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Once you’ve found the perfect programme to study, the next step is to begin the application process. You’ll usually have to write a personal statement that highlights your strengths, skills and experience, giving you the perfect opportunity to sell yourself and to show the admissions tutor that you’ll thrive at their university.
This page provides some practical tips on writing a successful personal statement for a Bachelor’s or master’s application, from the typical structure to avoidable mistakes – along with some examples of what to do and what not to do! We’ve also included links to several Masters’s personal statement examples in subjects including Business, Psychology and International Relations.
If you’re applying for a bachelor’s or master’s, it’s likely that you’ve already written a personal statement for a bachelor’s degree and will have a good idea of how one works. Normally, a Bachelor’s or master’s personal statement won’t be wildly different to what you wrote back then.
You should say why you’re applying for this particular course and institution, talking about what makes it such an appealing place to study. Perhaps there’s a member of staff who you’re especially excited about working with or a unique element of the curriculum that jumps out at you.
Demonstrate how and why you are invested in your subject. It’s important to mention your academic and employment history, explaining its impact on your choice of a postgraduate course.
Give examples of some of the skills and experience you’ve developed at university or at work, and how they’ll help you succeed with a Bachelor’s or master’s degree. These could include:
Your personal statement is an opportunity to write about your future career goals, and how you think this Bachelor’s or master’swill help you achieve them. You can also discuss preliminary ideas you might have for your Bachelor’s or master’s dissertation, giving the admissions tutor an indication of the specialist knowledge you have in your discipline.
If there are any significant gaps in your education or employment, you should offer a brief explanation of those extenuating situations (for example, illness or a gap year). Don’t dwell on any unfortunate circumstances though – always strike a positive, optimistic tone.
In most (but not all) cases, you’ll apply directly to the university for a Bachelor’s or master’s rather than through a centralised system like UCAS. This means you can tailor each personal statement to the institution and programme in question (rather than submitting a single personal statement for five courses, like at the undergraduate level in the UK).
You don’t necessarily have to a completely new personal statement for each Bachelor’s or master’s programme you apply to (there will usually be a degree of overlap between them), but it’s worth putting the extra effort into making sure your application doesn’t seem like a generic copy-and-paste job to the admissions tutor reading it. You can do this by mentioning the university and department by name, and by providing specific examples of their syllabus that you find intriguing. Pay attention to what makes this particular master unique and refer to this in your statement.
When writing a postgraduate personal statement, you should aim for a word count of around 500 words (one A4 side of text). Some universities will have more specific requirements, however – for example, they might ask you to submit your personal statement via a form on their website with a character limit.
The relatively short nature of a Bachelor’s or master’s personal statement means that you should focus on being as succinct as possible, getting straight to the point and avoiding unnecessary detail.
How you write your personal statement is just as important as the content; a clear, structured statement is proof of your ability to communicate effectively.
These are some of the most essential attributes of a successful postgraduate personal statement:
Meanwhile, this is a list of the tendencies to avoid in your personal statement:
By carefully structuring your personal statement, you’ll present the admissions tutor with a logical and easy-to-follow text that shows exactly why you’re a perfect fit for a Bachelor’s or masters. Make sure there’s a clear thread of argument linking each paragraph – avoid jumping from topic to topic.
Jot down a short plan before you begin working on the statement (don’t make it up as you go along!). In general, you should aim to write around five or six paragraphs, covering three broad categories:
Bear in mind that admissions tutors will be reading dozens (if not hundreds) of personal statements. They’ll appreciate a well-organised, methodical text that signposts all the significant parts of your experience and skills.
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Disclaimer:
The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Adivis and authors accept no responsibility for loss that may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please don’t hesitate to contact Adivis. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Adivis.
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