Whether you’re a museum buff, you love Roman ruins, or you’re passionate about preserving our heritage, get across your enthusiasm for the subject, your personal attributes, and where you see yourself going, to uncover the perfect personal statement.
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Think about why you want to study the subject
- Have you been inspired by someone, a news story, a documentary, or a podcast?
- Do you have career aspirations in this area of study?
- What interests you about the subject – be specific; rather than saying you enjoy it or are good at it, try to explain the ‘why’ behind your reasoning.
- What do you already know about the subject and what are you looking forward to learning more about?
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What makes you suitable to study the subject?
- Have you done projects or essays in this subject at school or college?
- Think about who you are as a person; your personality, your strengths, your experiences in life – how do these make you suited to study the subject?
- How have you shown an interest in the subject outside of school or college – have you done extra reading, online courses, been part of clubs or competitions?
- Your current subjects and grades will be included elsewhere in your application, so try to think about specific things you’ve learned during your studies that relate to the subject, rather than listing your grades and subjects.
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Look at the bigger picture
- Have you done any work experience, an internship or had a part-time job in this subject area or related? Most job or work experience will give you transferable skills, even if it’s in a different industry.
- Do you have any hobbies you can mention that might relate to your chosen subject? Many hobbies show that you can be motivated outside of school to achieve and succeed in something you’re interested in.
- Think about how your life and personal experiences have helped make you the person you are today, and how these challenges and experiences can support your application by evidencing essential qualities for certain subjects.
- If you’ve got ambitions and goals for your life and career, can you express how this subject will help you reach these goals?
Guidance and examples you can use
Question 1: Why do you want to study this course or subject?
This is your opportunity to showcase your passion and knowledge of your chosen subject area and to demonstrate to universities and colleges why it’s a good fit for you and your future ambitions.
Examples:
- Explain why you’re enthusiastic about archaeology, and where that interest comes from. Try not to focus too much on the fact you’re an Indiana Jones fan, and refer to something recent as well, such as a trip you’ve taken to see Mayan ruins in Mexico, or an exhibition you’ve visited on Ancient Egypt. Link that back to the course you’re applying for.
- Mention articles or books you’ve read that have influenced you, and elaborate on one or two of them. Perhaps you’ve watched a documentary about Stonehenge or read an article on how digital social science research is being used in archaeology.
- If you know you want to become a museum curator, work out in the field, or help with urban planning, write about that too. If you don’t know yet, don’t worry – you can still get across why your natural curiosity or analytical nature would make this degree a good fit for you.
Question 2: How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare for this course or subject?
This is your chance to shout about the relevant or transferable skills you’ve gained from your formal education and highlight your understanding of how they will help you succeed in this subject area.
Examples:
- Think about what you’ve learned from the subjects you’ve studied that you can use during an archaeology degree. For example, you may have done fieldwork in geography, learned about different societies and cultures in history, politics, or philosophy, or gained good research and analytical skills in sciences, maths, or economics.
- Think about other relevant skills you’ve picked up at school or college too, such as writing and presentation skills, good time management, and the ability to focus.
- You’ll have also learned things from supercurricular or extracurricular activities, whether that’s an awareness of different cultures, working well independently, or as part of a team.
- Have you done any online courses to boost your knowledge in the subject? For example, why not try Subject Spotlights or Virtual Work Experiences from Springpod to grow your skills and interest?
Question 3: What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences useful?
This is your chance to talk about any other activities you have undertaken outside of your formal education, or personal experiences which further demonstrate your suitability for the course. This section is likely to be highly personal to you and anything you do include should reflect on why you’re including it.
Examples:
- Write about any sports teams or groups you’re a part of and the relevant skills you’ve picked up, such as good communication and teamworking skills. You may have also picked these up in a part-time job in a cafe, restaurant, shop or supermarket.
- Think about your supercurricular and extracurricular activities too. For example, if you’ve learned a musical instrument or you enjoy creative writing, planting and growing vegetables, playing chess, or achieving a yoga handstand, you’ll demonstrate you have patience and perseverance.
- Think of any personal experiences and attributes too. If you come from a multicultural family, or you have a parent who was raised in a different country, you’ll have cultural understanding, and perhaps curiosity about another country’s history or how other people live.
- Do relate any examples back to the subject you’re applying to – make it relevant
- Do make it personal – admissions staff want to get to know who you are
- Do use a spell-checker and grammar-checker to ensure there are no errors
- Do ask people for feedback, whether that’s family members or teachers
- Do your research to find out what universities are looking for, and make sure you include evidence to show how you are suitable for the course
- Don’t just list out examples, subjects you study, or experiences you’ve had without any evidence
- Don’t copy something you’ve seen online or use AI to write something for you
- Don’t make things up just because you think they’ll make you look good on paper
- Don’t leave it until the last minute – you need time for several drafts
- Don’t worry about making each section the same length; as long as you hit the minimum character count, you can use the 4,000 characters across each answer in the way that suits you best
If you went on a family holiday to Crete and a visit to Knossos sparked your interest in archaeology, expand on that and tell admissions tutors what you hope to learn on their course. Perhaps you looked up what archaeologists in the UK do once you got back?
Or, if you’ve volunteered to help with a dig, or experienced a field trip somewhere significant, write about what you learned from it.
If you started the history club at school, or you love reading historical fiction, tell tutors what you learned about how people lived in the Stone Age, or something else that you want to explore more on your course.
Reference newspapers or sites you read too, alongside culture that you’re interested in. Perhaps you follow Mary-Ann Ochota, Ben Robinson, or Alice Roberts on social media, or you watch Digging for Britain and then carry out your own further research afterwards.
Some more tips to consider
- Research the course: Why do you want to study archaeology, what specific aspects of the course interest you, how does it relate to your academic studies, and what additional reading or other activities have led you to apply?
- Curiosity: Try and give an example of when you’ve been curious about how our ancestors lived. You could describe how you researched the British Museum’s ancient world collections, or talk about what you learned from doing your own family tree on Ancestry.
- Make your work experience count: If you’ve work-shadowed at a museum, library, or heritage organisation, that’s great, but make sure you also spell out exactly what you gained from it.
- Transferable skills: Brainstorm what skills you’ve picked up through extracurricular or supercurricular activities, work experience, or a part-time job that are relevant to your course. Think laterally – so you’ve learned pottery, can you explain how that has given you interpersonal skills, self-motivation, and good time management?