Personal Statements

UCAS Personal Statement 2026

If you're planning to apply to us through UCAS from September 2025 (for 2026 or 2027 entry), then you'll need to know about the changes to the UCAS Personal Statement.

The statement will still be all about you and why you'd like to study your chosen course, but from next admissions cycle UCAS are breaking this into three sections to help guide you when writing your statement. These are based around the following three questions:

The personal statement will remain 4000 characters in length (including spaces), and each question will require a minimum of 350 characters. But if you've got more to say in one section than another then you've got flexibility within the remaining characters to choose where you use these.

We're developing further guidance about what we're looking for in your personal statement when you apply to Durham, and are planning to publish this information in the New Year. In the meantime, the information below, including our Top Tips, provides a basic outline of the information we'd expect each section to contain.

Why do you want to study this course or subject?

This is your chance to demonstrate your enthusiasm for your course. Tell us why you're interested in studying it, and identify one or two stand out areas to talk about in detail.

We want to hear what your thoughts are about your subject and not just a description of something you've read - we want to hear what you think and not just what you've been told or read. You might want to think about the following questions when writing this section:

Why do you like the subject?
What books or articles have you read that have stood out?
Has it prompted you to do more research? If so, what did you find out?
Do you agree or disagree with particular viewpoints?
Is there evidence to support your views? etc

If you're applying for a joint honours or combined honours course, you'll need to ensure you talk about at least two of the subjects you're interested in studying through the course. A feature of these courses is taking modules from different academic departments, so you'll need to show your interest in studying a multidisciplinary course.

How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare for this course or subject?

We're interested in finding out what relevant or 'transferrable skills' you're bringing with you from your academic qualifications or studies. You won't need to list all your qualifications as we'll have this in the qualifications section of your UCAS application, so you will need to identify which areas have helped prepare you for the specific course you're applying to.

Think about, for example:

What skills might you need for your chosen course(s)?
What have you done that evidences you have these skills?
Have you taken part in any educational challenges or competitions? And what does this demonstrate?
Have you done any additional reading or research and what did you learn from this?

What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences useful?

In this section you'll be able to talk about other experiences you've had outside of your education and how the ways in which they've prepared you for your course. We know that not everyone will have had the same opportunities, so we won't have a list of particular activities we'll expect you've done. We're also not looking for a list of activities, but the detail of why these make you perfect for our course. We're interested in how the rest of your life outside of education has influenced you and what transferrable skills you've gained.

This could be through:

Personal life experiences or responsibilities
Work experience, employment, or volunteering
Hobbies, clubs, or outreach activities
Achievements outside of school
Post-education activities (if you're no longer in full-time education)

Your referee also has a section in your reference to write about extenuating circumstances, so we can understand your individual context - but if you want to talk about how your circumstances have shaped you then you can also do so in this section.

Top Tips for writing your personal statement

You’ve only got 4000 characters, including spaces, to convince us we should choose you, so make every word count.

Research your courses - make sure you understand what they're about so your personal statement can be relevant to your choices.
Always think about why you're telling us something - why are you including it? What does it demonstrate?
Be specific; use examples and give evidence to support what you're saying.
You don't need to write a chronological history – instead think about the structure and what you want to feature at the start of each section.
Avoid using lists - tell us why something you've read or something you've done makes us a good student, rather than providing a long list of things that doesn't spell out your strengths.
Ask someone you trust for ideas and feedback - they might think of something you don't!
Draft your personal statement then copy and paste into Apply.
Check your spelling and grammar and make sure you proofread. Read your personal statement out loud or ask friends and family to read it for you.
Don't waste characters! You only have 4000 so don’t include things like lists of your qualifications – we can see those in the qualifications section of your application already.
Don't copy! UCAS has software that will detect if your personal statement has been copied from someone else’s and they’ll let all the universities you’ve applied to know.
Don't expect to get it right first time. You’ll need several drafts before you’re happy with it.

Writing an excellent personal statement needn’t be scary if you remember to be focussed, enthusiastic and genuine. We want something that tells us all about you and the contribution you can make to our community.