ucas personal statement examples maths

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Mathematics Personal Statement Examples

Hopefully, these examples of Mathematics Personal Statements will help you create a unique statement for your UCAS application . 

I have always been fascinated by the world of mathematics and its ability to explain and understand complex phenomena in the world around us. From a young age, I have been drawn to the beauty and elegance of mathematical concepts and their ability to provide answers to some of the most challenging questions we face.

At school, I have excelled in mathematics, consistently achieving top grades in my exams and regularly participating in extra-curricular math competitions. I have particularly enjoyed studying topics such as calculus, algebra, and geometry, and I have found that my natural aptitude for problem-solving has allowed me to excel in these areas.

In addition to my passion for mathematics, I have also developed a strong interest in computer science. I have taught myself several programming languages and have enjoyed using these skills to create my computer programmes and simulations. I believe that the combination of my mathematical knowledge and computer programming skills would make me an ideal candidate for a degree in mathematical sciences.

As a university student, I am eager to continue exploring the fascinating world of mathematics and to push myself to the limits of my abilities. I am confident that a degree in mathematical sciences would provide me with the knowledge and skills necessary to pursue a successful career in this exciting and rewarding field.

I am applying to your university because I believe that it offers an outstanding programme in mathematical sciences, with a strong emphasis on both theoretical and practical applications. I am particularly impressed by the diverse range of research opportunities available, and I am eager to participate in cutting-edge research projects that will challenge and inspire me.

As a student with a passion for mathematics, I am excited at the prospect of studying at such a prestigious institution and I am confident that your programme would provide me with the knowledge and skills necessary to pursue a successful career in this field.

At school, I have consistently achieved top grades in my mathematics exams, and I have regularly participated in extra-curricular math competitions. I have a particular interest in topics such as calculus, algebra, and geometry, and I have found that my natural aptitude for problem-solving has allowed me to excel in these areas.

In addition to my passion for mathematics, I have also developed an interest in computer science. I have taught myself several programming languages and have enjoyed using these skills to create my computer programmes and simulations. I believe that the combination of my mathematical knowledge and computer programming skills would make me an ideal candidate for your degree programme.

As a university student, I am eager to continue exploring the fascinating world of mathematics and to push myself to the limits of my abilities. I am confident that a degree from the University of Cambridge would provide me with the knowledge and skills necessary to pursue a successful career in this exciting and rewarding field.

I am particularly impressed by the wide range of research opportunities available at your university, and I am eager to participate in cutting-edge research projects that will challenge and inspire me. I am also excited by the opportunity to study at such a historic and prestigious institution, and I believe that the intellectual environment at Cambridge would be the perfect place for me to grow and develop as a student.

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Mathematics Personal Statement Guide

Your Personal Statement plays a crucial role in your mathematics university application , as i t’s the first chance you have to introduce yourself as an individual to the admissions tutors .

Y ou can demonstrate your passion to study maths, show the contribution you would make to the cohort, and prove that you have the abilities and motivation to receive an offer.   

A lot of applicants struggle to write personal statements. It’s difficult to balance writing about academic interests with personal achievements, keep everything relevant to the maths courses you’re applying to, and fit it all within just over one A4 page of text.   

To help you get on the right track, our Personal Statement Guide takes you through everything you need to know to create a great maths personal statement :  

• Why are Personal Statements Important?
• What Should I Include in a Mathematics Personal Statement?  
• What Should I Avoid in a Mathematics Personal Statement?  

Advice on How to Start a Mathematics Personal Statement  

Advice on how to finish a mathematics personal statement  .

What Should I Avoid in a Mathematics Personal Statement ?  

Do not be wishy-washy with your statements . Rather than saying that you have always loved maths, perhaps explain how numbers or equations fit into your world view; rather than saying you like a particular mathematician, discuss their specific contributions and how they have inspired your maths journey.   

Being specific and digging down into the academic side of maths is what is really going to impress admissions tutors.   

Avoid cliched statements like the plague . Even though you are passionate about maths, don’t state “I am passionate about maths”; find a less cliched way to say it instead.   

Your statement might require several drafts to ensure the language is interesting yet accurate, but it’s worth it: if you came up with something in a minute, then it’s likely so did lots of other applicants.  

Don’t be tempted to mention personal achievements that are not related or involve transferable skills relevant to maths. We understand that it’s tempting to include details of your Judo black belt, your gold Duke of Edinburgh award, or your prize for best history essay, but unless you can clearly argue its relevance to studying mathematics, then it won’t impress the tutors.

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There are a thousand different ways that you can begin a personal statement, which often makes it the most difficult part of the process.   

There’s one one-size-fits-all answer to this: some applicants begin with a quote from a mathematician that has inspired them, others start by discussing what inspired them to pursue maths at university, whilst others jump straight into a discipline that they find most interesting.   

The opening of the statement sets the tone for the entire personal statement , so it’s crucial that it’s in your own words and reflects your own personality; admissions tutors will be able to tell if it’s someone else’s words! If you’re struggling to find an opener, we recommend drafting the rest of the personal statement before coming back to write the introduction.   

This can help you have a better idea of what opening will best set the groundwork for the rest of the statement body.   

Knowing how to close out a personal statement can be just as difficult as beginning one. The final paragraph of your personal statement should round up the statement and summarise your dedication to maths and your academic interest.   

Like the opening, the final section of your personal statement will likely need a good few rewrites, so don’t feel disheartened if you haven’t captured it perfectly first time round.   

• What are some Tips for Writing a Strong Mathematics Personal Statement?
• How Long Should my Mathematics Personal Statement Be?
• What Kind of Extracurricular Activities Should I Include in my Mathematics Personal Statement?
• How Can I Tailor my Mathematics Personal Statement to the Oxford/Cambridge Course?

Getting started is one of the trickiest parts of the personal statement process. We recommend making a big list of everything you have done or are interested in to help focus your mind.   

Just because STEM subjects like maths seem less creative than other subjects, it doesn’t mean that your inspiration has to be stale. Perhaps try:  

• Watching films about maths or mathematics (the most famous examples are Good Will Hunting, Moneyball, and A Beautiful Mind ) to get you in the right frame of mind  
• Getting into a podcast about maths (Oxford University has one called The Secret of Mathematics )  
• Reading some accessible maths books (such as Humble Pi: A Comedy of Maths Errors by Matt Parker or The Simpsons and their Mathematical Secrets by Simon Singh)  

Remember to Keep note of the things you read, watch, and experience that inspire you as you do them; this will help make writing the statement easier.  

UCAS has strict limits for all personal statements: 4,000 characters or 47 lines on the UCAS form (whichever limit is reached first). This is roughly one to two sides of typed A4.   

This may feel like a lot of space, but once you get going you’ll realise that it’s not! We recommend using up the majority if not all the space given to you so that you give admissions tutors the best possible idea of who you are as a maths student.   

It can be difficult to decide what you should or shouldn’t include in a maths personal statement.   

As a general rule, if you include something, you must be able to relate it to maths – either through its content or through transferrable skills.   

For example, if you spent time working as a maths tutor or competed in maths competitions, then clearly these are relevant. However, the link you find can be more creative than this: perhaps you have studied multiple languages which exercises your skills at pattern-spotting, or maybe you have won a critical thinking essay competition which demonstrates your problem-solving skills?   

The key is to think outside of the box, and for every activity you mention, clearly state how it links to important maths-related skills.   

Tailoring a personal statement to any one course is difficult, since the same statement is sent by UCAS to all of your university choices (of which you have up to five). This means that you should not directly mention the specifics of any one course, since it signals to other universities that you are not considering their course as your main option.   

Instead, we recommend targeting Oxbridge through the style of your statement: keep it tight to the academic study of maths and demonstrate your analytical skills.   

Showing that you’ve researched maths outside of school to a high level, and leaving out any personal interests that don’t relate to maths, is a good way to keep Oxbridge tutors interested.

Book your Mathematics Personal Statement Package

You can contact our Oxbridge-graduate Consultants on +44 (0) 20 7499 2394 or email [email protected] to discuss our personal statement packages.  

If you’d like to know more about Mathematics, we have admissions test guidance and interview preparation readily available.  

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Mathematics

Author: solene vidal, applied in: winter 2019, university offers: ucl, warwick, imperial college.

Mathematics has become a true passion for me over the years, generating increasing excitement as I experience its deepening complexity and gain insight into its endless possibilities that explain the workings of the universe. I am fascinated at its underpinning of developments in Artificial Intelligence and machine learning, allowing the human world champion of Go – a game supposedly too complex for machines - to be beaten for the first time by the computer AlphaGo. Conversational artificial intelligence similarly probes new boundaries, with chatbots such as Siri and Alexa mirroring human communication strategies and answering more challenging queries everyday.

Thriving on academic challenge, I pursue a science-based Baccalauréat with Further Maths, consistently gaining highest class ranking. I enjoy the demands of complex problems that require logic for their solution, seeing it as a form of game. This lies behind my choice of Russian as an option, a language I have studied for seven years. Although considered difficult, I am attracted by its logical grammatical structures which greatly facilitate my learning and enable me to excel. Mathematics has similarly helped develop my critical thinking, teaching me that there may be many different approaches to solving a given problem. Calculating the digits of Pi (an irrational number), for example, triggered my curiosity because there are various algorithms providing a way in. The real challenge, as described by Bellos in “Alex’s Adventure in Numberland”, is to be sufficiently creative to find a new method that converges faster than previous ones.

I enjoy reading extensively about my interests. A favourite piece is “Closing the Gap” by Vicky Neale, highlighting the complex world of prime numbers - which have always surprised me by their numerous and unexpected applications in fields such as cryptography. I was particularly struck by the joint effort made by mathematicians to find the least gap separating consecutive primes attained infinitely often, through the Polymath8 project. Although the first proof was a major achievement, proving that the gap could be no more than 70,000,000, thanks to many improvements from a huge community of mathematicians, it quickly went down to 246. This project surprised and impressed me as I found discoveries often to be the result of many small contributions.

My curiosity has drawn me increasingly to the field of computer science, leading me to attend a 2017 summer course at Cambridge University focused on website development. Leveraging coding languages HTML, CSS and Javascript, I managed to create an interactive image gallery written on Github. Dealing with programming taught me to be not only meticulous - as a small syntax mistake may well induce a program error - but also to think ahead, as coding difficulties often arise from lack of planning. The pleasure I gained helped me understand the innumerable opportunities enabled through programming. I was able to reinforce the experience through a two-week internship shadowing different teams at ASOS, discovering software engineers to be the backbone of this online platform.

The piano (currently preparing Grade 7) represents for me a contrasting, but very real, source of pleasure. In music as in maths, I have been fascinated to discover a point where investment in study allows a level to be reached where I can detach from the academic process, to join the flow and elegance of the material. I believe also in active recreation – representing my school in Handball at the 2016 London Youth Games. Here, as elsewhere, team participation teaches me that major achievement often depends upon cooperation with others. I am eager to continue playing Handball at university.

I look forward to my university studies in Mathematics and Computer Science deepening my understanding so that I may play my part in tomorrow's digital revolution.

Please note UCAS will detect any form of plagiarism. PSE and its contributors do not take any responsibility for the way in which personal statements are used.

How to Write a UCAS Personal Statement [With Examples]

James is senior content marketing manager at BridgeU. He writes and directs content for BridgeU's university partners and our community of international schools

What are the big challenges students should be aware of before writing their UCAS Personal Statement?

• The essential ingredients for writing a great Personal Statement
• How to write the UCAS Personal Statement [with examples]

Final hints & tips to help your students

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The UCAS Personal Statement can sometimes be a student’s only chance to impress a UK university. Read our in-depth guide to helping your students plan & write a winning application.

