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Advice on “Personal Statements” for PhD Admissions?

Brian Leiter

A student applying to graduate school this fall writes:

I was hoping you could post something on the Leiter Reports asking the readers (particularly the philosophy professors on grad schools admissions committees) what they expect from a student’s personal statement. As a prospective student, this often seems to be the most elusive part of the application, and unfortunately most programs don’t provide much guidance on their websites – and if they do, it isn’t extremely helpful. With the GRE’s, your gpa, and your writing sample you do the best you can, and hope that it is enough, but what the content of personal statement should be is a little less self-evident.

Obviously the personal statement should say something about why the student wants to get a graduate degree in philosophy, and what areas interest him most, but how in depth should it go? Should the student just explain his broad areas of interest, or should he describe
particular problems that have intrigued him? In other words, should a student do a little philosophy in the statement?

Also, it is clear that the student shouldn’t wax poetic about the wonders of the philosophical life, but should simultaneously express the fact that she can see herself doing philosophy as a career. Do your readers have any advice on striking a balance between, on the one hand,
expressing an appreciation and desire for doing philosophy, and on the other, convincing the admissions committee you are a serious candidate?

If a certain part of the student’s applications is sub-par, e.g. low GRE scores or a significantly lower gpa during the first one or two years of college, should the student attempt to provide some justification? Or would such a situation be better taken care of in a letter of recommendation? Should students mention particular faculty members they would enjoy (or even be honored) to work with? If so, how can they do this without groveling?

My own views (having done PhD admissions four or five times in the last decade) are as follows:  (1)  the personal statement should make clear what the student’s philosophical interests are (at present) and how those interests make the program to which the student is applying a sensible choice (in this context, mentioning particular faculty can make good sense, and show that the student has given some thought to why he or she is applying to a particular program); (2) one can’t really "do philosophy" in a personal statement, but one can certainly offer examples of particular philosophical problems (e.g., mental causation) or topics (e.g., Stoic ethics) that convey both the depth of undergraduate preparation and complement the explanation of why the candidate is applying to a particular program; (3) deficiencies in GRE scores or GPA are most persuasively addressed by your faculty recommenders (students ought to discuss the issues candidly with their advisors), but it is certainly not inapprpriate for the personal statement to address these kinds of issues–but statements of the form, "I am a much better student than my undergraduate GPA would suggest" are useless; more pertinent is factual information–e.g., "my overall GPA was dragged down because I was an engineering major my freshman and sophomore years; but when I switched to philosophy, my GPA rose to a 3.8" or "my junior year grades fell significantly when my mother died unexpectedly; I believe my sophomore and senior year grades are more indicative of my philosophical ability." 

The personal statement may certainly say something brief about the student’s professional and personal goals:  most commonly, a career as a college teacher of philosophy, or sometimes personal edification and enrichment.  I would not spend much time on this:  presumptively, those who apply for PhDs in philosophy want to teach the subject.  The items noted above (1-3) are generally more important for an admissions committee:  i.e., what is the student interested in, and does his or her interests fit with what our program has to offer.

Comments are open.  No anonymous comments; students need to hear from philosophers with experience on admissions.  Please post only once; I will try to approve comments in a timely way.  I would, in particular, invite British, Canadian, and Australasian philosophers to remark on pertinent differences in expectations for the personal statements for their programs.

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26 responses to “Advice on “Personal Statements” for PhD Admissions?”

  1. Thom Brooks

    I might be able to say a few words about the British experience. Of course, (3) would not apply as GRE's and the like are not required.

    Too many prospective graduate students are far too general with their statements. I think the more specific, perhaps the better and particularly noting what questions might focus future proposed research. This has a special importance at UK universities as there are no comprehensive exams and often no classes to take prior to starting a PhD: for example, I started working on my dissertation on day one with no lectures or other hurdles to jump. (For some, I think this is a great advantage of the system.) The upshot is that if a candidate does not seem to have enough focus or a clear enough set of research questions, it will create real problems for the student starting the research shortly after they arrive in the department. This is not to say that elsewhere such issues are less important, but to say any problems are not as immediate.

    A final difficulty is with appropriate supervision. A lesson learned the hard way is that top marks and an excellent statement with superb references will not get a student into all departments. It is always worth reminding prospective graduate students to make sure someone in their field of interest is both at the department and may be permitted to take on supervision of extra students: some departments have quotas on how many students a staff member can supervise. It is best to sort these things out first before becoming disappointed later.

