practicability.

Computer Science comes naturally to me, for I have always enjoyed dabbling with gadgets and experimenting with different applications, an experience which proves to me that there are endless prospects for scientific discoveries, personal development, and career opportunities. I am keen on pursuing a master’s degree program to equip myself with the prerequisite qualification for a competitive career on the world stage.

I have conviction that my extensive and practical academic background, which I will describe below, has fully prepared me for a challenging experience as a research student at your institution of higher learning. My analytical and problem-solving skills played important roles in the development of a program (a push-box solver created from backtracking algorithm) for solving Sudoku puzzles. I am a regular competitor in Google Code Jam which comes up yearly and, although I am yet to reach its 1st Round, I have always sailed through the qualification rounds. I have taken Coursera courses and other online programs as well as completed a machine learning course from Andrew Ng. In addition, I love watching educative YouTube videos, particularly its 3blue1bron channel which is popular for its nice, small playlists on various computer science topics.

I am a self-motivated, curious and tenacious individual with excellent communication/inter-personal relationship skills, love for team work, enthusiasm for group achievements and tremendous drive to make meaningful contributions in my academic environment. I understand the need for respect, obedience, punctuality, focus, as well as active contributions in academics, seminars, community projects, and networking with members of the academe — for without these — the university’s goals as an ivory tower cannot be achieved.

This program will prepare me as a player in this ongoing computing revolution which I am confident will go beyond constructions, vehicles, and household items among others, in coming years. As an out-of-the-box thinker, I do not wish to remain grounded in software and web apps building alone; I am aiming at acquiring knowledge for big systems designing and having the wherewithal to come up with computer-based solutions to a variety of problems. For example, I want to redesign an aerial drone chassis which will be famed for its lightweight and unprecedented effectiveness. In furtherance, updates on artificial intelligence (AI) technology which I see on Person of Interest (a TV series) shows there are so much to exploit in Computer Science and I really want to be part of the success story. For this purpose, I look forward to an active involvement in rigorous research processes on AI, Robotics, Computational Methods, Machine Learning and more which I cannot learn as a self-educator.

With a 7.03 CGPA in Computer Science from BITS Pilani, Goa, over 2 years’ field experience as a full stack web developer, and a 1st prize won at Stayzilla Hack-weekend in 2016, among other career achievements, l desire further study in a country considered as the pacesetter in computing and technological innovations. In addition, your reputable university offers interesting research facilities, computing resources, competitive academic and community projects as well as provides a renowned and effective team of lecturers endowed with proven experience required to guide students in a fascinating multicultural setting most suitable for an all-round development. These are some of my reasons for applying to join your MSc program in Computer Science.