There are hundreds of articles out there on how to write a UCAS Personal Statement that will grab the attention of a UK university admissions officer.  

But if you’re working with students to help them perfect their Personal Statement in time for the  relevant UCAS deadlines , we can sum up the secret to success in three words.

Planning, structure and story. 

The UCAS Personal Statement is a student’s chance to talk about why they want to study for a particular degree, course or subject discipline at a UK university. 

As they set about writing a personal statement, students need to demonstrate the drive, ambition, relevant skills and notable achievements that make them a  suitable candidate for the universities they have chosen to apply to . 

But the UCAS Personal Statement requires students to write a lot about themselves in a relatively short space of time. That’s why lots of planning, a tight structure and a compelling story are essential if a student’s Personal Statement is to truly excel. 

As important deadlines for UK university applications grow closer, we at BridgeU have put together a guide, outlining some of the strategies and techniques to help your students to write a personal statement which is both engaging and truly individual.

Handpicked Related Content

Discover the simple steps that will boost the confidence of your native English speaking & ESL students alike in  University Application Essays: The 5 Secrets of Successful Writing .

As they begin to plan their Personal Statement, students may feel intimidated. It’s not easy to summarise your academic interests and personal ambitions, especially when you’re competing for a place on a course which is popular or has demanding entry requirements. In particular, students will likely come up against the following challenges.

Time pressure

Unfortunately, the Personal Statement (and other aspects of university preparation) comes during the busiest year of the student’s academic life so far.

Students, and indeed teachers and counsellors, must undertake the planning and writing of the personal statement whilst juggling other commitments, classes and deadlines, not to mention revision and open day visits!

Because there is already a lot of academic pressure on students in their final year of secondary school, finding the time and headspace for the personal statement can be hard, and can mean it gets pushed to the last minute. The risks of leaving it to the last minute are fairly obvious – the application will seem rushed and the necessary thought and planning won’t go into  making the personal statement the best it can be . 

Sticking closely to the Personal Statement format

The character limit which UCAS sets for the personal statement is very strict – up to 4,000 characters of text. This means that students have to express themselves in a clear and concise way; it’s also important that they don’t feel the need to fill the available space needlessly.  Planning and redrafting of a personal statement is essential .

Making it stand out

This is arguably the greatest challenge facing students – making sure that their statement sets them apart from everyone else who is competing for a place on any given course; in 2024 alone, UCAS received applications from 594,940 applicants. In addition, UCAS uses its own dedicated team and purpose built software to check every application for plagiarism, so it’s crucial that students craft a truly  original personal statement which is entirely their own work .

The essential ingredients for writing a great UCAS Personal Statement 

We’ve already mentioned our three watch words for writing a high quality Personal Statement.

Planning. Structure. Story. 

Let’s dig deeper into these three essential components in more detail.

Watch: How to Write a UCAS Personal Statement with University of Essex

Planning a ucas personal statement.

It might sound like a no-brainer, but it’s vital that students plan their Personal Statement before they start writing it. Specifically, the planning phase could include: 

• Students thoroughly researching the UK university courses they plan on applying to. 
• Deciding on what relevant material to include in their Personal Statement (we’ll cover this in more detail later on). 
• Writing an unedited first draft where they just get their thoughts and ideas down on paper. 

Structuring a UCAS Personal Statement

As we’ve discussed, the UCAS Personal Statement requires students to be extremely disciplined – they will be required to condense a lot of information into a relatively short written statement. This means that, after they’ve written a rough first draft, they need to think carefully about how they structure the final statement. 

A stand out Personal Statement will need a tight structure, with an introduction and a conclusion that make an impact and really help to tell a story about who your student is, and why they are drawn to studying this particular degree. 

This brings us nicely to our third and final ingredient…

Telling a story with a Personal Statement

The UCAS Personal Statement is a student’s opportunity to show a university who they are and how their life experiences have shaped their academic interests and goals. 

So a good Personal Statement needs to offer a compelling narrative, and that means making sure that a student’s writing is well-structured, and that every sentence and paragraph is serving the statement’s ultimate purpose –  to convince a university that your student deserves a place on their subject of choice. 

How to help your students start their UCAS Personal Statement

In order to ensure that a personal statement is delivered on time and to an appropriate standard, it’s essential to plan thoroughly before writing it. Here are some questions you can ask your students before they start writing:

How can you demonstrate a formative interest in your subject?

It may sound obvious but, in order for any UCAS personal statement to have the necessary structure and clarity, students need to think hard about why they want to study their chosen subject. Ask them to think about their responses to the following questions:

What inspired you to study your chosen subject?

Example answer:  My desire to understand the nature of reality has inspired me to apply for Physics and Philosophy

Was there a formative moment when your perspective on this subject changed, or when you decided you wanted to study this subject in more detail?

Example answer:  My interest in philosophy was awakened when I questioned my childhood religious beliefs; reading Blackburn’s “Think”, convinced me to scrutinise my assumptions about the world, and to ensure I could justify my beliefs.

Can you point to any role models, leading thinkers, or notable literature which has in turn affected your thinking and/or inspired you?

Example answer :  The search for a theory of everything currently being conducted by physicists is of particular interest to me and in “The Grand Design” Hawking proposes a collection of string theories, dubbed M-theory, as the explanation of why the universe is the way it is.

Asking your students to think about the “why” behind their chosen subject discipline is a useful first step in helping them to organise their overall statement. Next, they need to be able to demonstrate evidence of their suitability for a course or degree. 

How have you demonstrated the skills and aptitudes necessary for your chosen course?

Encourage students to think about times where they have demonstrated the necessary skills to really stand out. It’s helpful to think about times when they have utilised these skills both inside and outside the classroom. Ask students to consider their responses to the following questions. 

Can you demonstrate critical and independent thinking around your chosen subject discipline?

Example answer :  Currently I am studying Maths and Economics in addition to Geography. Economics has been a valuable tool, providing the nuts and bolts to economic processes, and my geography has provided a spatial and temporal element.

Are you able to demonstrate skills and competencies which will be necessary for university study?

These include qualities such as teamwork, time management and the ability to organise workload responsibly.

Example answer:  This year I was selected to be captain of the 1st XV rugby team and Captain of Swimming which will allow me to further develop my leadership, teamwork and organisational skills.

How have your extracurricular activities helped prepare you for university?

Students may believe that their interests outside the classroom aren’t relevant to their university application. So encourage them to think about how their other interests can demonstrate the subject-related skills that universities are looking for in an application. Ask students to think about any of the following activities, and how they might be related back to the subject they are applying for.

• Clubs/societies, or volunteering work which they can use to illustrate attributes such as teamwork, an interest in community service and the ability to manage their time proactively.
• Have they been elected/nominated as a team captain, or the head of a particular club or society, which highlights leadership skills and an ability to project manage?
• Can they point to any awards or prizes they may have won, whether it’s taking up a musical instrument, playing a sport, or participating in theatre/performing arts?
• Have they achieved grades or qualifications as part of their extracurricular activities? These can only help to demonstrate aptitude and hard work. 

How to write the UCAS Personal Statement [with examples] 

If sufficient planning has gone into the personal statement, then your students should be ready to go!

In this next section, we’ll break down the individual components of the UCAS Personal Statement and share some useful examples.

These examples come from a Personal Statement in support of an application to study Environmental Science at a UK university. 

Watch: King’s College London explain what they’re looking for in a UCAS Personal Statement

Introduction.

This is the chance for an applying student to really grab an admission tutor’s attention. Students need to demonstrate both a personal passion for their subject, and explain why they have an aptitude for it .  This section is where students should begin to discuss any major influences or inspirations that have led them to this subject choice. 

Example :  My passion for the environment has perhaps come from the fact that I have lived in five different countries: France, England, Spain, Sweden and Costa Rica. Moving at the age of 15 from Sweden, a calm and organized country, to Costa Rica, a more diverse and slightly chaotic country, was a shock for me at first and took me out of my comfort zone […] Also, living in Costa Rica, one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, definitely helped me realize how vulnerable the world is and how we need to take care of it in a sustainable manner. 

This opening paragraph immediately grabs the reader’s attention by giving the reader an insight into this student’s background and links their academic interests with something specific from the student’s personal backstory. 

Discussing Academic Achievements 

The next paragraph in this Personal Statement discusses the student’s academic achievements. Because this student has had an international education, they frame their academic achievements in the context of their personal background. They also cite useful examples of other curricula they have studied and the grades they have achieved. 

Example : 

Throughout my academic life I have shown myself to be a responsible student as well as a hard working one, despite the fact that I have had to move around a lot. I have achieved several other accomplishments such as a high A (286/300) in AS Spanish at age 15, and also completed a Spanish course of secondary studies for ‘MEP’(Ministerio de Educacion Publica), which is a system from Costa Rica.   

You’ll notice that this student doesn’t just list their achievements – their strong academic performance is always linked back to a wider discussion of their personal experiences. 

Showcasing Extracurricular Activities

As well as discussing academic achievements, a good Personal Statement should also discuss the student’s extracurricular activities, and how they relate back to the student’s overall university aspirations. 

By the third/fourth paragraph of the Personal Statement, students should think about incorporating their extracurricular experiences, 

Another valuable experience was when my class spent a week at a beach called ‘Pacuare’ in order to help prevent the eggs of the endangered leatherback turtle from being stolen by poachers who go on to sell them like chicken eggs. We all gained teamwork experience, which was needed in order to hide the eggs silently without scaring the mother turtles, as well as making it more difficult for the poachers to find them. 

When the poachers set fire to one of the sustainable huts where we were staying, not only did I gain self-awareness about the critical situation of the world and its ecosystems, I also matured and became even more motivated to study environmental sciences at university.

This is a particularly striking example of using extracurricular activities to showcase a student’s wider passion for the degree subject they want to study. 

Not only does this Personal Statement have a story about volunteering to save an endangered species, it also illustrates this applicants’ wider worldview, and helps to explain their motivation for wanting to study Environmental Science. 

Concluding the UCAS Personal Statement

The conclusion to a UCAS Personal Statement will have to be concise, and will need to tie all of a student’s academic and extracurricular achievements. After all, a compelling story will need a great ending. 

Remember that students need to be mindful of the character limit of a Personal Statement, so a conclusion need only be the length of a small paragraph, or even a couple of sentences. 

“ After having many varied experiences, I truly think I can contribute to university in a positive way, and would love to study in England where I believe I would gain more skills and education doing a first degree than in any other country.  “

A good Personal Statement conclusion will end with an affirmation of how the student thinks they can contribute to university life, and why they believe the institution in question should accept them. Because the student in this example has a such a rich and varied international background, they also discuss the appeal of studying at university in England. 

It’s worth taking a quick look at a few other examples of how other students have chosen to conclude their Personal Statement. 

Medicine (Imperial College, London) 

Interest in Medicine aside, other enthusiasms of mine include languages, philosophy, and mythology. It is curiously fitting that in ancient Greek lore, healing was but one of the many arts Apollo presided over, alongside archery and music.   I firmly believe that a doctor should explore the world outside the field of  Medicine, and it is with such experiences that I hope to better empathise and connect with the patients I will care for in my medical career. 

You’ll notice that this example very specifically ties the students’ academic and extracurricular activities together, and ties the Personal Statement back to their values and beliefs. 

Economic History with Economics (London School of Economics)

The highlight of my extra-curricular activities has been my visit to Shanghai with the Lord Mayor’s trade delegation in September 2012. I was selected to give a speech at this world trade conference due to my interest in economic and social history. […] I particularly enjoyed the seminar format, and look forward to experiencing more of this at university. My keen interest and desire to further my knowledge of history and economics, I believe, would make the course ideal for me.

