clinical psychology phd personal statement example

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Postgraduate clinical psychology personal statement example.

My initial decision to major in psychology was rationalised with the idea that I could use my degree to help people.

Everyone struggles at one point in their lives and being able to help someone is a great opportunity. Furthermore, studying psychology provided something for me that the other subjects didn’t, such as a deeper understanding of my mind and behaviour.

After finishing my high school, I joined Bachelor of Arts program as I wished to explore which subject I would have a special interest in and the course consisted of several subjects including Geography, Political Science, Psychology, English, Economics and French.

By the end of my first year, I had a fondness towards psychology as it was interesting and chose to learn further about it. 

During my second and third year, I studied about Social Psychology, Abnormal Behaviour as well as Statistics.

I was fascinated by how the human mind works and how it affects a person’s thoughts, feelings and behaviour. I enjoyed learning about the psychological disorders and the models of abnormality.

As I didn’t have an honours in psychology at my college, I decided to take a Master’s degree in Applied Psychology.

My master’s program was a 2 year course where I gained extensive knowledge about the different fields in psychology. During my First Semester, I had courses on educational psychology, cognitive psychology, Research Methodology and Statistics.

I enjoyed research methodology as I gained a deeper understanding of how to conduct research, the different methods in research and the importance it plays in psychology as it gives scientific evidence on the new perspectives of psychology, psychological theories and factors affecting mental health.

In addition to the courses, I did an internship at Agnes Special School where I worked as a special educator for children with Learning Disability, Cerebral Palsy, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Autism and Mental Retardation.

Through this internship, I got to know more about childhood disorders and the obstacles they face in their everyday lives. It was extremely challenging

During, my second semester I had courses such as physiological psychology, personality theories, psychological testing and positive psychology.

I enjoyed reading about personality theories especially, Alfred Adler’s Individual psychology where he describes inferiority and superiority complexes and also about the birth order and how it influences the style of life.

By learning the theories, I gained insight on how personality influences human behaviour. I also had a practical paper on Assessment of Personality where, I was exposed to the various types of personality tests such as Draw a person test, Eysenck personality questionnaire, locus of control, Neo five-factor inventory and many more.  

During the third semester, I learned about counselling psychology, psychological intervention and psychopathology.

I found psychopathology very interesting as it taught me about the different psychological disorders, their aetiology, diagnosis and the signs and symptoms that make up the diagnosis and treatment of the disorder.

I became interested in relationships between various biological and environmental factors which can induce disorders.

By the end of my third semester, I worked as an intern for two months at two hospitals. My first clinical internship was at XXX for 3 weeks under Dr. XXX. During my time there, I learned how to collect case histories and conduct Mental Status Examinations (MSE).

I conducted various psychometric tests such as Standard and Coloured Progressive Matrices, Seguin Form Board and LD checklist, and also observed various behaviour therapies, parent guidance and counselling, sessions for home training for children with special needs on conditions like mental retardation, learning disability, autism, hearing impairments, cerebral palsy and multiple handicaps.

I also presented a poster on Learning Disability as a part of the academic presentation, defining Learning Disability, the problems children with LD face, the management of LD and the rights these children have.

My second clinical internship was at XXX for four weeks where I worked under the supervision of XXX at the Psychiatric Department. The hospital had in-patient care as well as outpatient care where I could collect case histories and conduct Mental Status Examinations.

I got insights into the numerous disorders. I gained an understanding of the roles and responsibilities of a clinical psychologist. I also attended several therapies that the psychologist conducted such as Group Therapy for de-addiction patients, Stress Management and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and various psychometric tests such as Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) and Rorschach inkblot test.

I also conducted psychometric tests such as Wechsler’s Intelligence Scale for Children, CAGE questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory, Binet Kamat Test etc.

In the fourth semester, I had courses on behaviour modification and counselling children, adolescents and adults. I was trained in numerous psychotherapy techniques such as Jacobsons Progressive Muscle Relaxation, Autogenic Training, Systematic Desensitisation, and Yoga.

I also had to present several case studies that I collected during my internships. I had a 5 days internship at XXX Rehabilitation Centre for Addicts which was aimed at preventing and management of Substance abuse with the focus soon early intervention , community based holistic approach and people’s participation.

