Personal statements

I haven’t decided on one particular course to study yet, it varies from history to ancient history, classical studies, languages and art history but I’m not sure where to start with my personal statement since I’m considering all of these subjects and I’m interested in a dual honours degree. How do I write my personal statement with several subjects in mind?

Reply 1

milliemooboo17

OP

1

I haven’t decided on one particular course to study yet, it varies from history to ancient history, classical studies, languages and art history but I’m not sure where to start with my personal statement since I’m considering all of these subjects and I’m interested in a dual honours degree. How do I write my personal statement with several subjects in mind?

Reply 2

milliemooboo17

OP

1

I haven’t decided on one course to study yet, it varies from history to ancient history, classical studies, languages and art history but I’m not sure where to start with my personal statement since I’m considering all of these subjects and I’m also interested in a dual honours degree. How do I write my personal statement with several subjects in mind?

Reply 3

Admit-One

Universities Forum Helper

21

You really need to decide what combination you want to do first. Not all unis offer these combinations so you need to settle on one, and then see how many you can apply to that either offer the same , or overlap enough that you could use the same PS..

Reply 4

jjel_22

5

Original post by milliemooboo17

I haven’t decided on one course to study yet, it varies from history to ancient history, classical studies, languages and art history but I’m not sure where to start with my personal statement since I’m considering all of these subjects and I’m also interested in a dual honours degree. How do I write my personal statement with several subjects in mind?

Hi, ok so you have 5 subjects you like. Do you wanna apply to a different subject at all 5 of your courses, or is your plan to eventually pick one or two. If the former is the case, it's going to be quite difficult to show passion for so many separate things, try finding a thread to link them together. If it's the latter, which I think is a better situation to be in, spend some time trying to whittle down before making a start on your PS once you have 2 or so left. Look at uni course content for the subjects as well as whether you like the subjects themselves and good luck :smile:

Reply 5

Saracen's Fez

Volunteer Section Leader

20

Original post by milliemooboo17

I haven’t decided on one particular course to study yet, it varies from history to ancient history, classical studies, languages and art history but I’m not sure where to start with my personal statement since I’m considering all of these subjects and I’m interested in a dual honours degree. How do I write my personal statement with several subjects in mind?

Do you have a list of courses you're considering yet? :smile:

Do you think you'll end up applying to a wide range of courses, or eventually narrowing down to a set of similar courses (even if those are joint-honours)?

Reply 6

McGinger

20

Applying for a crowd of different subjects is the quickest way to get a rejection - it will be obvious from your PS that you are not that committed to any specific subject.

Go to Uni Open Days, listen to a range of different subject presentations and decide what you do actually want to study.
This is too important a decision to think 'Oh I'll just put all of that lot down' and hope for the best. You have until January to make this decision - think carefully.

The alternative is to find a combined subject degree (look at Liberal Arts, Combined Honours or Flexible Honours) that has options for all your interests. With 5 choices from these sort of courses, you can write a 'I'm interested in the connections between all these subjects' type PS. Also - look at subjects like Archaeology and/or Anthropology as a possibility - these cover much of your subject interests - example Archaeology and Classical Civilisation BA | University of Nottingham

Original post by milliemooboo17

I haven’t decided on one particular course to study yet, it varies from history to ancient history, classical studies, languages and art history but I’m not sure where to start with my personal statement since I’m considering all of these subjects and I’m interested in a dual honours degree. How do I write my personal statement with several subjects in mind?

Hiya,

As @Admit-One said, you ideally need to decide on one dual degree you want (which I know is easier said than done). You can maybe start by writing down a list of what interests you from each subject and seeing where they overlap or maybe a mind map of each subject? Alternatively, you can make a pros and con's list for each subject, basically any way for you to have a deeper look at what interests you from each subject; this may be able to help you narrow down a course for your personal statement 🙂 Also, do keep in mind that you can register for modules that are outside your department; for example, say you do ancient history and classics, when you register for optional modules you can choose modules outside your department (like a language module or anything else) provided it does not clash with any other modules. So even if you decide on a specific dual/joint degree, you can still explore other interests that are not within the scope of your course.

I know you specifically stated you're interested in a joint honours degree in the subjects you listed, but have you considered looking at a liberal arts course? A liberal arts course allows you to basically design your own course/degree and you can study different modules/subjects from different departments/faculties in the scope of your course/degree (they also have single and joint honours). It's a great course for someone who has several interests and wants to explore those interests without being limited 🙂 You can have a look on here if that sounds like something you may be interested in Course Structure - Durham University

I hope this helps and best of luck!

-Ghala

Reply 8

milliemooboo17

OP

1

Original post by Durham Students

Hiya,
As @Admit-One said, you ideally need to decide on one dual degree you want (which I know is easier said than done). You can maybe start by writing down a list of what interests you from each subject and seeing where they overlap or maybe a mind map of each subject? Alternatively, you can make a pros and con's list for each subject, basically any way for you to have a deeper look at what interests you from each subject; this may be able to help you narrow down a course for your personal statement 🙂 Also, do keep in mind that you can register for modules that are outside your department; for example, say you do ancient history and classics, when you register for optional modules you can choose modules outside your department (like a language module or anything else) provided it does not clash with any other modules. So even if you decide on a specific dual/joint degree, you can still explore other interests that are not within the scope of your course.
I know you specifically stated you're interested in a joint honours degree in the subjects you listed, but have you considered looking at a liberal arts course? A liberal arts course allows you to basically design your own course/degree and you can study different modules/subjects from different departments/faculties in the scope of your course/degree (they also have single and joint honours). It's a great course for someone who has several interests and wants to explore those interests without being limited 🙂 You can have a look on here if that sounds like something you may be interested in Course Structure - Durham University
I hope this helps and best of luck!
-Ghala

Thank you so much your advice has been very helpful 😁

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