    Reply
  2. Mark

    Contra Thom Brooks, I don't think that there is any equivalent to the personal statement in British applications. Normally, you are required to produce a concrete proposal of thesis research for entry to a British or Australasian program.

    I would also caution that graduate school admission in the UK means something quite different to what it does in the US – at least in the wealthier US schools, graduate admission heavily implies graduate funding, but there is generally no such connection in the UK, and in my experience (with the obvious exception of Oxbridge) universities are generally happy to accept graduates even when they are not really capable in regards to supervision of the student's precise area of interest. The funding body is, however, very unlikely to look favourably on such applications. It's funding applications that really count in the UK, and those are again mostly about the concrete research proposal.

    Reply
  3. Christopher Gauker

    I don't know what's appropriate in the UK, but I think that Thom Brooks's advice is bad advice for applicants to programs in the U.S. (He acknowledges that it might be.) Students in the US have to take courses in a lot of areas; so students should not say anything to indicate that they are not open to taking an interest in a lot of things. When it comes time to choose a dissertation topic the student should choose something that someone in the department knows a lot about, since it's hard to get to the cutting edge of something without a mentor who is at the cutting edge of it. So applicants should not say anything to indicate that that's not what they plan to do. We've had bad experiences with students who came into the program with narrow ideas about what they wanted to do and then tried to drag some reluctant faculty member into their project. Certainly if a student is especially interested in the areas that the department is strongest in, it's good to say that and to demonstrate some acquaintance with those fields.

    Reply
  4. harry b

    Having worked in both cases, I agree that Thom Brooks's advice is good for the UK, but not for the US. I actually suspect that there are programs which reward early specialisation quite a bit, but indicating a lack of openness to changing direction really ought to be a negative (and I see it as that). I think Brian's advice is pretty much right. But there is another issue — how seriously should admissions committees take these statements? I confess that I don't take them very seriously; at most a bad statement could weaken a candidate at the margins. I suppose a completely crazy statement could sink a candidate, but I haven't yet come across a completely crazy statement from an otherwise strong candidate.

    Reply
  5. Tim O'Keefe

    I think that all of Brian's advice is spot-on. To add a few minor points:

    (1) Have a faculty member (best would be somebody who has been involved in graduate admissions, if your school has a grad program) look over your statement.

    (2) Have the majority of your personal statement be the same for all places. But it's good to leave open a bit of space at the end of the statement to describe why program X in particular fits in well with your goals and interests. This is something you ought to be thinking about anyway as you're deciding where to apply. Showing that you know something about this dept. in particular and have given some serious thought about these questions will make you look more seasoned and serious.

    (3) Let me repeat the call not to wax poetic about the wonders of philosophy and the philosophical life. Many philosophers have a taste for desert landscapes in prose; don't make them cringe.

    Reply
  6. Thom Brooks

    Responding briefly, Christopher is quite right to say that my advice is meant more specifically for students considering the pursuit of a Ph.D. in the UK and not elsewhere.

    However, I disagree with Mark. Many departments and schools at UK universities—not least my own institution (University of Newcastle)—have their own funding for new graduate students. A strong statement can make all the difference in a full scholarship or something less, along with strong letters of support and a record of previous high academic achievement.

    Reply
  7. Jim Sias

    Two things to consider that haven't been mentioned yet:

    (1) I was told by a number of people that Ph.D. applicants with an M.A. already are usually expected by admissions committees to have a clearer idea of the sorts of issues upon which they'd like to focus. And so, that part of the applicant's personal statement would reflect such clarity by perhaps being more specific (e.g., instead of "I'm really interested in ethics," the applicant might say something like "I'm really interested in the extent to which moral psychology ought to inform our more general moral theorizing").

    (2) I did my undergraduate work at a place that (I'm betting) no one on any admissions committee had ever heard of. So part of my personal statement was a description of the sort of training in philosophy that I actually underwent as an undergrad. I'd encourage applicants in similar situations (i.e., going to colleges that might lead an admissions committee to wonder about the sort (and strength) of philosophical background you really have) to do the same.

    I should add one final word of advice: trust your advisors. They know (better than you do) what admissions committees will find most interesting about *you*. So if a professor of yours tells you to change part of your statement, change it.

    Reply
  8. Jacob T. Levy

    My experience is in North American poli sci departments, not philosophy, but I endorse Brian's and Tim's advice.

    I think many too many applicants confuse the graduate application statement with the undergraduate application statement. The goal at the graduate level is *not* to communicate what a warm, rich, interesting, well-rounded person you are. Waxing poetic about the philosophic life is one species of this genre of problem. The species I see more often is waxing poetic about how important political activism has been/ will be in your life, or how interesting and important *politics* is to you.

