How to Write an Impressive PhD Personal Statement in 2023? Everything You Should Know
PhD is one of the highest academic qualifications in a specific domain or field. Getting PhD admission will require you to prove your skills, qualification, aptitudes, and experiences for the same through a personal statement.
This post shines a light on everything you need to know about PhD personal statement.
If you are preparing for PhD admission, the information shared in this blog would help you in writing a winning PhD personal statement.
What Is a PhD Personal Statement?
A PhD personal statement is a document that has to be included in the application for PhD admission. It demonstrates your fitness to be considered for a particular postgraduate research program.
Why PhD Personal Statement So Important?
Your PhD project is going to be a unique one. Institutes want to know how capable you are to complete this project. They read your personal statement for the same. Your PhD personal statement does the following jobs.
- It demonstrates the kind of unique person that you are.
- It showcases your unique skills, experiences, and qualifications
- It digs into your motivations behind taking up a postgraduate research program
- It justifies why you wish to do further research in the chosen field
- It points out the reasons for your selection of the specific institute and country
Five Key Areas to Be Thorough with Before Attempting Your PhD Personal Statement
Be familiar with the Guidelines
Have a clear picture of what to include
Know what tone to use in the writeup
Know the five basic questions to address
Understand how to structure your Ph.D. Personal Statement
Be Familiar with The Guidelines
Though all personal statements are similar in nature, a general approach in writing your PhD personal statement would backfire. You need to draft your write-up in total compliance with the university guidelines or country conventions. This will give your write-up much more mileage and attention from selectors.
Have A Clear Picture of What to Include
Make sure to include the following points in your PhD personal statement without failure.
- Your background
- Reasons for undertaking the particular postgraduate research (PhD)
- A brief of your academic and professional background and experience
- Your involvement in extracurricular activities
- Your long-term goals and future plans
Know What Tone to Use in The Writeup
PhD personal statement is a crucial document in your application and is going to be read closely by your selectors. So, the tone of writing should be well balanced – formal but not too formal and engaging to read but not too colloquial.
Know the Five Basic Questions to Address
Why do you wish to undertake additional research in this particular field?
List down your reasons or motivations for undertaking further studies in the chosen field and explain how you became interested in the field.
Why this particular university and country?
Explain what attracts you to this university and the country, for instance, a unique curriculum, availability of a specific research program, etc.
What qualities and strengths do you possess that make you an ideal fit?
Show how you are or can be different from all other applicants. List down your achievements, skills, creative ideas, etc. with supporting information.
What transferrable skills do you possess?
Your transferrable skills such as time management, communication, leadership, etc. give you more weightage. Talk about them and show how they helped you in the past.
How does this program live up to your expectations and match your goals?
Give a rough picture of how you are planning to steer your career in the future and how your PhD in the specific field is going to support you in that.
How Long Should a Personal Statement Be for a PhD?
Wordcount
Comply with the word count that is recommended by your chosen university. Do not exceed it or run too short of it.
Pages
Your PhD personal statement can be approximately about one or two pages if written using the standard font size and line spacing.
Number of paragraphs
Divide your personal statement into multiple paragraphs. 6 to 7 paragraphs are ideal, including an introduction and conclusion.
Introductory Paragraph
Begin your personal statement with an apt introductory paragraph that triggers the reader’s curiosity and sets the context. It should show how your academic interest got ignited.
Body Paragraphs
Allocate one paragraph each to speak about various points such as academic background, professional experience, future plans, etc. This will allow the reader to locate specific points more easily.
Concluding Paragraph
Avoid cliched sentences in the conclusion. It is better to be original. Conclude by giving a summary of the points in one or two sentences and thanking the selectors for considering your application.
How to Write PhD Personal Statement In 6 Steps?
Follow the below instructions on how to write a good PhD personal statement for making a winning writeup for your postgraduate research admission.
Step one
Gather all relevant points you should include in your PhD personal statement.
Step two
Prepare an outline for your personal statement. Refer to reliable samples for insights.
Step three
Prepare the first draft. Do not spend too much time picking the right words or sentence beauty at this stage.
Step four
Improve the first draft by proofreading several times, correcting mistakes, replacing sentences or words, etc.
Step five
Get your personal statement reviewed by one or two people and seek their feedback.
Step six
Incorporate their suggestions into the final copy. Do a final cross-checking to ensure compliance with all requirements.
