Admissions Put down Multiple Research interests in application?

[NucEngMajor]

So most application have three slots for research interests. My question is should we put down our top three or would this look like we are indecisive about what we want and should only put down one? That is, would the committee consider us for all three separately since each one has a different degree of difficulty to be admitted to?

 

[S.G. Janssens]

So most application have three slots for research interests.

Applications for what? Is it for a PhD program?

My question is should we put down our top three or would this look like we are indecisive about what we want and should only put down one?

If it is plausible that your interests can co-exist and maybe even complement each other, I think it is good to include multiple research interests. For example, drawing from my field (mathematics): If someone writes down "functional analysis" and "numerical analysis" or, say, "functional analysis" and "probability theory", then both of these pairs contains much more information than either one of the three terms separately, and it also gives the committee a much better idea of what kind of candidate you are.