Your Guide to Writing a Statement of Purpose – Health Informatics

Here is the video version, if you prefer watching:

Before even starting to write your statement of purpose (SOP) self-reflection is key, to help reduce the burden of writing, some questions you might ask yourself include:

1. What is unique about the school you want to apply to?
   
   
2. Do they have a professor whose research you are enamored with (be sure to mention specific research papers that inspired you) and who could be a potential research advisor?
   
   
3. Does this college or university have specific courses that you feel will help jump-start your career in the field of health informatics?
   
   
4. Will the reputation of the school or their co-op program provide you with the necessary skills/experience to break into the field?

Including this reasoning in your SOP is key because the admission panel will want to know why you are SPECIFICALLY interested in applying to this university. Another tip is to make sure you are using the “language” of the institution you are applying to.

Most universities have visions or missions, make sure to integrate their core mission into your SOP. For instance, one university might state that the purpose of this certificate or degree program is “to train students to use data to improve patient health outcomes“. Therefore, you would want to include in your SOP either research projects that you have done in the past or projects/jobs you hope to do in the future which analyze or investigate trends in the data, to improve health outcomes. This shows that you are aligned with the mission of the university you are applying to and are an exemplary candidate.

The key is to highlight that this is a symbiotic relationship, it’s not just what the university can provide to you, it’s also about what you can provide to the university. If you have prior experience through research or projects from your undergraduate degree or from previous work experience, make sure to highlight this and how they fit into the future research you want to do and what positive impact your future research will have for the university.

Here is a general outline of an SOP you can follow when applying to a masters or certificate program in health informatics:

Paragraph 1 – An introduction of your academic or professional background and what got you interested in the field of health informatics

Paragraph 2 – Why should they select you for the program (deep dive into your experience & research)?

Paragraph 3 – How does your future research align with the mission of the school?

Paragraph 4 – Optional (Do you have a potential research advisor you would like to work with and why? How do your goals align with their research?)

Paragraph 5 – A conclusion and what will you do once you have left the program with the knowledge and skills you have obtained?

Comment down below, where are you applying to? Good luck!