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PERSONAL STATEMENT EXAMPLES History personal statements

Discover personal statement examples written by students accepted onto history and related courses. Read through the examples to help shape your own personal statement.

Unlock the past at Leicester University.

Dive into Elizabethan London, revolutionary Russia, and the Aztec Empire. Choose a History degree.

Explore lost worlds and fallen empires with a History degree.

Navigate Ancient Greece, Imperial Japan and the Napoleonic Wars at the University of Winchester, ranked top 10 in the UK for Graduate Employment (GOS 2021).

History Personal Statements

Submitted by anonymous

History Personal Statement

Due to my upbringing, I have always been encouraged to question every...

My passion for History stems from a young age through world travel ha...

My interest in history started with stories of my grandparents’ strug...

I am captivated by the ways in which History has moulded the world’s ...

Submitted by Naima

History BA Personal Statement

Studying History has offered me an insight into the structure of soci...

Submitted by Rachel

Ancient History Personal Statement

Studying history throughout my academic years has shown me how we can...

Submitted by Gemma

BA History (V100) Personal Statement

History is such a diverse subject. I find it fascinating because ther...

Submitted by Katie

History and International Relations Personal Statement

I am fascinated by the way the international political system often f...

Submitted by Sarah

History gives us warnings and encouragement. It allows us to celebrat...

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CAAH Personal Statement

Today I have a special feature from Rose, on writing a personal statement for Classical Archaeology & Ancient History, although the tips here will be useful for all applicants!

What was in my personal statement?

I applied to read Classical Archaeology & Ancient History (CAAH) at Oxford, but applied for Classical Studies elsewhere – CAAH was what I really wanted to do, and I’d found that Classical Studies covered all of the parts of CAAH I was really interested in: the art, archaeology and history of the ancient world, studied together.

I was (and still am!) particularly interested in two sort-of main things about Classics. Firstly, the art of the ancient world, and how this can complement and inform our understanding of the history of the Classical world, and, secondly, how the ancient and modern world compare, and so what Classics can teach us about ourselves today. Just from naturally wanting to talk about these two things more, they became the main line of discussion in my personal statement, meaning that I could actually link paragraphs together, rather than having random, jolting ones! Having these ‘themes’ meant that I could get right into writing my personal statement. I had a short introductory sentence about how I think Classics impacts the modern world, leading to how it impacts me, and then on to the rest of my personal statement – this hopefully meant that the beginning of my statement was quite engaging!

I had, however, left writing the beginning and ending until last, as I found that part the hardest. When beginning to write my personal statement, I found it easiest to write down everything I could think of – literally everything – that I had done relating to Classics, and then cut it down and refine it. However, my ‘technique’ isn’t for everyone, and was to the horror of some of my friends! My first draft came to over 10,000 characters, and I needed several drafts (we’re talking double digits, here) to get down to the write amount. I also found that it seemed too listy at first, but once I’d started to discuss the books and activities I mentioned more, it seemed to get more of a flair of its own accord.

I found the ending the hardest of all to write, and went for several drafts without having a proper one. Finally, I ended up with a conclusion which linked my academic work to my extra-curricular activities and then back again, in a way which I still think is rather neat. I’m a Scout leader and had travelled to Malta and Gozo to form international relations, and as Gozo is allegedly one of the mystical places Odysseus travels to in Homer’s Odyssey, this linked back to Classics! For my concluding note, I returned again to my theme of the ancient world teaching us about our modern world, by saying that the more we learn about the past, the less of the same mistakes we will repeat. (Initially I said that we hadn’t changed as a society, as wars still happen in the same place about the same things, but according to my Classics teacher, that was too depressing and needed to be inverted to become more positive!)

#Oxford #OxfordUniversity #Oxbridge #ClassicalArchaeology #AncientHistory #PersonalStatement

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Feeling connected to History – tips on writing your personal statement

Personal statements therefore should be written not just in praise of oneself, but also as a mechanism in which one can make oneself understand why you work so hard, why you really want to be at Oxford

Darian Murray-Griffiths is a first year studying History and Politics at Christ Church . He is from Worcestershire where he attended the local state schools.