Read more here on personal statements:
PhD Personal Statement Example
Referring to a well-written personal statement sample would help you understand its structure well.
Personal Statement for PhD
As a literature student, I always had an interest in reading historical fiction. As a history lover, I never leave a chance to read about my county’s past. I believe historical fiction is the greatest way to study history of a particular time. Applying theories like New Historicism can help us understand various societal dimensions of a particular society. As Louis Montrose has pointed out New Historicism is the textuality of history and historicity of text. New Historicism helps us understand an age more clearly and precisely.
I am a post graduate in English Language and Literature who specialized in British Literature. My specialization in British Literature helped me to dive deeply into Anglo Saxon Poetry and Chaucerian poetry. Historical pieces like Canterbury Tales and Beowulf are prominent poetries of a particular age which help us understand the past. As a British Literature major, I have also read many post colonial and regional literature. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a prominent historical piece of African people which clearly depicts the life of Igbo people in pre-colonial Africa. Both my undergraduate and postgraduate degree projects revolved around historical fiction and I wish to engage in historical fiction even for my Ph.D research. As a prerequisite for my research career, I have started publishing in several journals.
With this research I intend to apply the theory of New Historicism on prominent historical novels and analyse a particular society with the available history over them. I am sure my choice of world war fiction will be good to analyze the after effect of two deadliest wars on people which would be far greater than what is mentioned in the historical text. I wish to learn more about a particular society mentioned in the novel, through field study, referring journals, etc. I am sure this attempt can throw light upon existing the history of this society.
In terms of a career, after the successful doctoral studies and research, I foresee myself teaching literature, writing criticism, and engaging myself in editing or publishing articles. As my specialization is in historical fiction, I wish to engage in an interdisciplinary approach and contribute both to the study of English Literature and History as well. I am sure this Doctoral studies will prove to be valuable to me in several ways. The teaching assistance offered by this program would give me practical exposure. Earning a Ph.D in British and American English Literature would give me the expertise in both branches of literature. I also don’t plan to end my quest in literature with this post doctoral research, instead, I will try to try my hands in Indian and post colonial literature as well and try to conduct research on the same. I am sure this research would leverage my existing skills and equip myself for my future research career. With this program, I can give wings to my professional career and ignite my academic skills.
Read more here on personal statements:
| Anesthesiology | Emergency Medicine | Neurology | Radiology |
| Dental School | Family Medicine | Internal Medicine | Urology |
| Dermatology | General Surgery | Psychiatry | Pediatrics |
| Ophthalmology | Medical School | Nursing Job | Pathology |
Remember These Basic Guidelines While Writing Your PhD Personal Statement
Follow these basic guidelines on how to write a PhD personal statement while making your document.
Customize each writeup
If you are planning to apply to different universities, customize your personal statement for PhD for each of those institutes.
Start early
You may require more time than you think to write a comprehensive and perfect PhD personal statement. So, start early.
Keep zero tolerance for mistakes
PhD is the highest qualification in a given discipline. You can’t apply for it with a document full of mistakes.
Honesty is the key
Being honest in your personal statement will certainly add uniqueness to it and allow the reader to develop a more emotional connection.
Show your confidence
Do not write your personal statement as if you are confused. Write it confidently so your selector will know it.
Top 10 Universities for Doing PhD
You can do PhD in any university but doing it from the world’s best universities will add more value to your qualification. Here is a list of the top ten universities in the world for doing PhD.
- Harvard University
- Yale University
- Stanford University
- University of Oxford
- University of California
- Princeton University
- University of Cambridge
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Imperial College of London
- ETH Zurich
Popular PhD Specializations
You can do PhD in your interested field of research. There are universities that offer it all over the world. Take a look at the most common PhD specializations.
- PhD in Science
- PhD in Educational Psychology
- PhD in Physics
- PhD in Mathematics
- PhD in Computer Science
- PhD in Biology
- PhD in Neuroscience
- PhD in Economics
- PhD in Pharmacology
- PhD in Organic Chemistry
Before We Wrap Up…
Considering its top ranking on the academic ladder, you must always try to draft an outstanding personal statement for your PhD application.
In this blog, we have covered everything you need to know regarding a PhD personal statement and how to write PhD personal statement.
If you still have any doubts or want to share your feedback on this with us, you are most welcome to share them in the comments section below.
