Writing your personal statement - postgraduate

Why do I need to write a Personal Statement?

Your personal statement is an important part of your application to the University. It is your chance to explain, in your own words, how the programme at the University of Hull fits with your interests, knowledge and skills and how it will support your future study or career aims. 

Whatever your chosen course, if you need a visa to study in the UK the personal statement is an important part of the University’s assessment of your genuine intent to study here. 

We need to know about all previous study you have attempted, whether successful/completed or not. Please tell us of any problems you may have encountered during your study and clearly show if your end result was for a different award from that expected (for example, if you gained a diploma when attempting a degree - or perhaps you gained a Postgraduate Diploma rather than the Masters you were aiming for). 

Writing your personal statement may help you prepare your thoughts ready for any interview either with University staff or, if applying for a visa to study at Hull, with visa officers. 

Make sure your personal statement is your own work – it must not be written by an agent or other adviser or copied from another applicant

What should I include?

Your personal statement should be around 300-500 words. 

In your statement you should highlight: 

• Your interest in the course and how it fits with your career aspirations 

• How your previous study links with this course 

• If applying for a new academic discipline tell us why you now have an interest in the new area 

• Why you would like to study at the University of Hull specifically 

• Relevant work experience or other experience relevant to the course (particularly important if you applying for a course in a professional training are such as teaching, nursing or social work) 

• And anything else you would like to tell us about yourself that makes you a great candidate 

• International students must tell us about all prior UK study (whether completed/passed or not, including any short courses)

Your personal statement is not a test of English language spelling or grammar but we will expect you to be able to write a clear summary.

Postgraduate Research Applicants 

If you are writing a personal statement as part of a scholarship application, please refer to the advert to check if you need to provide anything different in your personal statement.

Your personal statement should be a little longer, around 2 pages of A4 text. 

As well as the points above also tell us about  

• Relevant research experience (such as a project completed during a previous degree)  

• Any academic work you have published or which is awaiting publication.  

If you are also applying for a specific research scholarship you should use the personal statement to explain succinctly, why you believe you are the best candidate for the position –we suggest that you think about it in the way you would an application for a job.

Find out about how to write a good research proposal.