how to write a personal statement for research internship programs

and how to tell a compelling story about your non-technical experiences

FAQ #1: How do I brainstorm what experiences to include?

Reflect on these questions to gather material for your statement:

Research interest development:

1. What was your first exposure to this field? Which specific problem or challenge initially captured your attention?

2. How have your interests evolved over time?

3. What unexpected connections have you discovered between different areas of study?

Current knowledge:

4. Which papers, researchers, internships, courses, projects, extracurriculars, and life experiences have influenced your thinking?

5. What current debates or challenges in the field interest you most?

6. What gaps do you see in current research approaches?

Program fit:

7. How will the program's resources help you achieve your goals?

8. What can you contribute to the research community there?

9. How does this program complement your current skills and knowledge?

Future goals:

10. What specific skills or knowledge do you hope to gain?

11. How do you plan to apply what you learn in the future?

12. What impact do you hope to have in your field?

FAQ #2: What are some examples for talking about non-technical experiences?

Here’s how I talked about my non-technical experiences:

1. Leading design thinking workshops with Stanford’s design thinking professors → enables me to bring a systematic approach for translating research into tangible solutions.

2. Taking linguistics and cognitive science courses → sparked several research questions related to AR/VR for education and healthcare.

3. Recovering from dance-related injuries → inspired my interest in VR-facilitated movement therapy.

FAQ #3: What sections should I include in my personal statement if there’s no specific prompt?

Include:

1. Research interests and how you came to be interested in them

2. Previous research experiences

3. Why you want to participate in this program

4. How participating in this program might better prepare you to meet your future goals

Some NSF REU internship applications due in February 2025:

• Machine learning at Princeton

• Machine learning, distributed systems, privacy, security at Carnegie Mellon

• AI for computational creativity at Brown

• Control and sensing in autonomous vehicles at Kettering

• Computing for an equitable energy transition at University of Massachusetts Amherst

• USC Information Sciences Institute

• Washington University St. Louis

• University of Washington