Personal Statement

Why I Decide to Pursue a Ph.D. Degree in the United States

A year ago, when I announced that I had decided to pursue a Ph.D. degree in the field of Mechanical Engineering in the United States, many of my close friends expressed their utter surprise and objection. According to their judgment, I have been proceeding along a successful journey of life. There is no necessity for me to embark on a course of life with filled with self-inflicted pains and difficulties. Indeed, as a talented young lecturer working at a major university whose career is in ascendancy, I possess a sense of pride that many of my fellow compatriots do not possess: a stable job which gives me a strong sense of achievement, three-month paid vacation annually, a warm family life, research papers and research projects that far exceed those of my colleagues both in quality and in quantity, plus candidacy for this year‘s associate professor of xxxxxx University. If I gain a Ph.D. degree from any of the major Chinese universities, it is almost certain that within five years I would become a professor of the xxxxxxx University. Compared with this, my academic pursuit in the United States would be much more difficult and painful: long separation from my family members, cultural and linguistic disadvantages, possibly a longer program (whereas in China a Ph.D. program takes at most three years).

Nevertheless, I believe that my decision is correct. Out of my serious reflections, I have arrived at the following realizations. First, I can never develop myself into a first-rate scholar if I do not obtain a Ph.D. degree from a first-rate university. Throughout my school life, I have been endeavoring to be the top student of my class. Since I started my career as a teacher, I have also urged myself to be among the best employees. Therefore, to develop myself into a first-rate scholar is currently my most fervent aspiration. However, an event that happened three years ago changed my initial plan of undertaking my Ph.D. studies in China. Three years ago, I was working on my Master‘s program in motive power mechanical engineering in xxxxxxx University, which ranks among the top 5 universities in China. Its Engineering Department ranked third. At that time, my supervisor Prof. Jeff was involved in the research on the Steam Injected Gas Turbine Technology, with a state sponsorship of x00,000 US Dollars. It was one of the major research projects at that time and represented the highest research level in China in its field. When I helped my supervisor consult relevant technical literature, I was regretted to find that American scientists had already undertaken similar research ten years before that and a large number of research papers had already been published. What we were doing was simply repeating what our American counterparts had already done! The fact that what appeared to be the most sophisticated research in a first-rate Chinese university was actually a mere repetition of the research work of other scientists in more advanced countries saddened me. I decided that I would not undertake my Ph.D. program in any of Chinese universities, even a first-rate university. The United States would be my choice because only in such a country was it possible for me to perform the first-rate research and become a first-rate scientist.

On the other hand, only by pursuing my Ph.D. degree overseas will I be able to improve the living conditions of my family and allow my family members to live a better life. I now enjoy happy family life. My wife is a doctor in our city‘s largest hospital and we have a lovely three-year-old daughter. They love me very much and I love them very much too. They fully support me in my efforts to seek further education in America. It is precisely my love for them that makes me feel responsible for enabling them to live a rich life. It is obvious that only my career success can fulfill this wish. Upon returning to China after completing my prospective degree program, my Ph.D. degree from a renowned American university will become a golden key to the even greater success in my career and in my family life. By helping many Chinese enterprises improve their technological level and realize immense profits, I will undoubtedly be rewarded with an infinitely successful career and an enviable income.