By contrast, this conclusion ties a memorable experience back to the specifics of how the student will be taught at the London School of Economics – specifically, the appeal of learning in seminar format! 

There’s no magic formula for concluding a Personal Statement. But you’ll see that what all of these examples have in common is that they tie a student’s personal and academic experiences together – and tell a university something about their aspirations for the future.

Watch: Bournemouth University explain how to structure a UCAS Personal Statement

Know the audience

It can be easy for students to forget that the person reading a personal statement is invariably an expert in their field. This is why an ability to convey passion and think critically about their chosen subject is essential for a personal statement to stand out. Admissions tutors will also look for students who can structure their writing (more on this below). 

Students should be themselves

Remember that many students are competing for places on a university degree against fierce competition. And don’t forget that UCAS has the means to spot plagiarism. So students need to create a truly honest and individual account of who they are, what they have achieved and, perhaps most importantly, why they are driven to study this particular subject.

Proof-read (then proof-read again!)

Time pressures mean that students can easily make mistakes with their Personal Statements. As the deadline grows closer, it’s vital that they are constantly checking and rechecking their writing and to ensure that shows them in the best possible light. 

Meanwhile, when it comes to giving feedback to students writing their Personal Statements, make sure you’re as honest and positive as possible in the days and weeks leading up to submission day. 

And make sure they remember the three key ingredients of writing a successful Personal Statement. 

Planning, structure and story! 

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• Mathematics personal statements

Mathematics with statistics degree personal statement example (1a)

Mathematics and Statistics have interested me all my life and the latter in particular is a large part of my life and my way of thinking. I think mathematics is a most interesting subject. It is amazing that a series of simple numeric characters represent most of the problems in the world. I fell in love with mathematics when I was a young pupil, I selected the right formula and did some simple computational processes and I arrived at the correct answer. I have chosen to study mathematics and statistics at university because I am really addicted to it. I can use mathematics to solve a variety of difficult problems by dividing the problem into smaller parts, then solving each part one by one using logical processes, to achieve the final solution. I think this mode of mathematical thinking is very useful in real life as well, because it can be used to simplify challenging problems.

Statistics as a subject is needed in order to analyse, organise and research data. We can use statistics to work out and analyse if a proposal is going to be successful or not. Statistics is another reason why I am so interested in mathematics. If pure math is abstract, statistics is much closer to our life. We use data to enable an analysis of different views which is likely to lead to an informed decision. Thus important decisions can be made from statistical research. For example a doctor may consider using a new drug instead of an older one, having set up null and alternative hypotheses and testing a sample statistic doctors can make an informed choice based on statistical analysis. If I use statistics, to arrive at a decision it is achieved in a more logical way. I like to explore football statistics and analyse the different player’s performance. For example, what percentage of shots on target does Rooney manage each match?

When I have free time, I like to research the formulae in my school syllabus and explore the historical roots of how someone came up with these. For example, the ‘Stirling formula’, in which Stirling discovered how to work out the natural logarithm of a huge factorial number.

During my work experience for a charity organisation last summer, I had to develop my communication skills when collecting money from people on the street. In addition I was asked to visit the elderly and housebound in their homes, particularly in a situation, when there were few members of their own family. I am able to maintain a good work-life balance by regularly playing sport; football and badminton. The social and physical challenges have helped me to improve my communication skills.

I also enjoy the team aspects of sport, while keeping fit. I am a keen member of a table tennis club and played in the Suffolk tournaments. This experience enables me to meet many professional players, which gives me a breadth of insight into life outside school. Life at school offers me many opportunities which I am able to take up, such as being a member of the Maths Challenge competition. This requires fast mental skills for working out the different questions. It trains my brain and I can put into practice some aspects of A Level Statistics. In addition, I was chosen to be a boarding prefect this year. I am required to share the pastoral responsibility for the male boarders, alongside staff members. This involves me in meeting numerous boarders, who regularly share concerns and joyful events in their lives. Through this experience I have grown more tolerant of people and different cultures.

I hope to use the statistical knowledge for my future as a statistics researcher, where I may work in a survey company which collects data and interprets it. By analysing the mixed data I would enable the company to improve its profit. My aim would be to make the data more organised and reach a satisfactory conclusion. I am really looking forward to university life and to contributing and participating in many aspects of life there, in addition to developing my knowledge and engaging in lively discussions.

Find more help with writing your personal statement

On The Student Room

• More examples of real personal statements
• Personal statement advice

On The Uni Guide

• How to write an excellent personal statement in 10 steps
• Advice from universities on writing your personal statement
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Personal Statement

Introduction.

As part of your UCAS application , you will be required to write a personal statement with a maximum of 4,000 characters. This is sent to each of your chosen universities, who use it – along with the other parts of your application, such as exam grades – to assess your suitability for their course and whether to make you an offer.

Your personal statement allows you to demonstrate to the admissions tutors why you are applying for their course; what interests you about the subject and why they should accept you – showing that you have the achievements, qualities and skills they are looking for. For more competitive courses, there will often be little difference between your grades and the grades of other applicants, so it is essential to make your personal statement effective by devoting appropriate time to its preparation.

It can be tough getting started on your personal statement – however, the earlier you begin drafting it, the more time you’ll have to finalise it before the UCAS deadlines for submission of your application (15 October 2017 for Oxbridge and Medicine/Dentistry/Veterinary Science, and 15 January 2018 for most other courses). Although there is no definite formula for writing a personal statement, and different subjects require different styles, the following advice breaks down the process and offers guidance for each step of completing a science-based personal statement.

Aims of the Personal Statement

Ultimately, the aim of your personal statement is to show the university’s admissions tutors that you are a good fit for their course, bearing in mind that different universities may be looking for slightly different attributes in their students. Some universities offer specific guidance on what they are looking for in personal statements through their website or course prospectus – use these to research and make notes of any specific admissions advice for the courses you are applying to, as this will allow you to tailor your personal statement to your preferred universities.

In order to produce an effective personal statement, you will need to address a number of key points that the admissions tutor will be looking for, and cover these in a well thought-out and well written manner. To achieve this, your personal statement should demonstrate:

• your interest, enthusiasm and passion for the subject, giving evidence and examples of specific areas of interest
• the relevant skills you have learnt from your studies, extracurricular activities and employment, and how these have prepared you for a degree course in your chosen subject
• your ability to articulate your enthusiasm for, and knowledge of, the subject by writing long prose in a clear, confident and structured manner, using a wide range of vocabulary
• the ways in which you have been following up your interest and furthering your understanding in the subject at a higher level, outside the syllabus (i.e., projects, further reading)
• that you are well informed about what is involved in taking your subject at degree-level
• that you are a well-rounded individual with hobbies outside of your subject
• that you have a general idea of what you want to do after university

The most effective personal statements cover the above points implicitly, backing up claims through discussions and experiences which show the admissions tutor your passion for the subject, rather than vague generalisations and statements such as “I am passionate about physics” – they will already assume this. Isolate a reason as to why you personally engage with your subject and then discuss specific examples to substantiate this, eg. through a reflective discussion of further reading you have done. Write with quality, not quantity, in mind – the admissions tutor will be more impressed to read in detail what you learnt from one or two specific experiences or books, as opposed to a section which brushes over four or five. At the same time, don’t let the personal statement become a mini essay trying to simply demonstrate your knowledge of a topic you found through further reading – keep the discussion personal, showing what you got out of reading or learning it and why you found it interesting – for example did it relate to another subject you’ve studied?

For competitive courses and courses for which applicants are interviewed, another key aim of your personal statement is to persuade the admissions tutor to make you an offer or invite you to interview, as opposed to another applicant with equal grades. Your personal statement should illustrate and highlight your abilities, written with an intellectual flair that will impress the admissions tutor, all whilst being interesting, relatable and personal to you – it is a personal statement, after all. Quiet confidence is an effective style – avoid appearing overly modest and avoid being overly arrogant .

The next step is to think about what you’re going to include in your personal statement to meet these aims. This topic is discussed in the following section. Later, once you have completed the first draft of your personal statement, refer back to these aims and remove any content that is not contributing to them, as it doesn’t belong in your personal statement.

What to Include

Below is a list of points students tend to talk about in science-based personal statements, divided into two main sections: academics and non-academics. By dedicating some time to brainstorm answers to these, you will be significantly closer to getting started on your personal statement. At this stage, don’t worry about sentence length, order, connectives or how much space you will devote to each point in the final version – structuring will come later. Jot things down that you consider minor – you’re not committed to actually include any of these things in your statement once you start writing it. The only limitation is do not lie.

Reasons for choosing the course:

• Why does the subject interest you? This leads on to why you have chosen the course, a key factor that the admissions tutor will want to know.
• Why do you want to study the subject at a higher level? Answer this in terms of the new skills and knowledge you will gain, show you understand what is required of you in studying the subject at degree level and that you have the potential to succeed.
• Which aspects or areas of your studies have you enjoyed most so far? For example, any particular content, experiment, project, or an approach to learning – convey your understanding of how this relates to work you would do on a degree course, eg. how you displayed teamwork in undertaking a project, or how it increased your interest in the subject.

Demonstrating interest in the subject outside of the curriculum:

• Demonstrate any further reading you have done around the subject – eg. from books, respected newspapers, scientific journals, documentaries, websites, blogs, podcasts, radio programmes, lectures attended – explain the content of the further reading briefly and then focus on how you, personally, engaged with it, by reflecting on why it made an impression on you, and by giving your critical views on it.
• Mention any trips you attended to relevant institutions, through school or on own initiative – eg. university residentials or taster days, summer schools, work experience, volunteering, trips to industry/research institutions such as JET or CERN – as with further reading, reflect on your experiences, relate them to the course or your current studies, and explain what you’ve learned from them and how they’ve helped develop your interest in the subject.
• Describe skills you developed, used and improved through doing extracurricular activities, competitions, awards – eg. relevant clubs, societies, CREST projects/awards, Olympiads, maths challenges – these will often demonstrate skills such as problem-solving, teamwork, leadership, critical thinking, initiative, creativity and independent research skills. Don’t just mention them for the sake of it – explain how they have increased your interest and understanding of your chosen subject.
• Summarise any mentoring, work experience or shadowing you may have done – these can demonstrate that you have initiative; and for work experience or shadowing, describe what you enjoyed about experiencing what it’s like in a higher-level research/industry environment. Mentoring shows your interest in engaging younger pupils – explain why you enjoyed this, and how it helped your own studies.
• If you have done (or are doing) an Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), explain how it relates to your interest in the subject and how the skills you gained from it will prepare you for university – the EPQ shows you are able to think analytically and independently and demonstrates transferable skills such as independent study, effective research, public speaking, time-management, recognising bias, organisation, motivation, planning and monitoring own progress.

Future plans:

• Outline any potential long-term career plans you have – explain why you are attracted to the career and how you would use the experiences, skills and knowledge you would gain from the degree course.
• If you don’t currently know what want to do after university, discuss what aspect of university you are most looking forward to and what you want to gain from the course and university life.
• If you are planning to defer your university entry, briefly outline any gap year plans you have – focussing on any potential academic or subject-related plans (eg. work experience in industry), or explain what you will learn from travelling or employment, and why it will benefit you at university.