There is always a wonderful feeling one gets as a History undergraduate at a place like Oxford because every step and every stone is something likely related to famous figures from history books, making one feel as part of living history. Whether it is eating fast food on the steps of the Martyrs’ Memorial which commemorates Reformation martyrs, or whether it is passing by Christ Church (a former monastery and Civil War palace of Charles I), or simply walking around colleges which have stood for the balance of more than 700 years, one always feels a sense of time and place in Oxford. It is that sense of history and of perspective which I think was key to me writing my personal statement at sixth form, about understanding that personally history is not just a dry subject related to archaeology or some distant past, but that history is responsible for so much of the who’s, what’s, and why’s of today. I think that coming to Oxford open days or even visiting the city for a day helps to put you mentally into a space where not only you can envisage yourself here but give you a physical and visual reminder of the ends to which you are working so incredibly hard for. I know of many friends and colleagues here who thrive off the energy and ambience of Oxford while working here, finding a historic and picturesque library to be conducive to thrashing out their best essays. Or a walk around a park or a meadow to give them much-needed peace in between bouts of stress, anxiety, or essay crisis.

I think that for those who are romanticists or sentimentalists, a History degree is a degree that allows you to let your imagination run wild, while contemplating facts which are also gruesome and shameful. As a Joint Honours student, I am lucky enough to witness both the romance and gore of History balanced with the cynicism and worldliness of Politics, meshing the two together in essays, to give me a sense of harmonious perspective in my outlook on life. It is the desire to find balance and to see both sides of the argument, while understanding context and human nature, that I think is important to historians today as we deepen our understanding of the past and its resonance with the present, even its putative impact on the future. Personal statements therefore should be written not just in praise of oneself, but also as a mechanism in which one can make oneself understand why you work so hard, why you really want to be at Oxford, and why your degree matters so much to you. I wrote my personal statement a few months after visiting Oxford for the University Open Day, and I think that the personal experience of Oxford for just 1 day and more helped me to form my Personal Statement because I now knew, fresh in memory, why it all mattered so much. Why I kept on going during days when one was down or moments when one had doubt or despair. If you can combine your personal experience with the motivations and personal qualities which you outline in your Personal Statement, it will not only impress the admissions tutors who read it, but perhaps impress yourself about the deeper meaning of what it means to apply to be a student at Oxford.

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Successful Personal Statement For Classics At Oxford

Last Updated: 7th April 2022

Author: Rob Needleman

Table of Contents

Welcome to our popular Personal Statement series where we present a successful Personal Statement, and our Oxbridge Tutors provide their feedback on it. 

Today, we are looking through a Classics applicant’s Personal Statement that helped secure a place at Oxford University. The Classics Course at Oxford involves extensive study of ancient languages, with a view to studying texts in the original.

Read on to see how this candidate managed to navigate the many disciplines and perspectives of Classics. 

Here’s a breakdown of the Personal Statement:

SUCCESSFUL?

The universities this candidate applied to were the following:

Enrolling on our Oxbridge Classics comprehensive Programme will give you access to Personal Statement redrafts. 

Your tutor will give you actionable feedback with insider tips on how to improve and make your Personal Statement Oxbridge quality for the best chances of success.  

Classics Personal Statement

Listening to operas like Handel’s Acis and Galatea, or looking at paintings like Raphael’s exquisite Triumph of Galatea, I am always reminded of Ovid’s brilliant manipulation of sources in producing stories now well ingrained in our culture – in this case transplanting the terrifying Cyclops of Odyssey 9 into a comic love triangle from Theocritus. In the Iliad, by contrast, Homer tells a deeply profound story of the cost of war, in which the humanity and inhumanity of war, presented through the sympathetic voice of the poet and the scope of the action respectively, are drawn together throughout the poem, culminating in the meeting of two tragic figures, Achilles and Priam, in Book 24. For me, however, the most moving part of the Iliad is Hector’s speech to Andromache in Book 6 when he imagines her being enslaved, because it combines the shame-driven bravery of the heroic code with an acute sense of conflicting duties, alien to most of the other characters in the poem. It is this variety in Classical literature, especially in the rich traditions of epic and mythology, that most appeals to me about Classics. In reading Classics at university I am particularly looking forward to studying more Greek tragedy, since I so enjoyed reading King Lear and Endgame at English AS-Level and the Antigone at Bryanston.