During my time here, I interacted with several patients who has problems with substance abuse where I was able to take a session on assertiveness training for the patients and also conducted several relaxation techniques such as JPMR and Autogenic training.

Further, I got to know how the rehab centre worked and the different treatment methods used for the patients. I had another 5 days internship at XXX Palliative care, where I counselled with patients who were terminally ill by giving psychological snd social support to the patients and their caregivers.

Another internship I had was at Riya Hope Farm which was a residential centre for children with special needs. I was assigned to a child who had autism and conducted behavioural assessment of the child. Once the assessment was over, behaviour modification process was started as the child had difficulty in following the instruction that were given to him.

I also had to submit a dissertation as a part of the master’s programme where I presented a research study on “ Marital Adjustment in relation to Life Satisfaction and Gender among Young Adult Married Couples.”

I was interested in this topic due to the increasing divorce rates in India notably among the Young - Adult population and to find out whether life satisfaction influences the marital adjustment between couples.

In addition to my courses, I have attended several workshops on counselling and psychotherapy, basic and advanced hypnosis, “Dementia - Remember me” and Paranormality.

After finishing my master’s in psychology, I am currently interning at a psychiatric clinic for where I am working as an assistant counselling psychologist under the guidance of Dr XXXp. 

During my time here, I have met patients with a wide range of mental health problems that may occur such as mental health disorders including depression, psychosis, personality disorder, negative life events, bereavement, domestic violence, sexual, emotional and physical abuse, traumas and relationship issues.

I have witnessed counselling of both clients and their families, and I have learned to administer and score several psychological tests used in clinical assessment.

I have enjoyed working in the clinic and found it very rewarding, not only because of the idea of helping but also because the work was interesting and challenging, as every patient is different and different approaches of counselling are needed.

As an assistant counselling psychologist, I was able to learn the different counselling techniques and how to guide patients through empathy and unconditional positive regard.

Upon completion of this masters programme, I intend join a Doctoral programme in Clinical Psychology (DClinPsy) and to practice as a clinical psychologist, where I can provide a positive influence in the lives of people struggling with psychiatric disorders.

My personal characteristics are perfectly adaptable to this profession and I’m highly interested in this field. Moreover, my academic achievements signify my capability to reach the goal of becoming a clinical psychologist.

I’m also interested in research work and understanding the various mental illness, their treatment as well as their effectiveness. My work experience has proven to me how much more I need to learn before I can attain my goal of becoming an accomplished clinical psychologist.

I am interested to join Goldsmith’s University of London for the Masters course in Foundation in Clinical Psychology and Health Services by the strong emphasis on clinical practice and research methodology as it goes particularly well with what I am looking for in a program.

I would be very excited to join the upcoming class for 2018. I feel I am well prepared to enter graduate study, and my strong motivation and career goals are a good match for what the university has to offer.

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Personal Statement

All applicants must include a personal statement that addresses the following question:

Please describe how your background and academic experiences have influenced your decision to pursue a graduate degree and led you to apply to Penn. Your essay should detail your specific research interests and intellectual goals within  your chosen field. Please provide information about your educational trajectory, intellectual curiosity and academic ambitions. If you have overcome adversity and/or experienced limited access to resources or opportunities in your field of study, please feel free to share how that has affected the course of your education. We are interested in your lived experiences and how your particular perspective might contribute to the inclusive and dynamic learning community that Penn values and strives to create.

The personal statement helps us evaluate the fit between your interests and skills and the Penn Psychology program. It should describe why you want to pursue a PhD in Psychology, why Penn is the right place for you to do it, what sorts of skills and experiences make you qualified to pursue a PhD in a research-intensive Psychology program like Penn’s, what kinds of questions you are interested in studying, and who on the faculty you would like to work with. Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact potential advisors in advance of writing the personal statement, to ensure that the research questions the applicant hopes to pursue are a good fit with research topics Penn faculty are working on. If you hope to study a question that members of our Psychology Graduate Group are not interested in pursuing, then Penn would not be a good fit for you. Please also look at the websites of faculty members whose labs you would like to join; they might have additional instructions for information they would like you to include in the personal statement. The personal statement is typically around two pages, single-spaced.

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Creating a Personal Statement

Some examples of how this question is worded:.

Please provide a personal statement describing your special interests and professional goals. Include a rank-ordered list of the three faculty members with whom you most want to work. This should be approximately 500 words and address your rationale for attempting advanced study. Be sure to include previous research experience and how you became interested in pursuing advanced training and how you feel the program will guide you in that pursuit.