Non-Academics

Transferable skills and knowledge:

• Write about the relevant skills you have learnt from any jobs, placements, work experience or volunteering you have done – for example, useful skills for university include the ability to work independently, teamwork, organisational skills, good time management, problem-solving, listening, critical thinking, etc.
• Mention also any positions of responsibility you’ve held, both in or out of school – for example, if you’ve been a member of a club or society (in your community or at school), or led important team projects – this shows good leadership skills.

Other relevant interests, hobbies and achievements:

• To help show you are a well-rounded individual, list any non-subject related activities, hobbies and spare-time interests you have, no matter how minor – for example, do you take part in any sports teams, music rehearsals, drama schools, travelling or reading?
• Also discuss any non-academic accomplishments such as a Duke of Edinburgh award. These wider interests are valuable as they demonstrate your talents, and can indicate characteristics whose transferable skills will be useful for succeeding at university, even if they don’t directly relate to your subject.

Once you have brainstormed and thought carefully about your answers to the above questions, you need to choose which points you feel you should include in your personal statement. If your list involves too many similar things, for example, a large number of books that you’ve read, select just two or three which you enjoyed the most, or which made the biggest impression on you. This way, you can elaborate in more detail on your experience of reading them – the admissions tutors would prefer to see this than simply seeing a list of books. Always try to avoid making generic statements – make sure you give a personal take on everything you mention in your statement – talk about the details in the book that you found most inspiring. In terms of which experiences to include in your statement, more recent ones are more valuable than older ones, as the admissions tutors want to know you as you are now, and how you will be at their university. Show the admissions tutors you know your own strengths and make sure you understand topics and details in your personal statement well enough to talk confidently about them at interview, if your university uses interviews as part of their selection process.

If you have worked through the above list and feel you don’t have enough exciting experiences or exotic excursions to write about, compared to other people’s statements you may have read, there is no need to worry. By spending some productive time researching through books and science news websites and publications, and reflecting on what you have learned, you should still be able to collect sufficient material to write a very good statement for a science-based subject. The admissions tutor will not be judging you based on the fact you might not have had the same opportunities as other people.

Note, there is no need to list your qualifications (eg. “I am currently taking A-Level Maths, Physics and Chemistry and achieved … grades at AS”) in your personal statement – this is already covered in the Qualifications section of your UCAS form, which the admissions tutors will see on the same page as your personal statement – you will be wasting valuable characters in your statement if you were to list these here, too.

Although there is no set structure for science-based personal statements, the following can be used as a guide:

• A punchy opening paragraph about your general interest in the subject and why you want to study it.
• A couple of mainly academic paragraphs as the body of the statement – these are more flexible – discussing your experiences of the subject in more detail.
• The penultimate paragraph in which non-subject related content such as extra-curricular activities and hobbies are discussed.
• A punchy closing paragraph about your aspirations, commitment and what makes you look forward to the course.

Universities typically recommend that you focus around 75% on academic subject-related discussion, and 25% on non-subject related extra-curriculars.

Organise your material and use a sensible order that will make your text flow – the key is to make your statement easily readable for the admissions tutor. Keep sentences short, as overly-long sentences can be difficult to follow and make your statement cumbersome. Clearly defined paragraphs can help with this but, on UCAS Apply, you can’t indent lines and, if you leave lines between paragraphs, these empty lines will count towards the 47 lines you are allowed, leaving you with fewer characters to use.

Extra Additions

There are a number of additional matters to include in your personal statement if you are an international student, a mature student, or are planning to take a year out before going to university (a gap year):

Gap year students

Briefly explain, in a few sentences before the conclusion of your personal statement, why you want to take a gap year and outline any plans you have, focussing on potential academic plans (eg. work experience in industry). If you don’t have any academic-related plans, explain what skills you will learn from travelling or employment, and how they may relate to your course.

Mature students

Use the personal statement additionally to explain what you’ve been doing since leaving formal education, why you want to return to study, and demonstrate how you will cope with the rigours of academic work – using experiences in employment to evidence this. To provide more details of current or previous employment, send a copy of your CV directly to the universities you are applying to (don’t send it to UCAS). If your degree will result in a change of career, explain why you have decided to follow a new direction.

International students

Your personal statement should also explain why you want to study in the UK and demonstrate that your English language skills are sufficiently advanced to allow you to successfully complete a degree course taught in English. You can show this by giving examples of any English courses or tests you’ve taken, saying if any of your previous studies have been taught or examined in English, and describing any activities where you have used English outside of your studies. You should also discuss why you want to be an international student in the UK, rather than study in your own county. Read UCAS’ International Undergraduate Guide for Students for more information.

More than one subject

If you are applying for courses in more than one subject area, you have to try to make your personal statement fit with the different courses you are applying for across your chosen universities, since you can only submit one personal statement through UCAS. You can either choose to emphasise the subject you prefer (or the one which is more competitive) – while, at the same time, explaining that you also have an interest in the other subject – or you can take a thematic approach by focussing on ideas, topics and skills which are applicable to both courses.

Your personal statement is a formal piece of writing and the style in which you write it should reflect this. It should sound natural – but not chatty – and use diverse vocabulary – but not overly complex words with which you’re not familiar; everyday formal language is fine . Spelling, grammar and punctuation should all be correct, and avoid contractions and abbreviations (such as “I’d” and “didn’t”). Addressing the reader (the admissions tutor) directly using “you” is not usual practise in personal statements. Assume the reader already has a level of knowledge – for example, there is no need to explain what Duke of Edinburgh awards are, or to describe what a well-known book is about. Avoid making lists or using repetitive language (“I enjoy…”, “I enjoy…”) in your statement.

Although you want to make your personal statement stand out from other applicants’, there is a line between standing out to the admissions tutor in the right way and in the wrong way. Originality is a key part in making your statement personal – and although it might be tempting to include (or even start) your statement with a quotation by an important figure in your subject, this is very commonly done by many applicants, and can come across as clichéd. Quotations are someone else’s words, and the admissions tutors want to hear your own! The use of jokes – no matter how well intentioned – is also discouraged as they can be misinterpreted by the reader, who may not have the same sense of humour as you. Re-evaluate any use of the words “love”, “adore” or “ignited” (in fact, any fire-related metaphors) as these have a tendency to sound cheesy and their use is rarely justified, given how many synonyms exist for these words. Avoid clichés along with intellectual pretensions and overly hyperbolic phrases, as these can sound tacky when reading the personal statement in a formal environment.

Before you start to write each sentence, consult the planning sheet you made from the questions under “ What To Include ”. Using these notes, you will be able to incorporate more effectively which ideas and statements you want to convey in each sentence. Try to use connectives to link sentences in order to improve the flow of the text; but avoid using filler sentences or vague and generic statements which add nothing to your statement. Write succinctly and remove anything that doesn’t contribute to its aims (laid out in “ Aims of the Personal Statement ”). There is no need to state repeatedly in different words how passionate you are about your subject – this should be shown implicitly through your evidence of wider reading and subject-related experiences. When discussing further reading, be specific and give brief examples from the book to provide insight in your own thinking in relation to what you have read – show you have formulated an opinion on the book, how it has made an impression on you, and what you got out of reading it.

You should do more than simply describe the subject-related experiences in which you have been involved: elaborate on and emphasise what you took away from them, how they increased your interest in the subject and, show evidence of useful and relevant skills you gained or improved through the experiences. You will often not even need to state the skills themselves – and if you do, avoid listing too many. Fully utilise each experience – show through your discussion of it that you enjoyed it and really engaged in it – in turn, this will help your style be enthusiastic and positive to the admissions tutor.

When entered into UCAS Apply, your personal statement will lose any formatting within it – bold, italic or underlined words are not allowed, and many types of special characters and symbols will be removed – including accented characters (à, é, ù), € and special quote and bracket characters (eg. “ ‘ ’ ”, {}, \ – though the characters “, ‘, () and / are allowed). Tabs and multiple spaces will be condensed to a single space, so you are not able to indent lines. You can leave an empty line between paragraphs to more clearly define these, but this will reduce your character amount.

Never lie, embellish or exaggerate any statements in your personal statement – apart from anything else, you may be asked to expand on them at interview and find yourself caught out. Of course, there’s no need to be an expert in quantum mechanics if you mention your interest in the field, but be prepared for questions in the interview that will show you know at least the basics of it to reassure the interviewer that you have done sufficient research in to it. Don’t make unsupported claims for yourself, either – always back yourself up with evidence or examples. Most important, never, ever plagiarise anyone else’s work in your statement, or pay for someone to do it for you. UCAS uses a similarity detection system to scan your personal statement against every other applicants’ (including previous year’s) – and if plagiarism is detected in your statement, your chosen universities will be told.

Feedback and Finalising

Once you have completed your first draft of your personal statement and are reasonably happy with it, it is time to show it to teachers, advisors and family and ask for their constructive feedback and comments on it. Some advice will likely be simple – correcting any accidental spelling, grammatical or punctuation mistakes (ensure the corrections are right!), and suggesting rephrasing of unclear sentences – but some suggestions might be more substantial and require more consideration. Don’t take any criticism personally – people are genuinely trying to help by offering their opinions. If you seriously disagree with any suggestions in particular, you can choose to ignore them – it is your personal statement and you have to be happy with the final version you submit. Redraft as necessary, let a range of (trusted) people have a look at your new version and repeat this re-drafting process as long as you think the feedback you are getting is useful. It is generally not a good idea to post your personal statement online on forums or discussion boards, as anyone is then able to copy it and pass it off as their own.

If you have have gone over the 4000 character limit and there is still academic content you are adamant on keeping in your personal statement, ask your referee – usually a teacher or admissions/senior tutor at your school/college – if they can mention it in your reference, as an alternative approach.

Once you are happy with the final version of your personal statement, paste it into UCAS Apply before your school or college’s internal deadline, pay UCAS the £24 fee, and submit your application to your chosen universities. Good luck!

Helpful Links

• Official UCAS personal statement page
• The Student Room’s personal statement advice
• Subject specific guides to personal statements  from The Student Room

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UCAS personal statements | 10 ways to support your child

Applying to university can be a long and complex process as your child explores what and where they want to study, making decisions that will shape their future career and happiness..

Although this is a journey only they can take, you can offer both practical and emotional support as they prepare their application – and that includes helping them as they plan and write their personal statement.

What is a personal statement?

Why are personal statements important, what should a personal statement include, why must personal statements be unique, how can i help my child with their personal statement, tips for international parents.

A personal statement is a key element of your child’s UCAS application. Submitted online with their application, it’s a mini essay they must write that showcases their ambitions, skills and experience.

Even though they can apply to up to five courses at once in a single UCAS application, they only need to write one statement.

For your child, a personal statement is their first opportunity to impress a university with their passion and flair for their chosen degree. In their own words they can show what makes them the best candidate for the course. It can make their application stand out.

For admissions staff, a strong personal statement that shows your child’s suitability for their course and commitment to their chosen subject, can tip the balance in favour of making them an offer.

Your child has just 4,000 characters (including spaces) to create a well-rounded personal statement. It needs to be impactful and reflect their personal and academic journey. It should include:

• an engaging introduction that shows their passion for their subject, setting the tone for the rest of their statement
• their achievements and interests and how these have prepared them for their chosen course
• any relevant experience – from work experience to placements, internships and volunteering – especially if these relate to their course
• extracurricular activities that have helped them grow and learn and that demonstrate transferable skills such as resilience, teamwork, and leadership
• skills and personal attributes that make them a strong candidate
• their ambitions and career goals, and how their course will help them achieve their dreams
• a strong conclusion that shows they're ready for university life

A personal statement has to be your child’s own work. It must be unique to them. They shouldn’t copy anyone else’s statement or share their own.

