Generate a focused Research Interest Statement highlighting your background, expertise and proposed research direction.
A research interest statement (also called a research statement or research plan) is required for faculty job applications, postdoctoral fellowships, and some graduate admissions. It describes your past research contributions, current projects, and future research agenda. Unlike the SOP, it is addressed to fellow researchers — peers and potential colleagues who will evaluate the originality, feasibility, and significance of your proposed work.
Past (one to two paragraphs): your completed research and its contributions to the field. Be specific about your intellectual contributions, not just the techniques used. Present (one paragraph): your current work and its significance. Future (two to three paragraphs): your proposed research agenda — specific questions, preliminary data if available, methodology, and the broader significance. Show that you have thought beyond your PhD project.
A research statement that is entirely incremental signals a lack of vision. One that is entirely speculative signals a lack of rigour. The most effective statements combine one or two ambitious long-term goals with specific, feasible short-term aims that clearly lead toward them. Include preliminary data where possible — it demonstrates that you have already started thinking about your independent agenda.