What to write about, length, format
The academic statement of purpose and personal statement should cover details about your academic background and career aspirations. You will want to talk about your engineering experiences, your motivation for pursuing a higher degree in Robotics, your long-term goals, as well as your specific interests.
The pair of separate statements should work together to inform us about your experiences and goals. However, don't be redundant. Utilize the personal statement to expand upon your academic statement of purpose. If you want to write about the same topic, split it into two distinct pieces that cover different thoughts. Please note that once an applicant submits their online application, no changes to the statement of purpose, personal statement, curriculum vitae, and application can be modified online.
Format Guidelines: There are no formatting guidelines in regards to font type, font size, or margins. This format is meant to be flexible and allow for creativity: there is no single answer, however, below is more guidance on each statement.
Academic Statement of Purpose
Focus on your research experience and go deep:
- Describe one specific research project you contributed to in the past few years. Explain the technical problem in your own words, the research gap or open question the project addressed, and why the work mattered.
- Be specific about your individual contribution. Clearly explain what you did, what methods or tools you used, what decisions you made, and how your work fit into the larger project.
- Reflect on what you learned from the experience. This could include technical skills, research methods, collaboration, problem formulation, failure modes, or how your understanding of the field changed.
- Avoid simply summarizing a paper abstract, introduction, or project description. The statement should show your own understanding of the research and your role in advancing it.
In the second part, identify one or more research gaps or open problems you find compelling and would like to pursue during your doctoral work:
- Identify one or more Robotics Department faculty members whose work aligns with your interests. Explain why their research connects to the problems you want to study and why you see a strong fit with their group.
Length: One document. Approximately one page for your past research project, plus an additional half page describing future research interests and faculty fit.
Personal Statement
Share your personal story and motivation:
- Discuss how your background and life experiences—social, cultural, family, education, challenges, or opportunities—inspired your decision to pursue graduate study at U-M.
- Explain what drives you, including key academic or non-academic experiences that have prepared you. Mention collaborators or mentors if relevant, and describe your work with them.
- Treat this as a story of your personal and professional development, including why graduate school fits into your journey and your goals for the future.
- For example, if you grew up in a community where educational, cultural, or other opportunities were either especially plentiful or especially lacking, you might discuss the impact this had on your development and interests.
Length: The personal statement should be approximately one to two pages, single spaced. Rackham's 500 word limit does not apply.