Sample Letter of Intent or Purpose Statement

Applying to graduate school is hard.  Sometimes I think it is harder than the graduate program itself.  It's easy to say that since I just finished my Master's program.  I was singing a different tune last semester and I bet I'll be singing a different tune next year in my PhD program. Each school has their own process and some are very different.  Some still require things to be mailed in almost entirely by snail mail--which I find hard to belief.

When my wife was applying to Physical Therapy programs many schools participated in an online system that would then send your application to each school.  No such luck within the Social Sciences :(

I have included the letters of intent or purpose statements that I used in my applications to UNLV's Master's of Marriage and Family Therapy and to the University of Minnesota's Family Social Science with a Couple and Family Therapy emphasis Ph.D. programs.  Both of which I was accepted to.

This is my purpose statement for UNLV's MFT program.

UMN's CFT program required two letters.  They are here and here.

I hope this goes without saying, but I'm going to say it.  Don't just copy these letters and turn them in.  Please use them however.  The purpose statement really is one of your best places to talk about you. So do it--copying someone else's makes little sense. I found it immensely useful to read other letters of intent for people that had been accepted into graduate programs.  Ideally within your own field.  Maybe someday I'll get some other examples within the social sciences and perhaps some in other fields.