Yale College Writing Center www.yale.edu/writing
Adapted from Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (OWL) by Karin Gosselink © 2011
WRITING PERSONAL STATEMENTS FOR GRADUATE SCHOOL
The graduate school personal statement is your opportunity to convey what you might be like as
a future colleague and professional within your discipline. It is your chance to articulate the
passion that will make you a motivated scholar and teacher, as well as your familiarity with the
field and your potential research interests. An interesting, well-written, and polished personal
statement represents the confident, intelligent, and grounded professional you will become.
Initial Preparation:
• Thoroughly research the schools and departments to which you plan to apply. Other than
business, law, medical or other professional schools, most graduate programs enroll twenty
or fewer students each year. Graduate admissions committees want to know why you are the
best fit for their program/department. Each department is unique, and your statement should
reflect your knowledge of the department’s research strengths.
• Clarify your motivations and goals for pursuing a graduate degree. Keep in mind that
graduate school prepares you for a specific profession: why do you want to join that
profession?
• Talk to current graduate students and professors about the environment and expectations of
the field you want to enter. Consider how your skills and experience have prepared you for
success in this field.
• Read recent journal articles and other scholarship in the field that is close to your scholarly
interests.
Goals for the Personal Statement:
• Demonstrate your intellectual passion for the field—what thrills or excites you about the
research you’ve done or you would like to do?
• Provide concrete examples of your skills, interests, and previous research in the field, and
how they might inform the research you would like to pursue in your graduate studies.
• Show that you are familiar with the procedures and expectations of scholarship and
professional training in your field, and that you have the character, qualities and experience
to thrive. Use the professional language of the field to describe your scholarly interests.
• Graduate school is extremely challenging—intellectually, emotionally, and financially.
Convey that you have the energy and perseverance to succeed through examples of
challenges you’ve faced and how you’ve overcome them.
What to avoid:
• Cliché: Statements like, “I’ve always wanted to help people,” “I have always loved reading
novels,” etc., are both overused and uninteresting to graduate admissions committees. Using
vague, clichéd phrases to explain your interest in the field undermines the seriousness and
professionalism of the scholarly endeavor. Instead, try to provide a specific anecdote that
illustrates what sparked and sustains your passion.
• Personal statements can have moments of humor that reflect your character/personality, but
the primary purpose isn’t to show how clever you are in composing the essay; it’s to present
yourself as an interesting and potentially inspiring future colleague. For example, writing a
humorous piece about how you want to study psychology because you were inspired by
watching The Sopranos (which might be acceptable for an undergraduate personal statement)
wouldn’t be useful for the graduate school application.