    The essay should strike a balance between sounding like you know what you're doing and getting into– a scholarly research profession, which means you need to sound like you have serious research interests– and not sounding like you have unchangeable interests because you think you already know everything. (I have seen North American applicants get hurt because they sounded as if they'd be impervious to 2-3 years of coursework; we egomaniacal academics like to think that we might have something to teach you that you don't already know.) That balance can be tricky, but plenty of essays just move off on some other axis altogether, discussing too many things that are neither the present research agenda nor the possible areas of future learning.

    I agree that it's very rare for an essay to do much to help a candidacy; but it's easy for it to hurt– either in the initial culling or in the final "we've got 21 excellent applicants and 19 spots and need *some* excuse to cut someone" stage.

    Reply
  9. bill in turkey

    Jim Sias advice strikes me as worth having. It strikes me that it might be especially relevant for overseas applicants – can anyone with relevant experience confirm or deny this?

    Reply
  10. Mark Schroeder

    Small observation: in my experience many graduate applicants hurt themselves in the process of trying to follow the advice to make a case that their interests fit the department's strengths. I suspect that many applicants are advised to specifically mention members of the department who they might like to work with. That's great advice, but only if you're in a position to really know. Scanning through the department's webpage and picking some names is likely to be transparent, and give yourself away.

    Reply
  11. Jacob T. Levy

    whereas I think it's generally a good idea to do that, provided it's done *well*. Pick people who are a) actually in the department, b) still alive, c) not emeritus, and d) who really do have relevant interests– I've seen all four of these violated…

    Reply
  12. Brian Leiter

    For what it's worth, I agree with Jacob Levy on this point. It would be useful to hear from others about the issues raised by Mark Schroeder.

    Reply
  13. Mike Otsuka

    A couple observations:

    (1) When I admitted graduate students I examined personal statements only to try to figure out how well the applicant's research interests fit with interests of the faculty in my department and to try to get a sense of how likely it was that the person would want to come if made an offer.

    (2) If there's someone in the department with whom you'd like to work, that's presumably because you were impressed and influenced by something by the person that you've read. It would be good briefly to mention what this was. Among other things, that will indicate that you're not just picking names off of the web page. It will also make it somewhat less invidious that you've mentioned that person without also having mentioned everyone else in the department in the same field. (You never know who will be reading your application. It might be a jealous colleague of the person with whom you'd like to work.)

    Reply
  14. Fritz Warfield

    From my experience doing admissions at Notre Dame over the years, I think far too many candidates spend quite a bit of time on their personal statements that should have been spent on their writing sample. The writing sample is at least 50 times as important as the personal statement. This is true especially in making tough decisions late in the admissions process about who gets in now and who goes to the wait list.

    Reply
  15. Eric Schwitzgebel

    I'm working on a series of posts on applying to Philosophy Ph.D. Programs over at The Splintered Mind:
    http://schwitzsplinters.blogspot.com/
    I'm planning a post on statements of purpose shortly. I agree with Brian's comments and most of the comments here. I don't think it hurts to mention particular faculy members you might like to work with, but you had better be sure that you know enough about their work to be sure they fit with you stated areas of interest.

    Reply
  16. Eric Schwitzgebel

    Oh, one thing that hasn't come out fully discussion yet is this:

    I'd advise against endorsing a particular substantive philosophical position. You are probably not far enough in your philosophical education to justifiably feel confident that you know enough about some particular philosophical issue that your mind is immune to change on it (this relates to Jacob Levy's point). Thus, saying things like "I would like to defend Davidson's view that genuine belief is limited to language-speaking creatures" comes off as a little bit close-minded and, if not exactly arrogant, at least not as charmingly humble as you might like. (As discussed in previous comments, English institutions might view such statements more favorably.) Similarly, "I showed in my honors thesis that Davidson's view…". If only, in philosophy, honors theses ever really showed anything! Much better: "My central interests are philosophy of mind and philosophy of language. I am particularly interested in the intersection of the two, for example in Davidson's argument that only language-speaking creatures can have beliefs in the full and proper sense of 'belief'."

    Reply
  17. Kris Kemtrup

    I know that in some fields, medicine for example, your personal statement is supposed to show that you have a variety of interests and that you are a well-rounded human being, i.e. that you have something more to offer than the high test scores and top grades evident in your application.

