Personal Statements for UK Schools

[phil413]

Hi all,

 

I am applying to a few graduate programs in the UK (or, as they call it over there, post graduate studies) and while this forum has taught me all I need to know about writing an SOP for US schools, I was aware that there may be a few stylistic differences in the personal statement/SOP for UK schools. Does anyone have any experience applying to UK schools, or would anyone happen to know, more specifically, what the key differences are for approaching the UK statement? If not, would you happen to know of helpful resources / forums for UK postgraduate studies which I could refer to?

 

Thank you!

 

[Edit] I am applying for MSc / Mphil programs, so am interested to know whether there are differences between the UK/US SOPs specifically for Master-level programs, if that makes a difference!

Edited January 24, 2014 by phil413

[bobkindles]

I've just finished a two-year MPhil in the UK and am applying there and the US for PhD, so I hope I can help you. As you probably know, PhDs in the UK are shorter than the US because they do not have the lengthy coursework component at the beginning, and there is also the expectation that you will start a PhD in the UK having already completed a separate Masters' degree (at least for some fields, anyway) - in that context, the "personal statement" should be more like a research proposal (and is generally referred to as such) in that, rather than being open-ended and focused on your achievements, it should really be a fairly detailed plan of what you research will be. The level of detail required, from my experience, will substantially exceed what is expected in a US personal statement - so, for my field, Chinese literature, I was advised by those who read my first draft to specify exactly which authors and texts would form the basis of my study, how I anticipated the internal structure of my research (number of chapters, for example), whether I would need any particular methods training or foreign language teaching, and the anticipated length of my research. You will also be expected to provide a provisional title for your research. To that extent, the UK statement is a great deal more "rigorous" than the US personal statement, and should ultimately be an academic document. 

Of course, each school and field will have their own guidelines, but I think the above holds true in most cases. 

[phil413]

I've just finished a two-year MPhil in the UK and am applying there and the US for PhD, so I hope I can help you. As you probably know, PhDs in the UK are shorter than the US because they do not have the lengthy coursework component at the beginning, and there is also the expectation that you will start a PhD in the UK having already completed a separate Masters' degree (at least for some fields, anyway) - in that context, the "personal statement" should be more like a research proposal (and is generally referred to as such) in that, rather than being open-ended and focused on your achievements, it should really be a fairly detailed plan of what you research will be. The level of detail required, from my experience, will substantially exceed what is expected in a US personal statement - so, for my field, Chinese literature, I was advised by those who read my first draft to specify exactly which authors and texts would form the basis of my study, how I anticipated the internal structure of my research (number of chapters, for example), whether I would need any particular methods training or foreign language teaching, and the anticipated length of my research. You will also be expected to provide a provisional title for your research. To that extent, the UK statement is a great deal more "rigorous" than the US personal statement, and should ultimately be an academic document. 

Of course, each school and field will have their own guidelines, but I think the above holds true in most cases. 

 

Bobkindles, thank you very much for your super helpful response! I apologise, I should have clarified -- I'm actually looking to apply to MSc and Mphil programs (which, kindly correct me if I'm wrong, are the US schools' Master level equivalents?). Would that make a difference to what you have already responded with regarding UK PhD programs?

 

Thank you again!

Edited January 24, 2014 by phil413

[bobkindles]

Hey phil413, sorry for the wait. In my experience, Masters' levels programs do not require an exact research proposal in the same way as DPhil/PhD programs - my MPhil was a taught Masters' though with a big thesis component, and for that my statement was just a discussion of my research interests, which, as it happened, did not manifest themselves in my final thesis, as my interests changed significantly during the Masters'. If you are applying for a research Masters' then I would imagine that you would need to provide a bit more detail, like a thesis title, in your statement, but in general, a "discussion-style" essay rather than a highly specific research proposal should do the trick. So, in other words, don't pay attention to what I said above for PhDs/Dphils, that advice is generally not applicable to Masters' programs! 

[Kleene]

I have applied to (taught) masters and a PhD, in the UK and US among others. I haven't heard back yet, so I can't be sure how successful my SoPs were. As far as I know, UK SoPs should be more focused. They care less about how well-rounded you are and are only concerned with you academics, which is your coursework and what you have done in your field outside of the degree course. If you mention anything like extracurriculars or irrelevant activities, please directly relate these to the course you are applying for and how these activities make you a great candidate. They want you to answer to obvious questions: why this course, why this university and why (they should accept) you. On top of that, some universities/courses (like Oxbridge) may require proof that you are up to the intense work.

Some courses explicitly state what they want you to write about in your SoP, so please check if you can find course specific requirements. Research masters indeed often require a research proposal, which is a different cup of tea (not mine ).

[phil413]

thank you, guys!

[Sarah Bee]

I have applied to Swansea University (Wales) through Erasmus Mundus scholarship for master level programmes. They asked for a letter of motivation which should be succinct and concise. Should clearly state your personal motivation for applying to the programme (a passionate hook, as they call it), followed by your academic/ professional background, relevant research (if any), how would this particular programme be beneficial to you in future and why are you applying to a certain university.

As for an MPhil programme, I guess you have to elaborate more on your research interests. But generally, I have seen samples letters of successful candidates and they were very straightforward.

[phil413]

Thank you, this was very helpful!

 

If any of you UK-programme veterans are willing to give me some feedback on my SOP, please let me know! I would greatly appreciate that.

Thank you,

Phil413