Personal Statements | Careers and Employability Service

Personal Statements

Personal statements for postgraduate applications provide an opportunity for you to show your motivation and suitability for the degree programme. Our resources and mini courses give you tips on how to create statements with real impact.

Top Tips

Thoroughly research your chosen degree programme (core courses and elective options) and institution.
Don't rush: give yourself plenty of time to complete your personal statement. This may take several drafts.
Follow the instructions: take careful note of word counts and other guidelines.

What to include

A good personal statement usually includes:

An opening paragraph which starts with a good strong opening statement and explains why you have decided to apply.
Information on your relevant studies and how this new programme will build on your existing knowledge.
A summary of any relevant work and/or volunteering experience.
How this programme will help you in realising your career goals.
A conclusion which sums up what you have to offer and why you want to study at that particular institution.

You can organise your information in different ways but following the order above should give you a good logical structure and flow.

If you are given guidance on the length and content of your statement, ensure that you follow this carefully. If no guidance is given, we recommend to aim for no more than one and half pages (around 500-750 words).

Get feedback

Once you have drafted your personal statement and double-checked the spelling and grammar, we can provide feedback on the content, quality and impact of your document. Please submit your statement via our Ask a question service.

You can also book a 15-minute careers appointment but please be aware that this may not always be enough depending on the length of your statement.

Ask a question or book an appointment