SoP
SoP
- Official transcripts from each university you have attended, regardless of whether you received your degree there.
- Current resume.
- Statement of Purpose. A statement of Purpose is not a resume. It should discuss your reasons for choosing the MIIS program and indicate your intended career path.
- Three letters of recommendation.
- A short (1-3 minute) video of yourself. There will be a prompt question that you will respond to. You will have three attempts.
The MIIS degree is a practice-oriented professional degree designed for students who want to quickly obtain an MS degree prior to beginning or resuming a career in industry or government. If you know that you want a career in research, the LTI's MLT and PhD degree programs may be better choices.
However, if you select the MIIS degree now and later decide to pursue a career in research, you will find that the MIIS degree offers a very solid foundation from which to begin a research career. The classroom preparation is very similar.
English language competency is strongly correlated to academic and professional success. Therefore, our degree program adheres to the SCS minimum standards for TOEFL and IELTS scores (TOEFL = minimum of 100; IELTS = minimum of 7.5). Ideally, no TOEFL sub-score will be under 22.
There is no minimum GRE score requirement. The definition of "good GRE score" depends on the region where the test was taken, so we compare applicant's GRE scores to other GRE scores from the region where you were educated, or where you took your test.
A good statement conveys three different types of information about you.
First, we look for strong evidence that you can do well in the MIIS degree program. For example, a description of your academic experience; a description of a software project that you were involved in (including your role in its implementation and its impact); a description of an internship or other professional experience, etc. are all good pieces of evidence. The descriptions are stronger the more specific you can make them-- i.e., details about what you did, what you liked, and what you learned from these experiences.
Second, your essay is stronger if you explain why you want to be in the MIIS program specifically. We understand that you may be applying to more than one degree program, but you should tell us why you want to apply to this one in particular, how it relates to your career goals, and what you hope to get out of your experience here.
Third, a discussion of your career goals is useful-- what you enjoy, what you hope to accomplish after receiving your degree, why you think the MIIS program is the right choice for what you want to do. Just wanting to go to graduate school at CMU is too vague.
Please do not tell us that CMU is your "dream school."
The essay must be written by you. You may have others proofread your essay to help you improve your English quality, or the style, but it must be substantially your own words.