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University of Michigan Rackham Graduate School Statement of Purpose

The document is a statement of purpose for a data science graduate program. It summarizes the applicant's experience competing in an econometrics competition where they used instrumental variable techniques and statistical analysis. This success sparked a passion for data analytics and shaped their career goals. They discuss plans to develop policy optimization methods by gaining expertise in areas like machine learning, regression, and interdisciplinary problem solving. The applicant has research experience analyzing the effect of intellectual property policies and programming skills in Python, R, and C++. They believe the University of Michigan's technical focus in statistics, computation, and math will prepare them for success in the data science program.

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900 views

University of Michigan Rackham Graduate School Statement of Purpose

The document is a statement of purpose for a data science graduate program. It summarizes the applicant's experience competing in an econometrics competition where they used instrumental variable techniques and statistical analysis. This success sparked a passion for data analytics and shaped their career goals. They discuss plans to develop policy optimization methods by gaining expertise in areas like machine learning, regression, and interdisciplinary problem solving. The applicant has research experience analyzing the effect of intellectual property policies and programming skills in Python, R, and C++. They believe the University of Michigan's technical focus in statistics, computation, and math will prepare them for success in the data science program.

Uploaded by

Mortaza
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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University of Michigan Rackham Graduate School

Statement of Purpose

My pivot point for choosing to pursue data science came last April when my team competed at
the University of Chicago Econometrics Games. Like a Hackathon for young econometricians,
the games pitted students of economics from Cambridge to Santa Clara. The objective was to
stage, and answer, a question of economic importance within fourteen hours. Having learned a
handful of research techniques under Dr. Aditi Thapar in the Research Seminar in Quantitative
Economics (RSQE), I was nervous and excited for the opportunity to test my applied
econometrics knowledge for the first time.

My team was comprised of myself and three of my undergraduate coworkers. Through efficient
division of labor and a good-humored attitude, my team persevered to implement an instrumental
variable technique that isolated a strong causal relationship between Chinese import competition
and U.S. unionization rates. This polished and technical analysis earned us second place out of
fifteen teams. I relished the application of my statistical and programming knowledge, but felt I
had only brushed the surface of creative possibilities granted by these mediums. In the following
months, a newfound passion for data analytics would begin to shape my research and career
aspirations.

One could argue that the field of data science has developed over a period of decades. Since the
first notion of statistical ideology in the 1700s, and computer science in the 1940s, it was only a
matter of time before these two fields intertwined. Increasingly prevalent in the private sector,
one domain still underutilized by data science is policymaking. In graduate school I plan to work
toward developing computational methods for optimizing public policy. I plan to develop
domain expertise in areas most conducive to this task, such as big data analytics, advanced
regression analysis, and machine-learning. Nonetheless, I also look forward to gaining thorough
knowledge of various techniques in order to analyze complex problems from an interdisciplinary
perspective.

After my revelation at the econometrics competition, I began registering for programming


coursework and became competent in ​Python and C++. For a project in my first computer
science course, I constructed a machine-learning algorithm in Python that generated new songs
based on text and midi files scraped from the internet. As an assistant in fiscal and monetary
policy research, I requested more difficult coding assignments to master R and Stata. When the
opportunity arose, I also secured a second job as a data visualization consultant. In this role I
have expanded my understanding of Python and R, worked collaboratively with a team and
domain specialists through Github, and improved my storytelling capabilities through data
visualization.
University of Michigan Rackham Graduate School
Statement of Purpose

In addition to striving for academic success, I am driven by an intense curiosity to understand


computational methods that may be used to discern best practice government policy. In my
honors thesis I employ statistical analysis to measure the effect of a policy instituted by the
World Trade Organization; the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)
Agreement endeavors to enforce intellectual property rights (IPR) adherence worldwide. I found
this policy had a small, positive effect on IPR adherence. This ongoing experience has not only
taught me how to effectively pose and answer my own research inquiries, but also how to defend
these findings through various robustness checks.

Apart from my rigorous academic and research endeavors, I’ve also pursued many enriching
global experiences. After navigating Beijing as a Department of State Gilman Scholar, interning
at the Ministry of Economic Development in Albania, representing America at an international
taekwondo competition in South Korea, and using French and Mandarin to find my way around
far-away places, my favorite moments were connecting with individuals from drastically
different upbringings. Furthermore, my long-term stints abroad have increased my resiliency and
flexibility. When confronted with a frozen bank account, a cancelled flight, or housing plans that
fell through, I’ve learned how to make on-the-fly adjustments in order to protect myself as a solo
female traveler. Finally, serving as head instructor for the University of Michigan Tae Kwon Do
Club has increased my confidence, given me practice in public speaking, and improved my
ability to easily connect with new faces. For all of these reasons, I’m confident that I will
continue to achieve academic success as a graduate student at the University of Michigan.

The University of Michigan is my top choice in program due to its emphasis on technical
expertise. Without sub-plans or tracks, the program relies on core coursework in statistics,
computation and math as the focal point. My research, school, and extracurricular experiences in
regression analysis have prepared me for success in classes such as STATS 500 (linear
regression), Stats 503 (multivariate analysis), and SI 599 (computational social science and
capstone). By my undergraduate graduation, I will have already completed much of the required
math coursework for the M.S. in Data Science program. All else aside, I’ve also thoroughly
enjoyed living in wintry Ann Arbor for four years as an undergraduate.

Throughout college, my favorite experiences have been working at the intersection of statistical
and computational methods to explain real-world phenomenon. For this reason there is not a
field more fascinating to me than data science. Upon graduation from the University of
Michigan, I will be an advocate for a fact-based and data-driven approach in the public sector.
Furthermore, I am confident that I can contribute to effective policy making through directed
effort and a constant strive to always do better.

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