A written statement reflecting a commitment to psychology and plans after completion of studies. Describe your interest areas in clinical psychology and your career plans. Describe your strengths and weaknesses for graduate study, and your need for financial support.

Keep in mind:

Spelling and grammar count! This is the first experience that faculty have with you as a human being, and not as a list of courses/grades, so make it count! Be careful with humor and long quotations from Freud, Jung, and the like (and I really wouldn’t quote Dr. Phil either…).

Be careful what you reveal in your personal statement. Your statement can help your application and it can harm your application. I would be personal, but not overly personal. Remember that sites cannot ask you about personal information—such as marital status and parental status—unless you reveal that information first. I would recommend having your advisor read through early drafts of this statement to help you craft the final product.

Writing skills matter quite a bit in the applications for both experimental and clinical programs. Spelling, grammar, word usage, style of writing—all of these will be judged in addition to the information you actually write down in the statement. Put forth a good first impression! You do not want to be viewed as careless for submitting an application with multiple typos, run-on sentences, and the like.

DO NOT DO THE FOLLOWING: If applying to a clinical/counseling program, do not state that you are applying to the program in order to help people. That is such an overused theme that application reviewers might stop reading your essay there! Instead, talk about who in particular you want to work with and why. What drew you to clinical work? What drew you to working with a particular population? What do you want to do with your career—how do you want to affect other people?

Please see this article  regarding “kisses of death” in the application process.

Faculty Lists

You may be asked to include a rank-list of the faculty you would like to work with. If accepted, this is the list that the program will use to determine who you will work with, so make sure this list is accurate.

You may want to contact faculty you are interested in working with to see 1) if they are accepting students for the upcoming year, and 2) to inquire about upcoming research projects to assess your level of interest in working with that faculty member.

Again, remember that the information in this email can become part of your application so check for spelling errors before sending! Be formal—address the email to “Dr. XXXXX,” do not use abbreviations/text-speak, and sign the email with “Sincerely, Your full name and university.”

You may need to discuss how your research/clinical interests match with those of the faculty you list, so be thorough in writing about how you feel you match with the faculty member. Don’t be a stalker!

Personal Statements

What is a Personal Statement?

A Personal Statement is a professional essay that outlines your interest for the field, relevant experiences, career goals, and fit to the program and or faculty member in which you are applying. Psychology and Psychological Sciences majors apply for a myriad of applied-masters, doctoral, and professional programs. The following tips will help you get started in addition to the supplemental articles from the APA. Students who are looking for a course that breaks down all of the steps in applying to graduate school (including writing your Personal Statement) should consider taking PSY 396C , Preparation for Graduate Programs in the Field of Psychology. This course is recommended Fall of junior year.

General Tips for any Personal Statement

• Follow the directions and answer any questions or prompts provided by your programs.
• Your Introductory Paragraph should share what ignited your passion or interest for the field (NOT TOO PERSONAL).
• Give details, include names of agencies, labs, and or faculty to help paint the picture of what you did.
• Share not only your duties but also what you learned from the experience and how that has solidified the work you want to do.
• The conclusion needs to show fit to the school/program/faculty member. (PhD programs you need to name who you are applying to specifically).
• Ensure your statement flows. Paragraphs need to have transition sentences to connect the ideas. Telling your professional story chronologically helps.
• Edit, edit, and edit again. Ask many people to read and edit your statement before submitting it to your programs.

Personal Statements for Applied Masters Programs

An applied master's program is a program that is hands-on and provides coursework and experiences such as internships and field placements to train you to do the work in your chosen field. Some examples are Social Work, Mental Health Counseling, and School Counseling. There are many others. These statements aim to convey your interest for the field, share your relevant hands-on experiences as evidence of your preparation, and demonstrate how you are a good match for the program.

Personal Statements for PhD Programs

Ph.D. programs are primarily research-based programs. Even if they provide Clinical Training (e.g. Clinical and Counseling Psychology), they are still fundamentally rooted in producing scientific research. Your personal statement is an opportunity to sell yourself in terms of your research interests, previous research experience, and research goals. Your writing should be clear, concise, grammatically correct, and professional in tone.

