Tips for Writing the Personal Statement

Written by Esther Menn, Ph.D.

Director of Advanced Studies and Professor of Old Testament
Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago
November 2, 2008

The Personal Statement plays an extremely important role in the admissions decision. The majority of
applicants to any Ph.D. program are generally qualified to enter a doctoral program, but not all of these
students can be admitted. In making admissions decisions, faculty members carefully consider
Personal Statements, since they offer information and insights not available elsewhere in the
application. Well-written and focused personal statements present that students case for admission
into a Ph.D. program. They should clearly state the applicant’s educational and vocational goals,
describe prior academic training and practical experience as the background for doctoral study, and
articulate how they see their own plans fitting with the specific degree program.

Know Yourself!

•• What are your specific academic and vocational goals in pursuing a Ph.D.?
o Do you plan to teach? What type of institution or department do you envision?
o Do you plan to write? To what audiences would you address your writing?
o Do you have other goals? What are these?
•• What are your main academic interests and how do you intend to engage them in a Ph.D.
program?
o What focused area within a recognized academic discipline will you study?
o What specific skills theories disciplines and subjects do you intend to master?
o What sort of dissertation (not the actual topic) do you envision writing?
•• What academic training and practical experiences have prepared you for doctoral work?
o What scholars or books have inspired or influenced your thinking?
o What prior education, reading, and experience will support your Ph.D. work?

Know Your School!

•• Investigate the fields in which the Ph.D. is offered, including special concentrations
•• Become familiar with the faculty, including areas of expertise, books and articles written,
courses regularly taught, involvement in programs, etc.
•• You may want to correspond with particular faculty members
•• If possible, get a sense of the larger ethos of the school, including explicit commitments,
mission statement and the character of the student body and faculty, to determine fit.
•• Talk with students whoa re currently in the program, or who have recently graduated

Know Your Allies!

•• Consult your teachers and mentors about appropriate schools and faculty, and ask them to
read your personal statement before they write letters of recommendation for you.
•• Identify institutional support, including denominations, organizations, programs, affiliations,
etc.
•• Imagine future audiences and communities that will be served by you after you get your
Ph.D.