The infectious curiosity of Herodotus, the witty cynicism of Tacitus: Ancient History offers the whole range of authorial perspectives, but what struck me the most last year when I studied Ancient History for the first time was the fact that one need look no further than Plutarch’s Lives to find the whole range of personalities still found in today’s politics. An idea particularly resonant in modern politics, from Neil Kinnock to Joe Biden, is that of the ‘novus homo’, and my interest in Cicero, through studying his works at AS-Level, led me to write an article for Omnibus in which I argued that Cicero intended to publish not only the seventy-nine epistulae commendaticiae of ad Familiares 13, as suggested by Ludwig Gurlitt, but also some of the letters to Atticus.

In my Extended Project dissertation I investigated the issues surrounding the UK’s euthanasia legislation. In researching this subject I studied the views of Immanuel Kant and Jeremy Bentham, but also the opinions of more recent philosophers such as Peter Singer. I was especially impressed by Joseph Fletcher’s essay, The Cognitive Criterion of Personhood, because his clear and logical argument for defining a ‘person’, especially the criterion of one’s sense of the future, was the foundation for my argument concerning the value and sanctity of human life.

Outside the classroom I like to be involved in a lot of music, mostly singing – in which my favourite genre is Baroque oratorio – cello, and harpsichord. I recently performed in Mendelssohn’s Octet at the Cadogan Hall, and having won first prize in London’s Spring Grove Chamber Music Festival with my string quartet we are spending the money on making a CD of some of our recent repertoire. My other pursuits include some amateur journalism and representing my school in public speaking, while at home I particularly enjoy reading the books of P. G. Wodehouse and watching the 1950s films of Federico Fellini and Ingmar Bergman.

For more inspiration, take a look through our other successful Personal Statement a nalysis articles:

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Good Points Of The Personal Statement

The student clearly engages with the subject and is eager to demonstrate the knowledge they have already built in their studies. Importantly, attention is given to both classical literature and ancient history, showing that the student has well-rounded interests in their chosen subject. The student is able to talk competently about a number of classical sources and figures, but also is able to make links with current affairs, which works well. Mentioning the article that the student wrote was a strong inclusion because it shows the student took initiative and undertook an academic style activity, moving beyond what is required of them in their studies.

Bad Points Of The Personal Statement

The student takes some time to begin to talk about their own personal interests in Classics. The phrasing for the first half of the introductory paragraph is, for the most part, quite abstract and factual. Writing in this way can present difficulties in getting your personality across. The paragraph about the student’s extra-curricular activities would be better if the activities given attention to were linked to Classics in some way. While a wealth of extra-curricular activities may demonstrate that the student is capable of balancing their interests and their studies, it would be more impressive to show a commitment to Classics, in this instance, through these activities. Wider reading in a particular area of Classics the student finds interesting would be more relevant than who they enjoy reading or the types of film they enjoy.

UniAdmissions Overall Score:

This personal statement is well written and demonstrates the student’s wealth of knowledge about Classics from the outset. At times, it sadly lacks in personality, the student talks happily about facts and concepts but does not sustain a noticeable passion throughout- resulting in a personal statement that seems at times overly factual. While by no means a bad personal statement, it would benefit from getting across at every opportunity the view that the student has a real passion for this subject and engages with it at every opportunity. The student should be the focus, not the subject.

This Personal Statement for Classics is a good example of a well-written Statement that demonstrates a wealth of knowledge and interest, vital to Admissions Tutors.

Remember, at Oxford, these Admissions Tutors are often the people who will be teaching you for the next few years, so you need to appeal directly to them.

You can find more successful personal statements and our expert guides on our Free Personal Statement Resources page.

Our expert tutors are on hand to help you craft the perfect Personal Statement for your Oxford Classics application.

With our  Oxbridge Classics Premium Programme, we help you craft the perfect Personal   Statement , score highly on the CAT and teach you how to  Interview effectively .

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An ancient manuscript up for sale gives a glimpse into the history of early Christianity

Visiting Assistant Professor of Classics and Religious Studies, Hamilton College

Disclosure statement

Ian N. Mills does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Hamilton College provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.

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An important piece of early Christian history, the Crosby-Schøyen Codex, is up for auction at Christie’s in London. This codex is a mid-fourth century book from Egypt containing a combination of biblical and other early Christian texts.

The Crosby-Schøyen Codex was discovered alongside more than 20 other codices near Dishna, Egypt, in 1952. These manuscripts are collectively known as “the Dishna Papers” or “the Bodmer Papyri,” after the Swiss collector Martin Bodmer.