Personal Statement Editing

Are you in the process of writing your personal statement for graduate or professional programs and need tutoring/editing services? The University of Arizona Writing Skills Improvement Program is your answer! They offer free and fee-based services. Students can schedule appointments or attend drop-in tutoring . Check it out!

Advice from the American Psychological Association

Applying to Grad School: What should I say in my Personal Statement

Preparing your Personal Statement for Graduate applications

Finding Fit: Personal Statements

Dr. Joseph H. Hammer

Associate Professor of Counseling Psychology

Personal Statement of Purpose for Counseling Psychology PhD and PsyD Applications

All counseling psychology doctoral (PhD or PsyD) programs require applicants to submit one or more written essays about why the applicant is interested in and qualified to enter that graduate program.

Each program calls these essays by different names, including “Personal Statement”, “Statement of Interest”, “Statement of Purpose”, “Statement of Professional Goals”, “Career Goals Statement”, “Personal Essay”, and various combinations of those terms. Programs may have you write a single statement or multiple statements (e.g., Personal Statement plus a Diversity Statement).

Writing a good statement is one of the hardest parts of applying to counseling or clinical psychology graduate programs.

One of the things that makes it hard to apply is the ambiguity and mystery that surrounds statements: what should I talk about? How long should it be? Do I talk about my experiences and interests in research, applied psychology (e.g., helping others by being a supportive listener), working with diverse groups of people, or what?

To help prospective applicants to counseling psychology doctoral programs, members of the HAMMER Lab analyzed what programs told applicants they should write about in their statement.

Check out our Counseling Psychology PhD and PsyD Personal Statement of Purpose Questions google spreadsheet to see the detailed analysis. See the bottom of this page for how we went about collecting data.

Before we review the take-home points of our analysis below, a brief reminder: be sure to check out my other  Psych Grad School  resources using the menu above, such as  Graduate School Advice ,  Counseling Psychology Faculty Research Interests List ,  Best Doctoral Programs in Counseling Psychology , and  What the Ideal Graduate School Applicant Looks Like .  I also recommend completing the  Mental Health Professions Career Test , which will give you interest scores on 21 different mental health occupations, including counseling psychology and clinical psychology.

Take-Home Points

Below are the key results from our analysis, the take-home points that every applicant should keep in mind:

