Research statement for second time PhD applications to a different graduate program

Question

Context

I was admitted to a graduate program(in chemical physics) in US during the fall of 2019 and after a year of coursework I realized that my research interests were more aligned towards another subject(condensed matter physics/ quantum information). As an international student I had some exposure to research in these related fields and it was until I got into graduate school that I could explore different research areas. When I first applied to graduate programs, I decided to apply to certain programs(in chemistry) based on my majors in undergrad. I decided to graduate from my program with a terminal masters' degree(M.S.), having taken basic graduate courses that align with my research interests and a summer research credits by working with a professor in the other department.

Question

How would a statement of purpose for the second time applications to graduate programs differ from the previous one? Are there any specific details that the admissions committee would expect me to include in my application package?

Answer 1

Since you are entering a different field, the new SoP should be specific to that field. What are your future plans and how do you expect to achieve them? The "tone" of it can be similar to what you wrote before, but the details will be different.

What areas do you hope to explore? What do you intend to do with the knowledge you gain? What sorts of research do you want to work on?

Let the SoP speak to your proposed future in the new field. Having a bit more experience than you did before you can probably be a bit more specific.