UCAS has a dedicated verification team that checks applications and personal statements for fraud and similarities with previous applications. This includes similarities to text on the internet if, for example, an AI chabot has been used to generate the statement.

Any incidents are flagged and the relevant universities alerted, potentially stopping them from making offers.

The guidance from UCAS is simple: your child’s personal statement should be just that – personal and written by them.

Even though your child must write their own personal statement, there are things you can do to help them.

• Talk to them about why they want to go to university, their experiences, achievements and ambitions – it’ll spark ideas about what they want to include, and why.
• If they want to start writing straight away – great! It not, encourage them to make notes that they can come back to. But don’t let them leave it too long.
• Help them organise what they want to say into sections – it’ll allow them to focus on what’s most important to include.
• Once they’ve written a draft, offer to read it. You might be able to suggest improvements, spot grammar or spelling mistakes.
• Don’t over-edit their work. This is their personal statement, expressed in their words, not yours.
• Be encouraging – it could take several rewrites before they’re happy with their personal statement.
• Make sure they know the deadline for completing their personal statement.
• Some schools/colleges review students’ personal statements before submission. If this is the case, encourage your child to make the most of the feedback.
• Don’t be upset if your child doesn’t want your help. They’re growing up and this might be something they want to do on their own. Respect that. But if you know they’re running out of time, or suspect they’re floundering, ask them what you can do.
• Download our guide to writing a personal statement – it’s packed with helpful, practical tips, as well as insights from our staff about what admissions teams look for in personal statements.

Your child’s personal statement must be written in English so, if that’s not your native language, it can be difficult to support them practically. But there are still things you can do.

Encourage your child to research the UK university system, the requirements of their chosen course, and what universities are looking for in applicants. This will help guide the content of their personal statement.

UCAS’s official website features a range of resources to help your child plan and structure their personal statement. Once they’ve registered with UCAS and set up their online Hub, they’ll also be able to access a personal statement builder.

Online educational forums in your country can offer useful insights, while grammar and spell-checking tools can provide valuable language support.

Similarly, English-speaking friends or teachers familiar with the UCAS system can offer valuable feedback, and help your child’s abilities, dreams, and ambitions shine through in their personal statement.

Although we use the terms parent/child in this blog for simplicity, it is intended for anyone fulfilling a parenting role.

Published By Judith Charlton on 30/08/2024 | Last Updated 30/08/2024

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Medicine Personal Statement Examples

Writing a medicine personal statement has been a part of the lives of medical applicants for many years and is a fundamental part of the selection criteria. The way in which the UCAS personal statement is structured and written is changing for 2026 with the process shifting to a short answer format. However, for all 2025 entry students, the UCAS personal statement will remain the same. 

Table of Contents

In this article, we will explore a range of different personal statement examples with explanations of their ranking to help you in the process of writing your own medicine personal statement. 

What Makes a Good Medicine Personal Statement?

• Unique and personal 
• Reflection on experience, weakness, and strengths
• Showing realistic insight into the medical profession with a coherent narrative based on genuine experience and reflection
• Discussion of extra-curricular activities with an emphasis on the characteristics, skills, and personal traits that will serve you well in a career in medicine 

Medicine Personal Statement Example 1:

My decision to pursue a career in medicine stems from a longstanding interest in the human body and the science of healthcare. Over the years, I have engaged in various activities and studies that have prepared me for this path, and I am eager to contribute to the medical field.

My first significant exposure to healthcare was during my time volunteering at a local care home. This role involved assisting elderly residents with their daily activities and supporting the nursing staff. This experience provided me with a clear understanding of the practical aspects of patient care, particularly in managing chronic illnesses and providing support to those in need. My time at the care home taught me the value of being detail-oriented and the importance of providing consistent care to maintain the well-being of patients.

In addition to volunteering, I completed a placement at a local hospital where I had the opportunity to observe various medical professionals in action. I shadowed doctors in different departments, including general medicine and surgery, which allowed me to gain insights into the workings of a hospital. I observed doctors carrying out surgeries which ranged from a simple appendectomy to a complex bypass surgery, this was fascinating. I also enjoyed watching doctors talk with patients.  One notable experience was observing a complex surgical procedure, which highlighted the technical skills required in the medical field and the importance of maintaining composure in high-pressure situations.

Academically, I have focused on subjects that provide a strong foundation for a career in medicine. My studies in Biology and Chemistry have given me a solid understanding of the scientific principles essential to medical practice. Through coursework, I have developed strong analytical skills which would be useful in medicine. I have also participated in various group projects that required collaboration and communication which would be useful in medicine.

Outside of my formal studies and medical-related experiences, I have also been involved in extracurricular activities that have developed my leadership and organisational abilities. For example, I have been a member of the student council, where I played a role in organising events and representing my peers. 

My work experience has also included a part-time job in a pharmacy, where I gained further insight into the healthcare system from a different perspective. Working in a pharmacy involved interacting with patients and working on the till and answering patients’ questions. This experience reinforced my interest in the pharmacological aspects of medicine and the critical role that pharmacists play in patient care.

I am committed to pursuing a career in medicine because it combines my interest in science with the opportunity to make a tangible difference in people’s lives. The experiences I have gained thus far have equipped me with a strong foundation in patient care, a solid understanding of the healthcare environment, and the necessary academic background. I am eager to continue my education in medicine and look forward to the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in this rewarding profession.

What could this medicine personal statement do better?

• This statement is slightly too descriptive in nature with a focus on recounting the details of placements and is a statement of fact. This statement would be improved by making it more reflective in nature and through linking it to future clinical practice. 
• This statement does not have a strong conclusion and is too focused on the activities that were done as opposed to the skills or insight gained throughout the process
• This statement could go further to reflect on work experience and reference future aspirations and self-development which could follow this placement. It is always a fantastic idea to discuss how you would take this learning forward in your future development as a medical student and a future doctor.

What does this medicine personal statement do well?

• This statement has a strong conclusion which summarises the reflective elements of the statement. It brings together the core themes and relates them to a future clinical practice and uses this to indicate a readiness for a future career in medicine. 

Medicine Personal Statement Example 2: 

Graduate medicine applicant .

In studying a degree in politics, I have developed, flourished and remain undeterred in my desire to pursue a career in medicine. My scientific fascination with the body and its functions has remained secure throughout and I am drawn to follow the vocation that is the complex and nuanced role of a doctor. 

Shadowing a GP, I learnt about best practices and the importance of consistent process in improving the quality of modern GP consultations. Participating in a role play and ethical decision-making seminar with two junior doctors helped me realise that learning, personal development and complex ethical questions remain key components of a doctor’s life. Sitting in on practice meetings highlighted the intricacies of medicine as a business and the ultra-medical roles of doctors. Through volunteering at —— Children’s Hospital, the experience of assisting nurses, comforting parents and distracting children has taught me that small acts of kindness can improve hospital environments for parents and children simply by reassuring and understanding their difficulties. Observing the relationship between doctors and nurses also taught me about the importance of multi-disciplinary teams and strong communication in the functioning of an effective medical service. Recognising a gap in my knowledge of social services, I volunteered for a homeless outreach organisation. I worked with clients to provide services like showers, food and access to housing schemes. I also spent time with the outreach nurse. This taught me about the essential services provided and the necessity for judgement-free consulting, reinforcing to me the fundamental connection between poverty, illness and the wide variety of social circumstances surrounding homelessness. It has developed my understanding of the complex and nuanced role of a medical professional and the importance of strong coordination between medical and social services to provide the best patient care possible. 

On my gap year, I travelled the US. Whilst the experience developed my ability to manage stress, organise time and maintain relationships, I was most heavily impacted by my first-hand knowledge of the North American Opioid Crisis, driving my scientific curiosity throughout my university life and strongly influencing my dissertation. I explored the role of the over prescription of opioid medications in the North American Opioid Crisis and its political influences. During my research, I have formulated clear links between politics and medicine by breaking down complex questions into component sections, independently researching pharmaceutical knowledge and studying the importance of socio-political factors in medicine. This scientific curiosity builds on my EPQ in which I explored the possibility of using stem cells to repair damaged cardiac muscle following myocardial infarction. I have developed a wide array of life skills through my participation in team sports, music, part-time work and Camp America. At University, I am the 1st Team Football Captain, and this involves managing and maintaining the morale of my players, ensuring the health and safety of my team, and assisting with their time management. Through understanding the different needs of individuals, I have adapted my approach and techniques and developed the ability to accept my failures and learn from them. Through my music and part-time work, I have learnt to prioritise, work long hours and engage in skills workshops in order to progress. Through Camp America, I further developed my ability to support sick children, manage my positivity and to recharge my energy in a healthy and constructive way. 

I recognise the complex difficulties of the medical profession, and I do not underestimate the necessary commitment. I believe that I have been developing the skills and personal traits required in a successful doctor and I remain dedicated to working to the best of my ability throughout a medical career .

• This statement addresses the background of the applicant well and explores how the motivation for medicine remained consistent throughout the process of the first degree. As applicants pursuing Graduate Entry Medicine (GEM) this is important as it allows you to build upon your additional experience from the undergraduate but also allows you to demonstrate a long term and thoughtful process of reflection that leads to a career in medicine. 
• This statement cleverly draws the link between the previous degree and a career in medicine and does not depart from the previous study but instead illustrates how this study was formative and key to their development. 
• This statement has a strong reflective element when discussing work experience and uses this in a future forward manner whereby they are demonstrating how their experience has shaped them and how they will use this in a future career in medicine

What could this medicine personal statement improve?

• This statement could have a stronger introduction with a clearer direction for the statement established in that first line

Medicine Personal Statement Example 3: Poor Personal Statement

Ever since I was young, I’ve wanted to be a doctor because it seems like a good job where you get to help people. I think medicine is really interesting, especially when people are sick and doctors make them better. My uncle is a doctor, and he says it’s a great job with lots of rewards, so I thought it would be a good idea to do the same.

I haven’t done much in terms of work experience, but I once visited a hospital when my friend broke his leg. It was amazing to see how the doctors worked and how they fixed his leg. The nurses were also very nice, which made me think that hospitals are positive places to work. I also visited a few doctors’ offices as a patient, which gave me an idea of what it’s like to be a doctor.

In school, I have done well in most subjects, although I find some of them quite boring. I think science subjects are the most useful for becoming a doctor, so I have tried to focus on those. I got good grades in Biology and Chemistry, but I am not really interested in Physics because it’s too hard and not very relevant to medicine. However, I am confident that I will do well enough in my exams to get into medical school.

Outside of school, I haven’t really done much that relates to medicine, but I do like watching medical TV shows. They show a lot of what it’s like to be a doctor, and I find that really inspiring. I am also part of the school chess club, which has nothing to do with medicine, but I think it shows that I am good at strategy and thinking ahead, which could be useful in medicine.

I think I would be a good doctor because I care about people and want to make a lot of money while doing something important. I think doctors are respected and have good lives, and that is something I want for myself. I also like the idea of being in charge and making decisions that affect other people, which seems like something doctors do a lot.

In conclusion, I think medicine is a good career choice for me because it seems like a stable and rewarding job. I haven’t had a lot of direct experience, but I am sure that I will learn everything I need to know in medical school. I am excited about the idea of becoming a doctor and hope to get into a good medical school that will set me on the path to success.