• Most programs provide provide a suggested or required statement page or word length in their instructions. The most common request is 2-3 single-spaced pages . On the shorter end, some programs restrict applicants to 500 words maximum.
• 90% of the counseling psychology doctoral programs we sampled (N=50) instruct applicants to talk about their professional goals and career aspirations. In other words, no matter what programs you apply to, you should discuss this in your statement. Specifically, you should talk about your professional goals and how getting the specific doctoral degree (PhD or PsyD) at that specific program (given the unique strengths and opportunities afforded by that program) will facilitate these goals.
• 52% instruct applicants to talk about their background and relevant experiences but may not clearly specify the type of experiences the applicants should discuss. (Many programs do specify the type of experience to talk about; see bullet points below.) As a rule of thumb, when applying to PhD programs, you should be ready to discuss research, applied (i.e., helping, listening, counseling, clinical), and multicultural experiences. When applying to PsyD programs, you should prioritize discussing applied and multicultural experiences (you can mention research too, especially if that program specifically requests it).
• 52% instruct applicants to clearly indicate why they want a counseling psychology doctoral degree (PhD or PsyD) specifically. In other words, why not a clinical psychology degree, counseling psychology master’s degree, or a master’s in social work degree instead? Some PhD programs often want to know why you are specifically interested in the PhD instead of a PsyD (and vice versa). Even when a program does not ask you to address this specifically, I recommend always discussing how that particular degree will help you work toward your career goals.
• 59% of PhD programs (13% of PsyD program) instruct applicants to talk about why they are interested in that program specifically (versus similar programs at other institutions across the country). As a faculty member at University of Kentucky’s counseling psychology PhD program, I understand that people who apply to our program are also applying to other programs. (I always advise students to apply to 7 to 10 programs across the country that fit their professional goals, since getting into a given doctoral program is hard and you need to apply to multiple programs to maximize your chances of being offered admission.) However, even if an applicants is applying elsewhere, I still want to know “why us?”. I want to know that the applicant has carefully considered the strengths and opportunities that our program has to offer and has applied because of those unique attributes. If an applicant does not mention specific aspects of our program, then I don’t know if they are truly interested in our program or are just treating us as a “safety school” or “backup plan”. Since finding the right graduate program is more about “fit” between applicant and program rather than “being the best applicant”, I want to hear how the applicant sees themselves uniquely fitting with our program. Thus, even when not asked explicitly to address this, I recommend always discussing what attracts you to that particular program.
• 41% of PhD programs (13% of PsyD programs) instruct applicants to talk about their research interests. This serves two purposes. First, because PhD programs train students to be both scientists and practitioners (and some also train people to be advocates), the doctoral admissions committee want to see that a student has thoughtful research interests (not too broad, not too specific, and sufficiently flexible given that students are still early in their professional development) and is serious about wanting to get additional research training as a doctoral student. Second, some PhD programs prefer to admit students whose research interests overlap with the research interests of one or more program faculty members. More on that in the next bullet point. I recommend always discussing your research interests when applying to PhD programs even if not explicitly asked to do so by the program’s application instructions.
• 27% of PhD programs (0% of PsyD programs) instruct applicants to talk about how their research interests fit with the research interests of specific program faculty members. These programs tend to use an “apprenticeship model of research mentorship”, meaning that doctoral students apply to work under a specific core faculty member in that program, who will work closely with them to train them in the theories and techniques used to do research on the topics of interest to that faculty member. The expectation usually is that the student will help that professor out with the professor’s program of research while the student is enrolled in the program (and that the professor will help the student start to build the student’s own line of research, which will usually be topically related to the professor’s line of research). Therefore, programs that use this apprenticeship model often value selecting an applicant for admission based, not only on that student’s fit with the wider program, but on how well that student fits with a particular professor’s research team. Our counseling psychology PhD program at the University of Kentucky uses this apprenticeship model and this is why we explicitly ask all applicants to pick one (two at the most) professors with whom they could fit research-interest-wise. However, while only 24% of programs explicitly instructed applicants to address research fit with a professor, some programs implicitly expect you to address this . This is part of the “hidden curriculum” of graduate school–sometimes people expect you to know certain things, but you won’t unless you have a mentor who clues you in to this insider knowledge (or you happened to read it on the internet or a how-to guide). The tricky part is that you won’t always know if a given program wants you to talk about research fit with a professor. When the program’s website or application instructions does not provide clear guidance, I recommend that you make a case in your statement for how your research interests fit well with the research interests of one (maybe 2) of the professors in that program. Bear in mind that some programs do not use an apprenticeship model and instead select students based on overall fit with the program rather than research fit (they will often make this clear on their website/instructions), in which case you don’t have to spend time in your statement articulating research fit.
• 24% of PhD programs (13% of PsyD programs) instruct applicants to talk about their research experiences and qualifications. Even if a given PhD program does not explicitly request this information, you should always talk about this, as it’s an implicit expectation. However, make sure you are not just restating the information you listed under the “research experiences” section of your CV.
• 16% instruct applicants to talk about their past experiences with diverse people or cultures. However, even when a program does not explicit ask for this, I do recommend that you talk about this when discussing past research/applied/professional experiences. My anecdotal experience suggests that most programs like to see evidence in your application that you have experience working and/or living alongside people who share both cultural similarities and differences from you in terms of race/ethnicity, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, (dis)ability, religion, etc. However, because some people grew up in culturally homogeneous places (surrounded by people with similar cultural identities), what’s even more important than past experience with diversity is a genuine desire moving forward to (1) learn about yourself as a cultural being with multiple identities that may carry privilege and marginalization, (2) learn to work productively with colleagues and clients who are both similar and different from yourself, and (3) learn about how interlocking systems of power influence your life and the lives of others (e.g., racism, sexism).
• 16% instruct applicants to talk about their interests, beliefs, aspirations, and/or contributions to social justice, diversity, equity, inclusion, etc. This is related but different from the “past experiences with diversity” aspect mentioned above. These pieces go beyond past experience and capture what you value and how you (plan to) contribute to making the world a more just place. This is increasingly at the heart of counseling psychology as a specialty. As with the prior bullet point, even though a minority of programs explicitly instruct applicants to address this in their statement, my anecdotal experience is that most programs want to see you incorporate this into how you talk about your experiences and goals related to both research and practice.
• 26% instruct applicants to talk about their past applied (i.e., helping, listening, counseling, clinical) experience. All counseling psychology doctoral programs train their graduate students to be talk therapists, which requires being a good listener, showing empathy, problem solving abilities, a willingness to tolerate ambiguity, an openness to both positive and constructive feedback, and demonstrating cultural humility and sensitivity. To determine which applicants show promise as future psychotherapists and would therefore be suitable for admission into the doctoral program, one thing we consider is your past applied experience. Faculty want to see that you have (1) some practice with basic helping skills, (2) at least one letter of recommendation from a supervisor of one of your helping experiences that states that your helping skills are good and that you show promise as a future talk therapist, and (3) a clear track record of wanting to further develop your helping skills by seeking out relevant opportunities. Talking about your past applied experience in your statement is one way we can gather evidence about #1 and #3.
• 25% of PsyD programs (6% of PhD programs) instruct applicants to talk about their theoretical orientation, their understanding of mental illness, and/or their understanding of how people heal and change. An applicant’s answer to these questions can provide hints to faculty about how sophisticated that applicant’s clinical abilities may be. These are hard questions to answer well without having taken graduate-level therapy coursework, and more sophistication will be expected of applicants who would be joining the doctoral program after having completed a talk-therapy-related master’s degree than would be expected of applicants who joined the doctoral program after having completed only a bachelor’s degree. Most programs do not ask about this topic and there is not an implicit expectation on behalf of programs that you address this in your statement.
• 16% instruct applicants to talk about their professional strengths and/or weaknesses. Most programs do not ask about this topic and there is not an implicit expectation on behalf of programs that you address this in your statement. For those programs that do, remember that you need to strike a balance between “selling yourself” appropriately in terms of strengths and not sounding arrogant when doing so. Likewise, some weaknesses are going to be socially acceptable (e.g., typical areas of growth for new graduate students like managing mild perfectionism) whereas others will cast a shadow on your application (e.g., poor interpersonal skills, cultural insensitivity, difficulty with time management, difficult with autonomous functioning), even if they are true. While you might not need to talk about strengths and weaknesses in your statement, it’s likely you’ll have to talk about this during interviews, so make sure to put some thought into this before going on interviews.
• 38% of PsyD programs (10% of PhD programs) instruct applicants to address how the program will benefit them. This question is a combined way of asking the 3 questions of “What are your professional goals?” and “Why do you want a _____ degree specifically” and “Why are you interested in our program specifically?”. Regardless of whether a program explicitly asks this or not, there is an implicit expectation that your statement always address how your completing this chosen program will bring you closer to achieving your career goals.

