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Thank you for your interest in Graduate Studies in Agricultural and Resource Economics.
Tips
on Writing a Personal Statement
The
Personal Statement is a very important aspect of the application process.
Everything else the Graduate Committee learns about you is from someone
else, Letters of Recommendation, etc. This is your opportunity to connect
with the members of the Graduate Committee in your own words. The Graduate
Admissions Committee carefully reviews this document. Cover the following
points:
- What are your Career Goals?
- Describe undergraduate and/or postgraduate research experience
- Why do you wish to pursue Graduate Studies in Agricultural and Resource Economics (AREC) at the University of Arizona? Be specific.
- What research interests do you have in common with members of the AREC faculty? See Faculty Profiles
-
What are your career goals? Describe your long range professional plans. Do you intend to pursue a Ph.D. program? What type of work do you plan to pursue upon completion of your Graduate Studies program?
- It's
important to relate any relevant experiences you might have. How
well prepared are you to enter our Graduate Program? What have you
been doing to prepare yourself to meet your career goals?
-
Tell your story. This is not to say tell your whole life's story in a novel length document. Keep your Personal Statement as short in length as possible. Tell enough about yourself to reveal to the Graduate Committee how well you fit your career goals and are prepared to enter a Graduate Studies program. Promote yourself. Don't assume the Letters of Recommendation have captured what you are all about to the Graduate Committee. Make your Personal Statement interesting and informative. It doesn't have to be chronological.
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Be proactive about advocating why you want to enter postgraduate training. The Graduate Committee wants to see by your Personal Statement that you've done your homework and researched our program and faculty and that you know what you're getting into. The Graduate Committee will be looking to see if you are a good match to our program.
- It is
imperative that you use good English in your Personal Statement.
The Personal Statement is your demonstration to the Graduate Committee
that you have the competency and writing skills to handle writing
a Master's Thesis. It might be helpful to have another set of eyes
to help you proof your Personal Statement to locate any spelling
mistakes, grammatical errors, incorrect punctuation, etc.
BACK
Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, The University of Arizona.
http://ag.arizona.edu/arec-graduates/application_forms/personal_statemt.html
Revised 3/8/06