Key Issues with this Medicine Personal Statement:

• Vague Motivation : The motivation for wanting to become a doctor is not well articulated. The statement begins with a generic and unconvincing reason (“it seems like a good job where you get to help people”).
• Lack of Relevant Experience : There is little to no relevant work experience mentioned. The writer relies on a brief visit to a hospital as a visitor, which does not demonstrate a real understanding or commitment to the field of medicine.
• Irrelevant Information : The mention of watching medical TV shows and being part of a chess club are irrelevant to the application. These points do not contribute to the applicant’s suitability for a medical career.
• Poor Academic Focus : The statement mentions a dislike for Physics and a general lack of interest in certain subjects, which could raise concerns about the applicant’s commitment and academic readiness for the challenges of medical school.
• Misguided Motivation : The desire to make a lot of money and be in charge are not appropriate primary motivations for entering the medical field. These motivations may reflect poorly on the applicant’s understanding of the profession.
• Lack of Structure and Coherence : The statement is disjointed and lacks a clear structure. It jumps from one topic to another without a coherent flow, making it difficult to follow.
• Overconfidence : The applicant expresses unwarranted confidence in their ability to succeed in medical school without demonstrating the necessary preparation or understanding of what the course entails.
• Lack of Personal Insight : The statement lacks personal reflection and does not convey the applicant’s genuine interest or dedication to the field of medicine.

This example illustrates how a poorly constructed personal statement can fail to make a compelling case for admission to medical school. It’s important to be reflective, specific, and focused when writing a personal statement to ensure it effectively communicates your suitability for the field.

In summary, writing a personal statement is exactly that, the process is an inherently personal process and therefore should be honest and deliberate in its approach. Our medicine personal statement guides and blog posts are there to provide inspiration and common pitfalls to avoid but in the end the medicine personal statement should be a true reflection of you and your motivation for medicine. If you would like to explore your statement further with a medicine personal statement tutor , then our personal statement service may be the perfect fit for you.  

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Helping your child write a great personal statement

Advice for parents, guardians and carers.

• How to fill in the UCAS application
• Supporting your child with writing their personal statement for 2026 entry
• What happens once UCAS gets an application?
• Parent, Guardian and Carer Guide
• Key dates and the application journey
• Planning their future
• Researching options
• Revision tips and how to manage exam stress: a guide for parents and guardians
• Alternatives to university
• How to pay for uni
• International student finance
• Bills, budgeting and preparing for uni
• Finding university accommodation
• Making new friends and dealing with homesickness
• Parents Evening: The UCAS parent series

For most applicants, it will be the first time they’ve had to write reflectively about themselves. Taking a positive approach, and leaving enough time to do a good job, really can make your child’s application stand out from the crowd.

The personal statement format is changing for 2026 entry. If your child is applying to start their studies in 2026, we have updated guidance to help you support them.

Personal statement guidance for 2026 entry

parents-personal-statement-tool-cta.jpg

Our personal statement tool.

Help your child think about what to write and how to structure it, with UCAS’ personal statement tool – available in the UCAS Hub.

Not only is it a great tool to get them thinking about what they should be writing about, but it also tracks the characters they use, making sure they keep to the 4,000 limit.

The UCAS Hub  

Getting started.

To get started, encourage your child to:

• think about what makes them interesting, and what makes them stand out in a positive way
• write down a whole load of words – anything that shows why they’re excited about the course(s) they’re applying for
• remember why they chose the subject
• list work experience or other activities as supporting evidence, to show why they’d make a great student
• think about skills they could use on the course, such as leadership, communication, and time management
• ask you, their teacher, and their friends for ideas and feedback
• is relevant and focused – don’t waste the 4,000 characters
• uses clear, plain English
• avoids clichés
• is original – UCAS’ software scans all personal statements for plagiarism
• is redrafted multiple times until it’s right

Pulling it together

Taking all those ideas, and structuring them into a perfect personal statement of up to 4,000 characters, is the next step.

Four key parts to a good personal statement:

• First part – a punchy opening paragraph, showing their excitement for and understanding of the course. What makes them want to study it over any other course?
• why it interests them
• why they’re suitable (relevant skills, work experience, and inspirational moments) 
• any activities they’ve taken part in that demonstrate their interest in the course or subject area
• achievements they’re proud of
• positions of responsibility they’ve held
• attributes that make them interesting, special, or unique
• Closing paragraph – a concise statement which leaves the reader with a clear understanding of why they are perfect for the course.

Help your child stand out from the crowd

There’s a lot more to a university – or a job – application than academic achievements.

Admissions tutors and employers want to see how applicants have built up skills and experience outside of their studies too.

Work experience and internships

Work experience looks great on a personal statement, but only if your child can reflect on what they learnt from it, and how it’s relevant to the course they’re applying for.Using a real work experience example to answer the all-important question ‘why should we give you a place on this course?’ is bound to impress. For those looking to study medicine, for example, work experience that shows an interest in caring professions would be valuable – like nursery, preschools, or care home experience.

Work experience doesn’t always have to be in a relevant industry – at this stage, just gaining some experience in the workplace is more important.

Getting some professional experience, ideally relevant to your child’s chosen industry, will be looked on favourably by employers, and will help them decide if a particular career is right for them.

Part-time work

A Saturday job in a shop can demonstrate potential to admissions tutors. Encourage your child to be specific and describe a situation they’ve dealt with. How did they handle the situation? What did they learn? Get them to keep it relevant to the course, and describe how the skills link to their degree work. If they’ve developed strong communication skills as a result of interacting with customers, they should mention how they would put them to good use when presenting ideas in seminars, for example.

A part-time job can equip them with transferable skills, show they can balance work with their studies, and help cover living costs.

Volunteering

Doing voluntary work at a younger age shows that an applicant has drive. It's often a good way of building up communication and interaction skills too, so help your child reflect on these in their personal statement.

Volunteering could give your child the opportunity to gain more hands-on experience in a particular role than they would in a part-time job, or even through work experience. Many smaller charities are willing to give students more responsibility, as they don’t have the funds to pay lots of staff.

Clubs and hobbies

Talking about other interests or hobbies helps inject some personality into their statement. Before it goes in, they should ask themselves ‘so what?’. Less can sometimes be more – only include an example if it’s relevant.

The key words here are moderation and motivation. They should be picky, and avoid the temptation to sign up to everything in freshers’ week. It’s far better to actively contribute to one or two societies or initiatives so they have something more meaningful to put on their CV and job applications.

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Courses, apprenticeships, information guides and more

Sheffield Hallam University

Degree level: undergraduate, course options.

There are other course options available which may have a different vacancy status or entry requirements – view the full list of options

Sheffield Hallam University has participated in the Teaching Excellence Framework. These ratings were awarded in 2023, for four years.

Course summary

Please check the Sheffield Hallam University website for the latest information. Course Summary

• Work in active research groups, performing cutting edge science.
• Be a physicist from day one - apply fundamental principles of physics to solve complex real-world problems.
• Explore novel questions, not just solve established ones, shaping you into a visionary physicist.
• Be mentored and supported by award-winning teaching staff.
• Quantum physics and atomic structure
• Astrophysics and cosmology
• Thermodynamics and statistical mechanics
• Classical mechanics and electromagnetism
• Materials science and nanotechnology
• Advanced computational physics

Important notice: The structure of this course is periodically reviewed and enhanced to provide the best possible learning experience for our students and ensure ongoing compliance with any professional, statutory and regulatory body standards. Module structure, content, delivery and assessment may change, but we expect the focus of the course and the learning outcomes to remain as described above. Following any changes, updated module information will be published on this page. . You will be able to complete a placement year as part of this course. See the modules table below for further information. Year 1 Compulsory modules Bridging The Gap From Classical To Quantum Physics Exploring The Building Blocks Of Matter - Particle, Nuclear, And Atomic Physics Physics In Practice - Skills For Real-World Applications The Physics Of Stars And Beyond - Exploring The Universe Year 2 Compulsory modules Exploring The Cosmos Through Mechanics, Relativity, And Astrophysics Harnessing Quantum And Computational Physics For Discovery How To Predict The Future - Thermodynamics And Statistical Physics Physics Unleashed - Mastering Real-World Applications Year 3 Optional modules Placement Year Year 4 Compulsory modules Developing Further Advanced Topics In Physics And Its Applications Discovering Advanced Topics In Physics And Its Applications Project: Implementation Project: Management And Scoping Final Year Compulsory modules Industrial Group Project Project And Dissertation Research Frontiers In Mathematics, Physics And Statistics Research Methodology And Practice

Assessment method

Coursework, exams,

How to apply

This is the deadline for applications to be completed and sent for this course. If the university or college still has places available you can apply after this date, but your application is not guaranteed to be considered.

Application codes

Please select a course option – you will then see the application code you need to use to apply for the course.

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

Entry requirements

Qualification requirements, ucas tariff - 128 - 136 points, gcse/national 4/national 5.

Please click the following link to find out more about qualification requirements for this course

https://www.shu.ac.uk/courses/Physics/MPhys-Physics/Full-time/

English language requirements

If English is not your first language, you will need an IELTS score of 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in all skills, or equivalent. If your English language skill is currently below IELTS 6.0 we recommend you consider a Sheffield Hallam University Pre-sessional English course which will enable you to achieve an equivalent English score.

Please click the following link to find out more about English language requirements for this course

Student Outcomes

There is no data available for this course. For further information visit the Discover Uni website .

Fees and funding

Tuition fees.

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .

Additional fee information

Sponsorship information.

Scholarships, discounts and bursaries may be available to students who study this course.

Provider information

Visit our website

Sheffield Hallam University City Campus Howard Street Sheffield S1 1WB

Course contact details

Student recruitment operations team.

(+44) 0114 225 5533

2 Course options

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Electronic and Electrical Engineering (Industrial) BEng

Year of entry 2025, open days 2024.

Bookings for our October 2024 Open Days are now open. Book now

Course overview

We live in an age where electronic and electrical products play a crucial role in almost every aspect of our lives. From the evolution of smartphones to the development of wind turbines, electronic and electrical engineers are at the forefront of providing technological advances that not only continue to innovate the world but also address many of the biggest challenges faced by society today.

Some of the world’s largest industries such as healthcare, energy and construction rely heavily on the creative and technical skills of electronic and electrical engineers to deliver sustainable solutions for the future — which is why this is such a relevant discipline and hugely sought after by many reputable organisations worldwide.

Studying electronic and electrical engineering at Leeds will equip you with the fundamental concepts and new skills used by modern engineers, taught by academics who are leaders in their fields. This will give you the key knowledge and experience you need to begin your career in this challenging, yet rewarding, field.

Industrial placement year

This programme gives you the opportunity to undertake a paid industrial placement year as part of the course. Our close industry links give you the platform to apply to a number of major organisations such as GKN Automotive Innovation Centre, Leonardo MW Ltd. and Diodes Incorporated.

Why study at Leeds:

• This course is accredited by the Institution of Engineering and Technology.
• Our School’s 100-year globally-renowned research activity has been responsible for engineering new technologies and creating pioneering industry-driven developments and feeds directly into your course, shaping your learning with the latest thinking.
• Enhance your career prospects and give your CV that competitive edge before you graduate with our industrial work placement opportunities. Our close industry links have given previous students the chance to work at — and build professional relationships with — organisations such as Amazon, Rolls-Royce and Sony.
• Experience expert teaching delivered by a programme team made up of academics and researchers who specialise in a variety of electronic and electrical engineering disciplines.
• Enjoy a more practical approach to learning, with access to our specialist facilities during your project work, including lecture theatres and labs featuring industry-standard equipment and the latest technology.
• At the end of your second year, there’s the possibility of transferring to the four-year integrated Masters (MEng, BEng).
• Make the most of your time at Leeds by joining our student society ShockSoc where you can meet students on your course, attend high-quality technical visits, enjoy social events and get the chance to put theory into practice by participating in our own Robot Fighting League (RFL). Watch our RFL video to find out more.