    It seems to me from what people are writing here and from what I've heard elsewhere that such information shouldn't really be included in your personal statement if you're applying to a philosophy PhD program. Or, at any rate, that you shouldn't spend much space in your statement on describing things about you that don't directly pertain to your abilities and interests as a philosopher.

    Am I right? Is it a bad idea to talk about volunteer work you've done, artistic interests you've explored, etc. If so, isn't that a bit odd?

    Reply
  18. Jordan R.

    I'm just about to start sending off applications, and I was wondering:

    What about time taken off in between BA and PhD work? I decided to take a year off after getting my BA in philosophy, not because of any particular flagging of interest in doing graduate work, but because I wanted more time to evaluate my options WITHIN philosophy. In the meantime, I've been sitting in on courses (some of them graduate-level courses) at the university from which I received my BA. Should I mention this in my personal statement? Or should I ask one of my professors to mention it in their letter? Or is one year off not that big of a deal?

    Reply
  19. Eric Schwitzgebel

    Mention it! If you can, take those courses you're sitting in on very seriously and get glowing letters from those professors. If they compare you favorably with their own graduate students, that's a major asset in an application.

    Reply
  20. jonathan weinberg

    "It seems to me from what people are writing here and from what I've heard elsewhere that such information shouldn't really be included in your personal statement if you're applying to a philosophy PhD program. Or, at any rate, that you shouldn't spend much space in your statement on describing things about you that don't directly pertain to your abilities and interests as a philosopher."

    That's exactly right.

    Let me also add my dittos to Eric's advice to Jordan, adding that I don't think that one year off is a big deal — but it's still much better for you that it was a year off being very philosophical, and extra-better if you have a letter-writer substantiating it (and hopefully speaking in concrete terms about your growth as a philosophyer in that time).

    Reply
  21. Carl

    For schools that don't ask for a CV, is it best to include information about awards, presentations, other relevant experience, etc, in the personal statement?

    Reply
  22. Marcus

    Carl – Even if a school doesn't ask for a CV, you can still send one. If they're interested in you, I would guess they will read it. I wouldn't wax eloquent about awards, presentations, etc. in my statement of purpose (unless maybe you've published something notable & relevant to your research interests). What do others think?

    Reply
  23. Henry Jackman

    Carl, You can include a CV, but if you have a good relation with one of your letter writers, you can always ask that they mention it in their letter. It's not OK to dictate any sort of evaluative claim to your letter writer, but asking them to add more 'descriptive' information like what awards you won or conferences you attended should be fine. Their letter will typically be given more attention than your personal statement, and tooting your own horn never sounds as nice as having someone else toot it for you.

    Reply
  24. sara

    Quick question about the cv: should it include only philosophically relevant activities or is it worthwhile mentioning also other things? I understand that "other activities" should not be included in the statement of purpose, but maybe they are appropriate in the cv, especially if they show, i don't know, industriousness, capacity to work on different things, being multifaceted… My personal case (so you can just tell me: DON'T!!) is: I've studied dance at a semi-professional level, and taught it several years. Among other part-time jobs, I've worked for ten years (from my first year in college to nowadays) in a center for epidemiological studies (doing data entry and data collection of various kind). Is this useful, neutral, or even harmful to mention? My case is a bit odd, since I already got a PhD in Italy, which explains how I could have worked for ten years and also being at the university for so long without being a bit slow… Working and doing a PhD at the same time is feasible (although stressfull) in Italy, since we don't have teaching duties or even real courses/credits to take, but maybe it could be taken as "I've not worked on philosophy enough"?
    Thanks!

    Reply
  25. Justin

    Should the CV include a section on coursework? I've seen that some grad students who have CV's online list the graduate courses they've taken; should undergrads list the undergrad courses they've taken? I guess the reason I thought it would be helpful is that it would show your background in philosophy, especially if you aren't from a school that regularly sends students to graduate programs. But, I suppose that information will show up on a transcript, albeit in a more abbreviated form.

    This reminds me of another question. One or two schools I am applying to ask for a list of courses with instructor, scope, texts, etc. Would this be something useful to include with every application (maybe in place of a CV)?

    Reply
  26. Finding older posts, now that the Typepad links are broken – Leiter Reports

    […] A recent comment on an older post notes, correctly, that old intra-blog links based on the Typepad URLs no longer work, now that all these posts have migrated to WordPress, the current blog service provider. Readers should note that there is a search engine for the blog in the middle of the right-hand column (after the list of categories, and before the archives), where you can search for older posts at their new URL. In this case, for instance, if you search for “advice on personal statements” you will get the original post from 2007. […]

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