Cambridge is one of the most prestigious universities in the world and among the most competitive global schools.

The following essay was written by an applicant who got accepted to Cambridge’s Ph.D. program in Computer science program. Read her essay to understand what Cambridge is looking for in a successful applicant.

You might also be interested in reading this Sample Statement for Ph.D. at MIT.

Sample Personal Statement Computer Science at Cambridge

Inquisitive minds foster curiosity, which in turn, breeds innovation. The scientific world labels this process, Research. I like to call it “Making a Difference.” Now the path toward such a defining milestone does not work out as smoothly as it sounds. I, too, faced my fair share of troubles along the way, starting with my diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes. At the time, my world shattered completely. However, being determined, I re-programmed my internal GPS toward the stable ground. Somewhere along this stumbling journey, I came across the saving words of C.S Lewis: “Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny,” which eventually rescued me. Ever since, they have become my guiding light, rekindling the flame – never to give up.

I am applying to Cambridge University for a doctorate in Computer Science. My research interests include co-designing hardware and software configurable computer systems, performance optimization of processor architectures, and rapid prototyping through FPGAs. My curiosity in the field sparked when my undergraduate coursework exposed me to several important aspects of embedded systems and MIPS architecture. Throughout my academic career, I continuously pushed myself to raise the bar, eventually making it to the Dean’s Honor List and securing a 100% merit scholarship during my grad studies. Considering all that I have achieved, I am confident that I now possess the right technical skills and scientific approach, along with deep-rooted commitment and motivation to embark on a journey to explore this avenue in greater detail.

I passionately opted for an Electrical Engineering major for my undergraduate degree six years ago. For my senior year project, I was in a team of three who programmed and mapped a 5-staged MIPS single-core processor pipeline onto a Xilinx FPGA. The project initially came our way through a friend in contact with Dr. X, who, at the time, a post-doctoral research scientist at MIT, proposed this as a valuable thesis to serve as a strong foundation for future architectural development.

The aim was to design a basic structure that can be extended to a multi-core, fully functional embedded system in the future. We programmed the pipeline in VHDL and optimized it with a hazard detection unit, aggressive static branch prediction, and forwarding logic. We also built an assembler in C++ to convert MIPS-32 assembly instructions into machine language for the Instruction Memory.

My undergraduate degree fixated my attention on the architectural aspects of processors. It honed my practical skills through extensive lab work and semester projects necessary to be at the forefront of the subject. My 1.5 years of experience as a teacher assistant for many exciting engineering courses also solidified my concepts. It taught me various flexible yet effective ways to communicate ideas to my students in an impactful manner.

Subsequently, I spent the next two years at graduate school, attaining a Computer Architecture and Embedded Systems degree. It was a rewarding experience that expanded my horizon and reinforced professional bonds with contemporary researchers in the field. For my graduate thesis, I worked on extending the functionality of an educational simulation tool pioneered initially by Dr. X. The tool aims to complement graduate-level theoretical studies of MIPS architecture. The thesis entailed an intensive literature review into floating point instruction latencies and research into the possibility of increasing the throughput by reconfiguring the multicycle execution and memory stage. While programming in Visual Basic, I refined and simplified the user interaction experience by introducing a hierarchy of nested UI screens.

Further development of the MIPS FP simulator, the first of its kind in the reconfigurability of the pipeline it offers, is still underway before its release to the web. Along with working on the pipeline’s development and code optimization, I am also drafting a research paper for submission to the IASTED International Conference on Computers and Advanced Technology in Education. I believe that persistent thinking and hard work associated with extensive literature surveys embellished my research skills and taught me perseverance in facing challenges.

After graduation, I continued my quest to learn and enhance my software development skill set. As a Software Engineer at Apple, I am developing a front-end web portal on Google’s recent media hype structural framework, AngularJS. I have also worked with Dr. A to explore architectural aspects of Graphical Processing Units and GPU correlation with Operating Systems in general. In addition to building upon my problem-solving abilities and time management, my experience so far has required me to collaborate and brainstorm ideas in teams, hence polishing my team communication skills. This constructive training prepares me well for the rigors of practical life as a doctorate candidate at Cambridge.

My country suffers critically due to a deficit in employment and research opportunities in the local embedded industry. To add salt to the wound, the societal norms and traditions favoring the male demographics act as a taboo for the current aspiring generation of female individuals, who, despite all odds, relentlessly strive hard and stand their ground to stay above the murky waters. Being a member of society’s under-represented female faction, I possess this will of fire and inherent motivation to prove myself every step of the way.

The prospect of obtaining a terminal degree, from Cambridge, under the mentorship of world re-known faculty fuels my energy to dive deeper into the field of architecture and embedded systems, design innovative software/hardware solutions to intricate problems, and conduct meaningful Research. The program is an example of expanding my research horizons, strengthening my concepts, and increasing my experience through quality industrial and academic exposure.

I am much impressed by the current projects undertaken by the Artificial Intelligence Group and Computer Architecture Group at Cambridge. In particular, the work of principal investigators, namely Dr. A, Dr. B, Dr. C, and Dr. D, fascinates me in alignment with my interests. I believe working with them would be an invaluable, enlightening opportunity indeed. I am confident that the strong ideas I can bring to the table, backed by my well-founded academics and valuable experience, would benefit the Cambridge research community.

Upon completion of the degree, I intend to initiate various projects in conjunction with the R&D departments of the embedded industry. I also envision imparting education to young intellectual minds through technology. With it, I hope to develop e-learning web portals dealing specifically with educational simulation tools for the field of computer architecture and embedded systems. But I feel, from where I stand, that there is still a very long way to go, a journey that I am incredibly excited to embark upon.