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Realizing that I was interested in the statistical method area, I chose to go to XXX University to study my master in Mathematics and Statistics, in order to make better preparation for my upcoming Ph.D. study.

I am writing my Academic Statement of Purpose to apply for my Ph.D. degree. The above sentence is correct or not correct? I am not sure whether I should use realizing or After realizing. Is there any mistakes in the sentence?

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    Either option is fine. General proofreading is off-topic for this site.
    – randomhead
    Sep 26, 2021 at 0:57
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    You've established that the action (chose) happened after "realizing", so the "after" would be considered redundant, though not necessarily wrong.
    – user3169
    Sep 26, 2021 at 1:44
  • While your point of concern is valid, adding "Are there any mistakes in the sentence?" clearly asks for proofreading which is off-topic.
    – user3169
    Sep 26, 2021 at 1:45
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    "the statistical method area" could be confusing. May I suggest either "statistical methods" or "the area of statistical methods". Sep 26, 2021 at 3:18

1 Answer 1

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There is no difference in meaning or grammatical or idiomatic validity between “Realizing that X, I …” and “After realizing that X, I …”.

However, there is a lapse in your proposed sentence. “My master” refers to a person. The usage of the word in English is derived from the Latin word “magister,” meaning “chief” or “teacher.” So you may study a master by studying his works, or you may study with or under a master by studying under his or her direction. I greatly doubt that is what you mean by saying that you went to university X to study under some person named Y or to study the thoughts of person Y. I strongly suspect that you mean that you went to study to gain a master’s degree, which indicates a certain level of knowledge.

In other word,

study my master

does not begin to describe why you went to that university. You almost certainly went

to study for my master’s degree

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