In regard to our data collection strategy, our team used APA’s list of accredited counseling psychology doctoral programs (both PhD and PsyD, both counseling psychology and “combined” programs, N=84 at the time of data collection in September of 2019). We navigated to each program’s “how to apply” page to look at what instructions they provided regarding what the student should talk about in their statement(s). We copied and pasted this information into in the Counseling Psychology PhD and PsyD Personal Statement of Purpose Questions google spreadsheet. You’ll notice that we de-identified what instructions come from which program, as the point of this analysis is to get an overall snapshot, rather than to learn about a specific program (you’ll want to see the program website for that info). Some programs did not provide this information on their website but required applicants to create an account in the application portal in order to access the instructions; for our purposes, we did not include these programs in the analysis. Thus, readers should bear in mind that our analysis is based on a subset of programs that is not guaranteed to be representative of all programs. Our final sample was N=50, of which n=42 were PhDs and n=8 were PsyDs. We analyzed the set of instructions to look for topical themes (e.g., career goals), which we then coded for across programs so that counts and percentages could be created. We also calculated descriptive statistics broken down by program type (PhD vs PsyD).

Which program are you applying to?

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Everything you need to know to get Accepted

December 22, 2023

Five Tips for Writing Compelling PsyD Personal Statements

“What should I include?” “How do I start?” “What will impress the admissions committee?” These are the most common questions PsyD applicants ask about their application essay. What makes this task even more confusing is that different programs refer to this same essay as a “personal statement,” a “statement of purpose,” a “graduate essay,” a “statement of goals,” a “personal history,” and even a “letter of intent.” Some programs might request two or three essays: one that is biographical,  one that addresses the issue of diversity , and perhaps one that serves as a more formal research proposal. As applicants prepare to write their essays, they’re often confounded by questions.

