Guidelines for Personal Statement – Master of Arts Degree Our Master of Arts Degree application asks for a typed personal statement of three-tofour pages in length. The statement should reflect on: 1) your goals in seeking theological education and the experiences that have led you to do so; 2) the reasons you have chosen Hartford Seminary, in particular, and your educational/ vocational goals; 3) the life experiences that have most significantly shaped your values and who you are as a person. Following is a sample personal statement for those of you who may be unsure of where to start or of how to write about your relevant experiences. All personal statements are, however, unique and are meant to be expressions of the individuals that write them. The personal statement is to tell us about the aspects of your character and experience that are not reflected in the rest of your application. We want to know what is important to you, what has shaped you, and, ultimately, who you are. We also want to know how you would both gain from and contribute to our unique environment. As personal statements can be quite difficult to write, we have provided a sample statement below as a guideline. If you have any further questions about what should be in your statement, please contact the Admissions Office at (860) 509-9512. The statement following happens to have been written by a prospective student of the Jewish faith. The textboxes to the right of the statement explain what the intent of each paragraph is.
Sample Personal Statement for Master of Arts Degree There is a tenet of the Jewish faith called tikkun olam—the “repair of the world”. It is a Jewish duty to make an individual effort to better the world in which we live, and to leave it, in so far as is possible, just a little bit more compassionate, a little bit more loving, and a little bit more just for our children. We don’t expect to solve the problems of the world, but we must nonetheless make the effort. Tikkun...