Accreditation

Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET)

Accreditation is the assurance that a university course meets the quality standards established by the profession for which it prepares its students.

This course is accredited by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) on behalf of the Engineering Council .

This BEng programme is accredited for the purposes of partly meeting the academic requirement for registration as a Chartered Engineer (CEng). A course of accredited further learning will be required to complete the academic benchmark requirements for CEng.

Course details

This course offers you the chance to learn the core fundamentals across electronic and electrical engineering, with a range of optional pathways, meaning you can tailor your degree to what interests you the most.  

You’ll develop your knowledge of the mathematical and scientific principles that underpin electronic and electrical engineering, as well as key topics like circuit design and communications networks. Specialist modules will allow you to build on this foundation in areas like power electronics, digital electronics, semiconductors and electric machines. 

Ethics plays an integral role in the engineering practices of today, which is why you’ll study engineering ethics as part of your course. You’ll be taught by academics from the Inter-Disciplinary Ethics Applied Centre, as well as your lecturers, covering a wide range of topics such as professionalism and codes of conduct, corporate social responsibility, engineering and responsibility, ethics in innovation and research ethics.

The ethics training will advance your critical thinking, communication and creative problem-solving skills which are crucial to employers, but it will also help you identify and respond effectively to ethical dilemmas that you may encounter in your professional life in the engineering industry.

Each academic year, you'll take a total of 120 credits.

Course Structure

The list shown below represents typical modules/components studied and may change from time to time. Read more in our terms and conditions .

For more information and a list of typical modules available on this course, please read Electronic and Electrical Engineering (Industrial) BEng in the course catalogue.

Years 1 and 2

The first two years lay the foundations of your studies and give you a thorough understanding of key topics.

You'll learn about the physical principles that affect the function of electronic components and electrical systems, as well as circuit theory, digital electronics and embedded systems. You'll study communications systems, power electronics and modules designed to improve your mathematical skills for engineering.

Year 1 compulsory modules

Circuit Analysis and Design – 20 credits

You'll be introduced to key electronic components, the basic concepts of electronic circuit analysis and design, and the basic principles of electronic circuit test and measurement.

Physics of Electronic Devices – 20 credits

During this module, you'll learn about the fundamental physical concepts that underpin the design and operation of electronic devices and electrical systems.

Introduction to Communication Systems – 20 credits

This module introduces you to the fundamentals of communication systems and how the internet works. You’ll learn about the different building blocks and protocols that are used to implement both wired and wireless communication links. You'll also build the skills to apply programming tools (MATLAB) to model communication signals and systems.

Digital Electronics and Microcontrollers – 20 credits

You’ll be introduced to the fundamentals of digital electronics, logic circuits, C++ and microcontrollers. You’ll gain insight into the development, simplification and simulation of combinational and sequential logic circuits, and develop an understanding of their place within typical microcontroller architectures. You’ll also learn how to interface with various electronic components and develop your own project-based embedded system.

Introduction to Engineering Mathematics – 20 credits

Develop your knowledge and understanding of the key mathematical principles necessary to underpin your education in engineering. On completion of this module, you should be able to apply mathematical methods, tools and notations to the analysis and solution of engineering problems.

Algorithms and Numerical Mathematics – 10 credits

You’ll explore the concepts of logical algorithm design and numerical mathematics, and the application of logical algorithms to solve numerical mathematics problems in engineering. Application includes practical implementation in the form of programming logical algorithms.

Electronic Design Project – 10 credits

Develop essential skills in interpreting circuit diagrams, building the corresponding physical prototype and using laboratory instruments to test and evaluate the circuit. You'll also have an opportunity to learn important practical laboratory skills and engage in a team design project.

Year 2 compulsory modules

Electronic Circuit and Systems design – 20 credits

Gain the necessary skills and knowledge to design and build a variety of electronic circuits and systems. Throughout this module, you’ll learn the concept of ‘signal conditioning’ and practical implementation of amplifiers, filters and signal detectors, focusing on the real characteristics of operational amplifiers and the behaviour of circuits and components at high frequencies. The module also explores the use of analogue to digital conversion in the context of embedded systems, digital interfacing from a circuit-design perspective, such as logic level compatibility and load switching, and the most common serial communication protocols used in modern digital circuits. The module concludes by considering interference, power supplies, thermal management, ‘modularity’ and ‘fail-safe’ circuit design approaches and the ethical considerations around obsolescence in product design.

Transistors and Optoelectronic Devices – 20 credits

Develop your knowledge and understanding of the properties of the semiconductor materials and devices used for transistors and optoelectronic devices. You'll gain an understanding of the principles of semiconductor physics, including an introduction to quantum mechanics and the design and analysis of important representative devices.

Communications Theory – 20 credits

You’ll cover fundamental concepts, models and principles related to the field of communication, using analytical tools for the design of modern communications systems, including Fourier analysis and signal processing, as well as the statistical treatment of signals. The module aims to provide you with a theoretical framework for understanding various aspects and components of communication systems and technologies.

Embedded Systems Project – 20 credits

This module will challenge you to design a prototype product within a tightly constrained set of software tools and hardware components. You’ll be equipped to proficiently write, compile, run and debug C++ programs using standard techniques. It involves implementing diverse embedded software techniques on microcontrollers, emphasising the refining of diverse project skills in embedded systems design projects. The major objective is to develop proficiency in programming a state-of-the-art microcontroller to interface with sensors/actuators and a display, as required. You’ll also learn project management and presentation skills.

Microprocessors and Programmable Logic – 20 credits

Building on the digital electronics covered in year 1, you'll be taught how to implement digital designs onto programmable hardware using industry-standard tools, as well as simulate and verify designs before and after implementation. This module covers the study of microprocessors and FPGAs, providing a deep insight into computer architectures. Starting from transistors, you’ll learn how to design your own computer and how to write computer programs in assembly language and binary machine code. You’ll gain hands-on experience with industry-standard FPGA tools which will enhance your employability by developing practical skills in Verilog.

Power Electronics – 20 credits

Develop the appropriate analytical skills and knowledge to design electrical power converters whilst gaining an understanding of power electronic conversion techniques, including the basic converters (DC-DC, AC-DC and DC-AC). You’ll learn the methods of circuit analysis applicable to switched mode circuits and become familiar with the properties of the relevant semiconductor devices.

You’ll have the opportunity to apply to spend a year in industry. A work placement is an invaluable opportunity to transfer your learning into a practical setting, applying the knowledge and skills you’ve been taught throughout your degree to real-world challenges – in a working environment. It’s important to note, work placements are not guaranteed.

In your final year, you'll take more specialised modules that focus on topics such as digital communications, power systems and RF and microwave systems and circuits.

Compulsory modules

RF and Microwave Systems – 20 credits

Learn the principles of high-frequency electronic systems and the theory and practice of modern radiofrequency (RF) and microwave circuit design.

Electric Machines – 20 credits

Get introduced to the principles of electromechanical conversion with a focus on both DC and AC electric machines. This module covers the operation of electric machines, starting from basic electromechanical conversion principles to their numerous applications and visiting different machine types and designs. You’ll be equipped with the necessary skills to select and analyse appropriate electric machines for different applications.

Control Systems – 20 credits

Gain an understanding of the theory and practice of control systems, including linear systems analysis using Laplace transforms and transfer functions, the transient response of feedback systems and stability criteria.

Individual Engineering Project – 40 credits

The Individual Engineering Project module is a simulation/hands-on experience that allows you to apply your engineering knowledge to investigate a real-world problem through a major independent technical project. You're expected to plan, design and execute the project, demonstrating your ability to manage time and resources effectively. You’ll be under the supervision of an academic specialist who’ll support and guide you throughout. The project encourages independent thinking, problem solving and the application of theoretical knowledge to identify a solution. This module is a significant component of an engineering degree, reflecting the practical, applied nature of the field.

Professional Studies – 10 credits

Explore the key aspects of working in a professional engineering environment and managing engineering activity. You’ll develop a good understanding of the importance of engineering to society as well as the need to consider ethical, societal and environmental issues that accompany new technologies. You’ll also learn about other topics relating to professional engineering such as quality management, risk management, innovation management, finance, intellectual property and data protection.

Optional modules (selection below indicative of typical options)

Choose one of the following optional modules:

Digital Media Engineering – 10 credits

Learn the principles of digital audio, images and video, and digital content transmission systems.

Digital Communications – 10 credits

You'll be introduced to the key principles of advanced digital communications systems, including pulse shaping, channel characteristics and multiple-access techniques in cellular mobile and optical communications systems.

Electric Power Systems – 10 credits

Learn about the fundamentals of power system modelling, analysis and operation. You’ll build an understanding of the various layers and components in modern power networks and how power systems are operated.

Project work

Every year of your course gives you hands-on experience of project work . This gives you the opportunity to explore your subject further as well as developing valuable skills in problem solving, communication and teamwork.

Learning and teaching

As an engineering student at Leeds, we ensure that you benefit from a wide range of teaching methods, including lectures, workshops, small group tutorials and practical lab work.

Laboratory classes and project work allows you to gain first-hand experience investigating and applying material from your lectures and tutorials to real-life work situations. Together, they’ll equip you with in-depth knowledge, key practical skills and transferable skills that will help you secure a graduate job. Our close links with industry also mean that you have direct contact with industry and potential employers from an early stage in your course.

You’ll be assigned an academic personal tutor to guide you through your studies, and you’ll receive support from fellow students through our peer mentoring scheme. Peer mentors are students who are on your course but are in years 2 or 3. They’ll help you when you arrive at university and throughout your first year. You’ll meet your peer mentors during your first week for a social activity.

On this course you’ll be taught by our expert academics, from lecturers through to professors. You may also be taught by industry professionals with years of experience, as well as trained postgraduate researchers, connecting you to some of the brightest minds on campus.

Most modules are assessed by more than one component. These components can include written examinations held at the end of each year, in-class and online tests, example sheets, assignments, and coursework in the form of reports, projects, presentations and posters.

Entry requirements

A-level: AAA including Mathematics.

Where an A-Level Science subject is taken, we require a pass in the practical science element, alongside the achievement of the A-Level at the stated grade.

Excludes A-Level General Studies or Critical Thinking.

Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), International Project Qualification (IPQ) and Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate (ASCC): We recognise the value of these qualifications and the effort and enthusiasm that applicants put into them, and where an applicant offers an A in the EPQ, IPQ or ASCC we may make an offer of AAB at A-Level (any required subjects such as Mathematics must still be at grade A).

GCSE: English Language at grade C (4) or above, or an appropriate English language qualification. We will accept Level 2 Functional Skills English in lieu of GCSE English.

Alternative qualification

Access to he diploma.

Pass 60 credits overall with 45 credits at Level 3, 30 credits with Distinction (including an appropriate number Mathematics modules) and the remaining 15 credits with Merit or above.

D*DD (RQF) with Distinctions in all Mathematics units including Maths and Further Maths (and/ or other appropriate maths units) plus a diagnostic Maths test. Some units may be optional on your BTEC but are required by the Faculty. Please contact us for further information.

Please note – there may be different requirements for the older QCF BTEC’s, please contact Admissions.

Cambridge Pre-U

D3, D3, D3 including Mathematics.

International Baccalaureate

18 points at Higher Level to include 5 in HL Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches or 6 in HL Mathematics: Applications and Interpretation

Irish Leaving Certificate (higher Level)

H1 H2 H2 H2 H2 H2, including Mathematics.

Scottish Highers / Advanced Highers

AA at Advanced Higher level, including Mathematics and AABBB at Higher Level.

Other Qualifications

Engineering Diploma: A (plus A-level Mathematics at grade A or above).