Making your personal statements more dynamic

As you prepare to write your PsyD personal statement, here are five tips to help you make it as persuasive and memorable as possible.

Tip #1: Understand the importance of the personal statement in admissions decisions.

Although your transcript(s), recommendations, and GRE scores (if required) all factor into your target program’s admissions decision, your personal statement is what can really “close” the deal. Adcoms read candidates’ statements very carefully. They use this submission to learn more about your disposition for studying clinical psychology; your educational background; your clinical, academic, and research experience; and your short- and long-term career aspirations. Here is where you have the opportunity to  highlight the strengths  and qualifications you possess that will set you apart from other qualified applicants. These might include the following:

• Your fit with the program
• Desirable qualities and qualifications
• Your ability to articulate your ideas in a clear and engaging way
• How your academic studies, human services experience, field research, and long-term goals have sparked your determination to pursue PsyD graduate studies
• Any influences that have inspired your decision to apply to a PsyD program, if applicable, such as an internship, job, community service experience, acquaintance who works in the field, or a research experience (Make sure you  provide short narratives  about the experience[s] or person[s], which will make you more memorable to the faculty committee.)

Many PsyD personal statement prompts will ask you to share personal experiences. As you relate these experiences, you want to demonstrate your self-reflection skills and that you understand the importance of clear boundaries. Remember that the purpose of this essay to is provide information to the adcom that will help in assessing your qualifications for the program.

Tip #2: Read the prompts carefully, and customize your personal statement for each PsyD program.

Programs can easily spot a template or generic personal statement and will, most likely, place such essays in the “no” pile. It is therefore important to  customize your personal statement for each program  to which you apply.

Each school provides a brief description of the information it is seeking in the personal statement. One program might limit this essay to 1,000 words, in which you must address multiple questions or topics. Another might specify two or three single- or double-spaced pages, while others might limit the number of characters (with or without spaces) with which you can cover certain topics. Pay special attention to each school’s directions. Not following the stated directives will, at the least, irritate the adcom and might even result in your application being placed in the “no” pile. PsyD programs are highly selective and competitive, and if you cannot follow clearly stated directions, it calls into question your ability to manage the academic rigor of the program. Carefully read the entire prompt, and be sure to respond to each part of it.

We suggest creating a spreadsheet that lists each program’s personal statement questions/requirements. This cross-checking tool will help you identify common topics among the programs you’re targeting, which might include the following:

• Academic objectives related to the curriculum 
• Prior research experience and graduate-level research interests (Some schools request a graduate research proposal.)
• Relevant community service, job, or internship experiences
• Short- and long-term professional/career goals

Tip #3: Identify the specific faculty member(s) with whom you wish to work.

Some PsyD programs ask applicants to note in the application the name or names of faculty members with whom they wish to work if they are admitted. Whether or not your target program requests this information, include it in your personal statement, naming the specific faculty members you have pinpointed. To identify these individuals, look at the faculty profiles on the program’s website to see whose work connects with your interests. Read journal articles that match your research and/or clinical interests. In your explanation of why you would like to work with a particular faculty member, clearly present your precise reason(s) (e.g., they focus on a certain population or clinical issue).

Tip #4: Check out the program’s website for special opportunities you could highlight in the “Why this school/program?” portion of your personal statement.

To make a convincing argument for why you are targeting a particular PsyD program, you need to identify aspects of the experience that relate directly to your needs and interests and then name them in your personal statement. These items could include the following:

• Clinical sites, including practica and internships
• Courses, specializations, and/or concentrations that you find appealing 
• Participation/presentations at professional conferences, including APA regional conventions
• On-site and/or off-site research centers
• Graduate student groups of interest
• Theoretical perspective or orientation of the program (e.g., a focus on social justice)

Avoid generic statements about the program’s “excellent faculty” or “strong academic reputation.” The adcom will likely view such statements as cliches or basic pandering. 

#5: Being detailed can help you stand out.

Faculty adcoms work hard to fairly review each candidate before making their admissions decision. As a result, they are seeking. They don’t need to “dig” through the application to find it. Avoid making overarching statements, such as “I did some research.” Provide the details: What was the research? With whom did you work? When did you do it? What did you learn? Was it published? Was it presented at a scholarly event or conference? If you are sharing information on a course you enjoyed, include the “whys,” “whats,” and “hows.” For example, explain why the professor was particularly inspiring,  what  specific course content added to your knowledge base, and/or how the course content reinforced your determination to pursue graduate studies and/or research in this field.

