Guidelines for Statement of Personal Experiences and Goals

Your statement of personal experiences and goals should articulate how your academic, research, and life experiences have influenced your decision to pursue a graduate degree in The Division of Biology at Kansas State University. It should additionally indicate both your short- and long-term professional goals and how a graduate degree from the Division of Biology at Kansas State University will contribute to these goals. The statement should clearly demonstrate that you are aware and ready for the personal and professional demands of graduate school. While the format for this statement is left to the applicant, the following list of questions may be helpful in its organization:

Has your previous preparation of basic subject material and laboratory or field procedures and techniques in Biology and/or Microbiology prepared you to pursue a research degree? If so, how? Provide examples to illustrate.

Has your preparation in obtaining a broad background in supporting areas such as chemistry, biochemistry, mathematics, statistics and/or other areas prepared you to pursue a research degree?

Have you done any original research? What were the hypotheses you were addressing? What were the results and conclusions drawn from this research? Did you publish or present the results? If so, provide citation(s).

Do you have any "on-the-job" experience in your field of interest or related areas? Provide examples of experiences you judge were most original and creative and that demonstrate leadership.

Have you been in contact with one or more faculty members in the Division of Biology regarding your research interests and your goals beyond graduate school? If so, please bring this to the attention of the Graduate Affairs Committee.

How important is an advanced degree to the career you seek? What ultimate objectives do you have as career goals?