Tips for Writing a Compelling Personal Statement for Admission to

Wayne State University Graduate Programs

Note that this is a general guide to assist you in preparing a personal statement. Applicants

should also review the requirements of the degree program by visiting the program website

and/or consulting with program staff to determine whether other information is required in the

personal statement.

What does this statement need to accomplish?

The personal statement should convince readers—often the faculty on the department

broader academic community. If you have faced any obstacles or barriers in your education or

have seized upon unique opportunities for research, sharing those experiences serves both for

the selection process, and for your nomination for assistantships and fellowships. If one part of

your academic record is not ideal due to challenges you faced in that particular area, this is

where you can explain any issues and direct reviewers’ attention to the evidence of your

promise for success in higher education. This is also where you can communicate your potential

to bring to your academic career a critical perspective rooted in your experiences.

Part 1: Introduce yourself, your interests and motivations

Tell readers what you’re interested in, and perhaps, what sparked your desire for graduate

study. This should be short and to the point; don’t spend a great deal of time on autobiography.

that might be applicable, especially if you had any kind of responsibility for testing, designing,

researching or interning in an area similar to what you wish to study in graduate school. What

did you learn from these experiences? How did these experiences prepare you for graduate

studies?

Part 3: Your academic achievement in context (note that this section may be placed anywhere

in your statement. Consider the flow of the other sections and where the following information

best fits for you).

It is especially helpful if you discuss circumstances or activities that may have affected your

academic and professional development. Admissions committee members want to know if you

have what it takes to persist and succeed in graduate studies. This is your chance to

contextualize your application (e.g., GPA, standardized test scores, research experience) for the

disadvantages, including first-generation college student status;

• Potential to contribute diverse perspectives to enhance the higher education enterprise

(e.g., research, scholarly work, classroom dialogue) as evidenced by life experiences

and educational background. For example:

◦ Ability to articulate the barriers facing women and minorities in science,

technology, and engineering (STEM) fields;

◦ Participation in higher education pipeline programs such as BUILD, IMSD,

McNair Scholars, or summer research and internship programs;

◦ Military service

◦ Service in Peace Corps, Teach for America, Americorps, City Year, Summer in

Part 4: Discuss the relevance of your recent and current activities

If you graduated and worked prior to returning to grad school, indicate what you’ve been

doing: company or non-profit, your work/design team, responsibilities, what you learned. You

can also indicate how this helped you focus your interest in graduate studies.

Part 5: Elaborate on your academic interests

Here you indicate what you would like to study in graduate school in enough detail to convince

the faculty that you understand the scope of research in their discipline, are aware of resources

in the department, and are engaged with current research themes.

a) Indicate the area of your interests. Ideally, pose a question, define a problem, or indicate a

theme that you would like to address in your graduate studies. This should be an ample