Are there particular populations or clinical issues that you are drawn to? If so, include an explanation of why these are of interest.

After completing your specificity check and before you submit your application, be sure to do the following:

• Conduct a spell/grammar check. Although it might not catch everything, running a simple spell/grammar check is an excellent first step.
• Read your entire personal statement aloud to yourself. You might be surprised by the number of errors and omissions you will notice that the computer-generated spell/grammar check missed.
• Check the word/character/page count to ensure that it conforms to the school’s requirements.
• Ask an unbiased person to read for grammar and spelling errors. A “fresh set of eyes” could notice issues you might have overlooked.
• Review your statement to ensure that its content complements – without duplicating or repeating — information found elsewhere in your application.
• Proofread your statement multiple times.

By Alice Diamond , former associate dean for career and community service at Lesley University. Alice has a BA from Colgate University, an MA from Bryn Mawr College, and an MS from Cornell University. She has more than 35 years of experience in career and admissions advising for undergraduate and graduate candidates. Alice’s clients have been accepted to top programs in a wide range of fields. Want to work with Alice? Click here to get in touch!

Related Resources

• Five Fatal Flaws to Avoid in Your Grad School Statement of Purpose , a free guide
• Graduate School in Psychology: PsyD or PhD, Which Is Right for You?
• Acing the PsyD Interview: The 3-P Plan

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Submitted by Jenny

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Psychology Personal Statement

Psychology has drawn me in since I began studying it at GCSE. For me, the fact that there is so much that is still unknown is so intriguing to me. I find it fascinating that by using psychology, we can understand why people act the way they do and how the brain processes information both neurologically and cognitively. I especially enjoy the clinical aspect of psychology as well as the research side of the subject.

My appreciation for clinical psychology stemmed from learning about psychopathology at the beginning of my A level course. I thoroughly enjoyed discussing different brain abnormalities and mental illnesses, such as depression, and I found it incredible that through using psychological research it is possible to develop treatments and therapies that are helpful for sufferers.

I would truly love to study for a BSc in Psychology at university as I believe that by expanding my knowledge of psychology to a degree level, it will aid me on my career path of becoming a clinical psychologist. I have found a great interest in the subject of clinical psychology such as how different mental disorders come about and how they can be treated. This has further motivated me to go into this field of work. It inspired me to study psychology in more depth so that, hopefully in the future, I could help people who are suffering find a treatment or potentially develop one myself. In the future, it would be my dream to become a qualified clinical psychologist as I feel that this career would be perfect for me.

My attentive nature, passion for helping others and my ability to remain calm means that I would really thrive in this profession. In the summer of Year 12, I had the opportunity to experience work in a clinical setting first hand. I took part in a work experience programme with the NHS in which I shadowed nurses on the vascular ward. Although I believe that this ward wasn't particularly relevant to my future career, it did give me an insight into work in a clinical setting and what it entails. During this week, I spoke to professionals about their experiences of the rewards and drawbacks of the work. This week of experience confirmed that I really want to work in a clinical setting in particular where, rather than take the role of a nurse, I would apply psychological knowledge to help others.

Also during the summer, I attended a programmed called Next Step York at the University of York . In this programme, we stayed at the university for a week long residential and took part in various university related activities. I attended three mini lectures on psychology, sociology and law and in these sessions, we learnt about the different topics within each subject. I found them all interesting but the psychology lecture more so. I also got to experience student life activities which were to give us an insight into the various societies at university. The whole week taught me what staying at university would be like and how to manage living independently away from home. I feel it really helped me to realise that university was definitely the route for me.

Currently, I am a subject ambassador for the subject of psychology at my sixth form. This means that I help out with events such as open days and we also run a revision club for current Year 12 that are studying psychology. In this revision club, we review AS content and discuss them so that the Year 12s, and we, understand the content fully.

I really believe that this course will be perfect for me as I have an incredible passion for the subject and really enjoy learning and reading about recent events in the psychological world. I feel that this course would inspire me to pursue my dream career as a clinical psychologist and would make me fall in love with the subject even more, if that's possible.

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