Civil engineering 2026 personal statement guide

Write about your passion for civil engineering, some specific things that fascinate you, and tell admissions tutors something about you as a person – that way you’ll have the right materials for a successful personal statement. 

General advice about writing your personal statement

What do admissions staff at universities and colleges want to see?

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 your motivation and why you’re enthusiastic about the course, giving specific examples of what interests you and a glimpse of any specific knowledge you already have. Perhaps you’ve studied bridges or buildings in your area – reflect on what you’ve learned that’s made you interested in a civil engineering degree.
• Include examples of things you've read that have influenced your interest in this subject. Don't just list them though – elaborate on one or two specific issues you read about recently and the impact it made on you. If you’ve been following the Restoring Your Railway projects, expand on what you’ve learned so far or how you want to further your knowledge during your degree.
• If you have a particular goal in mind, mention what you plan to do with your civil engineering degree, whether it’s your long-term career aspirations relating to urban planning or sustainability, or just your ambition to make the world a better place.

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:

• Explain how studying physics, maths or design technology, for example, has helped with your critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Have you led a project in school, or undertaken an EPQ, which can demonstrate both your project management and communication skills?
• Think about how you can show you’ve got good attention to detail, too – whether that’s through your exam revision strategy, or specific subjects such as chemistry, music or history.
• 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:

• Can you reflect on specific situations where you’ve used your problem-solving skills? Perhaps you had to react quickly in an emergency, or you had multiple projects due in on the same day. Think about how you tackled the problem head-on and the skills you learned that you can bring to your degree. 
• Try and give examples of things you've done that highlight your technical aptitude, teamwork skills or leadership, whether that’s a part-time job working at a bar, coaching a sports team, or being part of a coding club after school.
• Similarly, reflect on any extracurricular achievements that demonstrate good time management and self-organisation, whether you’re part of a sport or drama club, you do volunteering, or you've achieved a high grade in a musical instrument.
• Evidence what you’ve learned from any relevant experience, insights, interests, or achievements. This will be all the more impressive if it was outside of school or college, like relevant work experience, engineering taster days, or CREST Awards.

How to set yourself apart

The key to setting yourself apart in your application is to remember how important the ‘personal’ bit is to your personal statement. What makes you, you? 

Admissions tutors are looking for creative people with a bit of originality, as well as technical skills and good presentation skills. So, if you’re interested in how things work, taking things apart and repairing them, or learning programming or coding, include this here. Perhaps you’ve taught yourself a musical instrument or made your own computer game? Reflect on what you learned or the skills you developed.

Avoid saying ‘when I was a child’. Rather than mention you played with BRIO toys when you were younger, write about what you’ve done recently that’s much more relevant. Perhaps you dismantled and rebuilt your bike, or made a model of Hogwarts castle from scratch? If you’ve had any relevant work experience, make sure you reflect on it and explain what you found interesting or challenging about it (and why).

Finally, if you can, relate what you’re saying back to something you’ve read in New Civil Engineer or Construction News, or heard on the Civil Engineering podcast, and how that’s made you excited to be on your chosen course. 

Some more tips to consider

1. Research the course: Why do you want to study civil engineering, 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? Make sure you check out the department websites of the universities you're applying to.
2. Communication skills: Can you show you’re a good communicator, able to present complex ideas clearly? Engineering is a challenging discipline, so demonstrate you have the ability and motivation to complete the course too.
3. Make your work experience count: It’s not just what you've done but how you've reflected on it. If you work-shadowed at a building or engineering company, or any business, it won’t have an impact unless you spell out what you personally gained from it.
4. 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 – if you’ve done some part-time tutoring, can you explain how that has given you interpersonal and presentation skills, self-motivation, and time management?