Though often overshadowed by other 20th century discoveries, this trove of ancient manuscripts represents one of the most significant finds for understanding the history of early Christianity. As an expert on early Christian reading practices , I consider the Dishna Papers an invaluable witness to the formation of the Christian Bible. This ancient library shows how, before the consolidation of the Bible, early Christians read canonical and non-canonical scriptures – as well as pagan classics – side by side.

An overshadowed discovery

The middle decades of the 20th century were exciting years for scholars of early Christianity.

In 1945, a collection of 13 ancient codices was discovered near Nag Hammadi, Egypt. These contained dozens of otherwise unknown works, mostly associated with minority and marginalized forms of early Christianity. With titles like “The Gospel of Thomas” and “The Secret Revelation of John,” this cache of non-canonical scriptures captured the public’s imagination and inspired a bestseller .

The very next year, Bedouin shepherds discovered ancient Hebrew scrolls hidden in a cave at Qumran on the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea.

The “ Dead Sea Scrolls ” found in this and a dozen subsequently discovered caves constituted a massive library of Jewish texts, including biblical works and hitherto unknown texts with remarkable parallels to the writings of the New Testament. This find was celebrated in news stories , documentaries and other publications as among the greatest discoveries of the 20th century.

At the very same time, the Dishna Papers were discovered, smuggled out of Egypt and sold to European collectors with considerably less fanfare. No headline hailed the discovery of the Dishna Papers. Instead, pieces of this collection were sold to the highest bidders, scattering the ancient library across the globe .

The Dishna Papers

Though less exotic than Nag Hammadi or Qumran, the contents of the Crosby-Schøyen Codex and the 20-some additional codices discovered near Dishna have proved every bit as important for our understanding of early Christianity.

Two manuscripts of the canonical gospels, Luke and John, belonging to this ancient library predate almost every other surviving copy of these gospels. Scholars used these new manuscripts to revise the text of the New Testament .

For instance, the vast majority of manuscripts of the Gospel of John describe Jesus as “the only-begotten Son” (1:18). But the early manuscripts discovered at Dishna read “the only-begotten God.” Here and elsewhere, English translations of the Bible were changed to reflect the contents of the Dishna Papers.

But the library discovered near Dishna did not consist entirely of texts that ended up in the Christian Bible. Scriptures that were not included in the Christian canon, like Paul’s “ Third Letter to the Corinthians ” and “ The Shepherd of Hermas ,” were also found among the Dishna Papers.

One codex from Dishna contains the “ Acts of Paul ,” an extra-Biblical account of Paul’s travels and martyrdom. Another contains the “ Infancy Gospel of James ,” a non-canonical story about the life of Mary, Jesus’ mother. The discoveries at Dishna provide evidence that these writings, though unfamiliar to modern readers of the Bible, spent centuries on the periphery of Christian scripture.

The Dishna Papers included a few additional literary texts. One codex in this mostly Christian library contains several comedies by the Hellenistic playwright Menander. Another codex binds together a chapter of Thucydides’ “History of the Peloponnesian War” with a Greek version of the biblical Book of Daniel.

Evidently, the owner of this Christian library had no aversion to the arts and sciences of pre-Christian Hellenism. In this library, pagan classics and Christian scripture stood side by side.

But whose library was this?

The Crosby-Schøyen Codex, which is now up for sale, actually supplies several important clues to the origin of the Dishna Papers with which it was found.

Thanks to recent radiocarbon dating of this codex and the contents of a closely related manuscript , the Crosby-Schøyen Codex can be dated with some measure of confidence to the middle of the fourth century – roughly 325 to 350 C.E.

The Crosby-Schøyen Codex itself contains five texts in Sahidic Coptic, a dialect of the ancient Egyptian language. Three texts are Biblical: Jonah, Second Maccabees 5:27-7:41, and 1 Peter. The rest of the codex contains part of a well-known Easter homily and a brief otherwise unknown exhortation.

These texts, argue scholars Albert Pietersma and Susan Comstock, may have been collected into a single codex for use as an Easter lectionary . A lectionary is a collection of readings used in Christian worship services. Such lectionaries were used in Pachomian monasteries, like the one located only a few miles west of Dishna.

This monastery was established in the mid-330s by Pachomius, the reputed founder of communal monasticism . His Pachomian Rule , by which the monks would have ordered their communal life, makes frequent reference to the public and private use of books. Pachomius’ monasteries even taught illiterate monks to read.