Read more about UK and Republic of Ireland accepted qualifications or contact the School’s Undergraduate Admissions Team.

Alternative entry

We’re committed to identifying the best possible applicants, regardless of personal circumstances or background.

Access to Leeds is a contextual admissions scheme which accepts applications from individuals who might be from low income households, in the first generation of their immediate family to apply to higher education, or have had their studies disrupted.

Find out more about Access to Leeds and contextual admissions .

Typical Access to Leeds A Level offer: ABB including Mathematics and dependant on successful completion of the Access to Leeds Scheme.

For alternative qualification offers please contact the admissions team.

Foundation years

If you do not have the formal qualifications for immediate entry to one of our degrees, you may be able to progress through a foundation year.

We offer a Studies in Science with Foundation Year BSc for students without science and mathematics qualifications.

You could also study our Interdisciplinary Science with Foundation Year BSc which is for applicants whose background is less represented at university.

On successful completion of your foundation year, you will be able to progress onto your chosen course.

International

We accept a range of international equivalent qualifications . For more information, please contact the Admissions Team .

International Foundation Year

International students who do not meet the academic requirements for undergraduate study may be able to study the University of Leeds International Foundation Year. This gives you the opportunity to study on campus, be taught by University of Leeds academics and progress onto a wide range of Leeds undergraduate courses. Find out more about International Foundation Year programmes.

English language requirements

IELTS 6.0 overall, with no less than 5.5 in each section. For other English qualifications, read English language equivalent qualifications .

Improve your English If you're an international student and you don't meet the English language requirements for this programme, you may be able to study our undergraduate pre-sessional English course , to help improve your English language level.

UK: To be confirmed

International: £32,250 (per year)

Tuition fees for UK undergraduate students starting in 2024/25 Tuition fees for UK full-time undergraduate students are set by the UK Government and will be £9,250 for students starting in 2024/25.

The fee may increase in future years of your course in line with inflation only, as a consequence of future changes in Government legislation and as permitted by law.

Tuition fees for UK undergraduate students starting in 2025/26 Tuition fees for UK full-time undergraduate students starting in 2025/26 have not yet been confirmed by the UK government. When the fee is available we will update individual course pages.

Tuition fees for international undergraduate students starting in 2024/25 and 2025/26 Tuition fees for international students for 2024/25 are available on individual course pages. Fees for students starting in 2025/26 will be available from September 2024.

Tuition fees for a study abroad or work placement year If you take a study abroad or work placement year, you’ll pay a reduced tuition fee during this period. For more information, see Study abroad and work placement tuition fees and loans .

Read more about paying fees and charges .

Additional cost information

You can enhance your learning experience by acquiring a laptop and scientific calculator. A laptop will be particularly useful when you’re conducting project work off campus. However, we do have laboratories and computer clusters equipped with all the necessary software you’ll need to complete your course work.

We, as a School, will also loan you kits for the Digital Electronics and Microcontrollers and Embedded System Project modules to enhance your learning outside timetabled session. These kits, equipped with a microcontroller and various components, empower you to work beyond the course content, encouraging deeper understanding.

There may be additional costs related to your course or programme of study, or related to being a student at the University of Leeds. Read more on our living costs and budgeting page .

Scholarships and financial support

If you have the talent and drive, we want you to be able to study with us, whatever your financial circumstances. There is help for students in the form of loans and non-repayable grants from the University and from the government. Find out more in our  Undergraduate funding overview .

Scholarships

Apply to this course and check the deadline for applications through the UCAS website .

We may consider applications submitted after the deadline. Availability of courses in UCAS Extra will be detailed on UCAS at the appropriate stage in the cycle.

Admissions guidance

Read our admissions guidance about applying and writing your personal statement.

What happens after you’ve applied

You can keep up to date with the progress of your application through UCAS.

UCAS will notify you when we make a decision on your application. If you receive an offer, you can inform us of your decision to accept or decline your place through UCAS.

How long will it take to receive a decision

We typically receive a high number of applications to our courses. For applications submitted by the January UCAS deadline, UCAS asks universities to make decisions by mid-May at the latest.

Offer holder events

If you receive an offer from us, you’ll be invited to an offer holder event. This event is more in-depth than an open day. It gives you the chance to learn more about your course and get your questions answered by academic staff and students. Plus, you can explore our campus, facilities and accommodation.

International applicants

International students apply through UCAS in the same way as UK students.

We recommend that international students apply as early as possible to ensure that they have time to apply for their visa.

Read about visas, immigration and other information here .

If you’re unsure about the application process, contact the admissions team for help.

Admissions policy

University of Leeds Admissions Policy 2025

This course is taught by

School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering

School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering Undergraduate Admissions

Email: [email protected] Telephone:

Career opportunities

Because of the nature of the industry, the demand for high calibre electronic and electrical engineering graduates is huge and far-reaching, with the potential to take you all over the world.

Plus, University of Leeds students are among the top 5 most targeted by top employers according to  The Graduate Market 2024, High Fliers Research , meaning our graduates are highly sought after by some of the most reputable companies in the field.

Qualifying with a degree in electronic and electrical engineering from Leeds will set you up with the core foundations you need to pursue an exciting career across a wide range of industries, including:

Pharmaceuticals

Construction

Telecommunications

Electronics and technology

Manufacturing

The breadth of knowledge and experience, along with the teamwork, design, problem-solving, communication, numerical and analytical skills taught on the course are widely transferable and desirable to a whole host of employers.

Here’s an insight into the job roles some of our graduates have obtained:

EMC Design Engineer, Apple

Electrical Power Engineer, E.ON

Software Engineer, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy Canada

Senior Smart Grid Development Engineer, Northern Powergrid

Systems Engineer, BAE Systems

Research Engineer, Huawei Technology

Engineer, Jaguar Land Rover

Principal Engineer, Network Rail

Technologist, Rolls-Royce

Senior Radio Optimisation Engineer, O2

Senior Software Developer, Skype

Senior IT Project Manager, Vodafone Ltd

Validation Engineer, Hikma Pharmaceuticals

Read our alumni profiles to find out more about where our students are working.

Watch our Alumni experience video

Electronic and Electrical Engineering BEng alumnus Maxim shares his career journey since graduating and explains what job opportunities are available in the engineering industry.

Careers support

At Leeds, we help you to prepare for your future from day one. Our Leeds for Life initiative is designed to help you develop and demonstrate the skills and experience you need for when you graduate. We'll help you to access opportunities across the University and record your key achievements so you are able to articulate them clearly and confidently.

You'll be supported throughout your studies by our dedicated Employability Team, who will provide you with specialist support and advice to help you find relevant work experience, internships and industrial placements, as well as graduate positions. You’ll benefit from timetabled employability sessions, support during internships and placements, and presentations and workshops delivered by employers.

Explore more about your employability opportunities at the University of Leeds.

Watch our Employability Team video.

You'll also have full access to the University’s Careers Centre , which is one of the largest in the country.

Study abroad and work placements

Study abroad.

This degree does not offer the option to study abroad. However, the Electronic and Electrical Engineering BEng degree does have this option.

Work placements

This programme gives you the opportunity to undertake a paid industrial placement year as part of the course.

It’s important to note, work placements are not guaranteed. The job market is competitive – and there may be competition for the placement you want. You’ll have to apply the same way you would for any job post, with your CV and, if successful, attend an interview with the organisation.

Our Employability Team will help you every step of the way. They run a number of placement sessions to discuss opportunities and support you with CV writing and interview preparations. Plus, they’ll be there to answer any questions you may have and offer guidance throughout the process, too.

Benefits of a work placement year:

• 100+ organisations to choose from, both in the UK and overseas
• Build industry contacts within your chosen field
• Our close industry links mean you’ll be in direct contact with potential employers
• Advance your experience and skills by putting the course teachings into practice
• Gain invaluable insight into working as a professional in this industry
• Improve your employability

Here are some examples of placements our students have recently completed:

• Trainee Electronics Design Engineer, GKN Automotive Innovation Centre
• Industrial Placement Microwave Engineer, Leonardo MW Ltd.
• Analysis Engineer, Diodes Incorporated

Find out more about  Industrial placements .

Related courses

Electronics and computer engineering (industrial) meng, beng, electronics and computer engineering (industrial) beng, electronic and electrical engineering (industrial) meng, beng, mechatronics and robotics engineering (industrial) meng, beng, mechatronics and robotics engineering (industrial) beng, rankings and awards, top 10 in the uk for electrical and electronic engineering.

Guardian University Guide 2024

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Maths and economics personal statement example 2.

The application of mathematics in the real world has always fascinated me. Mathematics acts as a base from which economics progresses, with such skills as differentiation needed to find the elasticity coefficients in higher education.

A large influence on me has been T. W. Korner's "The Pleasure of Counting". It has resulted in me increasingly applying mathematical ideologies to the real world, particularly in the economics and finance field, which has progressed my critical thinking and analytical skills.

Having studied all four branches of the mathematics syllabus, I have acquired a strong interest in pure mathematics, in particular calculus. The way that a simple problem, ie a question in two dimensions, can be extended to further dimensions, hence requiring further logic has captivated me.

These problems can then be extended to the imaginary world by progressing into the nth dimension. The same concept can be applied to economics. A straightforward problem can become more involved by different factors being added, such as consumer confidence.

The challenge of further mathematics and economics at A level has cemented my desire to study both of these at university level. Economics is a fundamental part of life and the recent economic crisis has further illustrated this.

The effects of government policy in achieving economic objectives have become more apparent to me over the past few years and this has aided me in my studies. As a result I have strived to extend my knowledge beyond the constraints of the classroom.

For instance, I have enjoyed attending a number of lectures, discussions and debates at various universities. Topics have been varied; with examples I found particularly engaging being "Cities and Economic Development" and "Chaos, Unpredictability and the Evolution of Mathematical Ideas".

These have given me experience of university-style lectures and furthered my desire to study mathematics and economics at a higher level.

As a prefect, I have been a member of the college council. This has involved leading regular meetings with students and staff to help improve the school.

From this I have gained skills in time management, prioritization and teamwork. Ideas drawn up and suggested by my team and I have been fed through to the headmistress and governors, making a real difference.

During the school term I have tutored younger students at various levels in mathematics. This experience has taught me to be persistent, take new approaches to explaining concepts and to challenge my assumptions. I have found this rewarding, with my students achieving above their predicted grades, giving me a great sense of pride.

Music is also a passion of mine. From a young age I have played both classical and contemporary guitar. I have put this talent to wider use, playing at a local venue in order to help raise money for peers, who were undertaking in a charity-based expedition to Nepal.

To accompany my studies I have had jobs in a large furnishing store and at a local supermarket. These have broadened my practical knowledge and shown I can apply this to abstract situations. As a result I have been in constant contact with the public, progressing my interpersonal skills. Trust has been put upon me in both of these jobs to handle money and I have been praised for my reliability and initiative.

Preparing for my STEP I examination has helped me to 'break out' of the repetitive and somewhat predictable nature of A Level mathematics. I have relished the opportunity to consider problems where the emphasis was not on the answer, but on proof and method, which required a certain amount of ingenuity.

In going to university I look forward to gaining greater independence and building upon the foundations of knowledge that school has equipped me with, in the fields of mathematics and economics.

Profile info

This personal statement was written by aaronb93 for application in 2012.

aaronb93's Comments

Warwick - Maths and Economics (FIRM) LSE - Maths and Economics (INSURANCE) UCL - Maths with Economics (offer) Nottingham - Maths and Economics (offer) Bristol - Economics and Maths (offer)

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