International personal statements

When applying for a course, your personal statement is a key part of the process. Your statement is going to shine a light on your personal experience, academic success, personal skills and any other factors that will support your application for further studies. Here is what you need to include in your personal statement and things to consider.

What to include in your personal statement

There are three main questions to answer, we’ll help you understand each one.

Question 1: Why do you want to study this course or subject?

Here’s where you explain what makes this course exciting to you.

Think about:

• Your motivations for studying this course(s)
• Your knowledge of this subject area and personal interests
• Your future plans and why this is a good fit for you

Question 2: How have your qualifications and studies helped you prepare for this course or subject?

This is your chance to show what you’ve learned at school or college that links to your course.

You could include:

• The skills and knowledge you’ve gained from education or training and how this will help you succeed in your chosen subject
• What relevant or transferable skills you have that make you a great candidate
• Any additional educational achievements, such as being head boy or girl

Question 3: What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences useful?

Not everything you’ve learned comes from the classroom. Life experience counts too!

You might want to talk about:

• Work experience, employment, or volunteering and how they’ve helped you develop the skills needed for your chosen course or future career
• Hobbies and any extracurricular or outreach activities that have taught you transferable skills you can use on your course
• Achievements outside of school or college

Some examples could be being in a sports team or working a part-time job.

How long should my personal statement be?

Each response will have a minimum character count of 350 characters including spaces. You have a 4000-character count overall, including spaces. You don't have to use the same number of characters for each question, as long as you write a minimum of 350 characters. You can write more for one question than you do for the others.

More personal statement tips:

1. Research

You’ve probably already extensively researched your chosen course, but there are some extra points that will really help strengthen your statement. Is there a particular employment prospect that the course is key for? Are you keen to know more about the work of previous and current students on that course? By thoroughly researching the course modules and success stories you will be able to provide a solid reason for why you should be accepted to the course. 

2. Show your passion and motivation

Ensure you let the tutor know why this particular course interests you. Are there any modules that you’re excited for or key parts of the course that have significant relevance for your career progression? It’s easy to say you’re passionate about the subject, but you need to be able to provide examples or reasons to the tutor. Try and make sure this is really applicable to you and your work, not just using general language to sound passionate.

3. Be personal and positive

A personal statement is meant to be personal, so use your life experience to show how you found yourself interested in this career path and subject, but make sure you keep a positive spin. Perhaps you want to study Psychology because a close friend or family member suffers from a health condition – its fine to use examples like this to show what sparked your interest.

4. Sell your skills

This isn’t the time to be modest; show the tutor what makes you a great student and why you’ll be a fantastic addition to the student community. Don’t worry if you’ve not had much industry experience if you’re still studying for your undergraduate degree. Instead, focus on elements you’ve found to be key in your studies so far and why you want to be able to develop your knowledge in those areas.

5. Language

When writing your personal statement, keep it plain and concise. Feel free to be slightly less formal than you may be in an essay or dissertation, but keep it professional and use the language of the industry you’re targeting, as long as it’s relevant.

Get more advice and see examples from real students in our personal statement guide.

Something to bear in mind...

If you are applying for a postgraduate research degree there's a different application process, you won't need a personal statement, you'll be required to submit a research proposal instead.