It seems likely that this eclectic library of canonical and non-canonical scriptures, early Christian writings and pagan classics belonged to these book-loving monks in central Egypt. One of the Pachomian rules allowed monks to borrow books from the monastic library for up to one week.

Today, for a few million dollars , one such book can be yours forever. On June 11, 2024, the Crosby-Schøyen Codex will go to the highest bidder.

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Ancient history & archaeology personal statement example.

I have a strong interest in history and the past, which began in early childhood. More particularly, my earliest interests were in mediaeval English history.

My enjoyment of archaeology began with programmes such as Time Team, and similar documentary series, which showed me how exciting the task of uncovering the past and its secrets could be.

I have always enjoyed ancient history, especially Roman history, and this was my primary reason for studying the subject at A-level.

For my A-level course, I am studying both Roman and Greek history, and I have visited Roman sites in Italy, including Rome itself, as well as in the U.K. My enjoyment of the course and the native cultures has firmly convinced me to study the subject as a degree.

During my time at Southend High School for Boys, I have had the opportunity to help my fellow students in a number of ways. Firstly, I have served as a temporary prefect both in year 11 and the lower 6th, which gave me valuable experience of dealing with younger pupils, particularly those in year 7.

Secondly, my position as a careers prefect has developed my experience in dealing with my peers, and giving advice and information in formal and informal atmospheres.

My current job, working for Essex Libraries as a Saturday assistant, has improved my confidence and I have dealt with members of the public of all ages.

Furthermore, it has augmented my communication skills and I have learnt to work well in a team.

It has also given me greater access to fantasy and historical literature. I particularly enjoy reading historically based novels, since these allow me to explore the past in a way that is both entertaining and informative. Moreover, Chaucer's 'The Canterbury Tales' and Homer's stories of the Trojan war have provided me with a great insight into their times through verse.

My study of languages at GCSE and AS level has encouraged me to read foreign literature, for example, the novels of Jules Verne. I then became interested in Russia following a visit there, and I taught myself some basic Russian. This inspired me to read a translation of Tolstoy's Anna Karenina; I enjoyed Tolstoy's perceptions of Russia during an important period of European history.

As well as playing golf, I like to play fantasy-based miniature tabletop wargames. The theatre is another of my interests, especially the plays of Shakespeare, and I have attended performances of Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice and Henry V, as well as reading many more of his works, both in school and at home.

I was also allowed to use my knowledge of the past in other subjects at A-level, particularly French, for which I chose to present a 10-12 minute oral topic entitled 'The Causes of the French Revolution'.

I feel that all the skills that I have developed through my home and school life, and my interest the subjects will put me in a strong position to study ancient history and archaeology at university.

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Sat, 23/08/2008 - 09:50

It's an okay statement, but to FairyTales who stated archaeologists hate Time Team. What an absurd comment considering some of the Cambridge lecturers have actually been heavily involved with the program.

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Re: I know this is long but...

Wed, 15/10/2008 - 11:13

That certainly helped me, so thanks for the advice. I was going to mention 'I have always had an interest in history' but I think I should leave it out now, despite its truth.

Again, helpful advice there.

Ok no offence but can i just

Wed, 22/10/2008 - 20:41

Ok no offence but can i just say that this guy sounds like he was a total boff/geek?? i mean he attended an all boys school and was a prefect?? what does that tell you people?

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Who Is the Prosecutor Delivering the Closing Statement in the Trump Trial?

Joshua Steinglass is part of the Manhattan district attorney’s team that includes veteran prosecutors and former white-collar criminal defense lawyers.

• Share full article

By Kate Christobek

• May 28, 2024

Joshua Steinglass, the prosecutor who is delivering the hourslong closing argument in the criminal trial of Donald J. Trump, is an assistant district attorney who has served in the role in Manhattan since 1998.

He is part of an accomplished team compiled by the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, that includes former white-collar criminal defense lawyers and veteran prosecutors who have extensive experience going up against Mr. Trump.

In 2022, Mr. Steinglass helped lead the team that secured a conviction against the Trump Organization for conspiracy, criminal tax fraud and falsifying business records. He also delivered the closing statement in that trial.

Mr. Steinglass has more commonly focused on trying significant violent crimes, including a brawl on the Upper East Side that led to the conviction of two Proud Boy extremists in 2019.

Kate Christobek is a reporter covering the civil and criminal cases against former president Donald J. Trump for The Times. More about Kate Christobek

Our Coverage of the Trump Hush-Money Trial

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