The Unofficial SMART Scholarship Forum

I believe this is acceptable. I am also an undergrad in the same situation and I discussed several research areas of interest in my essay.

Would it be detrimental to discuss multiple areas of research interest, especially if they are not directly related? I am an undergrad and have not quite homed in on one thing that I want to research yet.

Thanks

For an undergrand, I would ask: Do they have a clear idea of what they are interested in, and did they provided enough detail to prove that they know what they're asking for if we place them in a position related to those interests?

For a PHD candidate, I would almost go straight to the executive summaries of the that papers you have worked on.

Thanks. I guess what I'm really asking is what level of detail are the asking for an undergrad with limited research versus a PHD student about to start their dissertation?

Pretty sure we didn't have this question, but the basic idea is to give anyone reading your application some insight on your future interests and possibly connect you with an associated program that they are working with. I would assume that you don't need too much detail. Probably enough to show that you have a decent understanding of what it is you are doing. It is as much of a test of your goals/interests as it is your ability to clearly and concisely convey your thoughts.

On the instructions it says: "You may wish to discuss specific research questions that interest you and how you became interested in them. Please discuss these research interests in sufficient detail for an expert who is technically competent in your field to judge your understanding of the questions to be addressed, relevant hypotheses and approaches one might take to answering the questions, and other research principles required to investigate in the research area you identify."

I have a pretty good idea of the field I want to research (biomechanics) and have some research background (one summer, will be continuing on throughout the year), but I'm not sure how much depth to go into. I am a rising sophomore. Any advice on the research explanation?