Home › Undergraduates › Program II

Program II: Personal Statement

In the personal statement of your Program II application you have the opportunity to describe your proposed program of study in detail and to justify its relevance and value to you and its coherence. You should accomplish at least the following in your essay:

• Describe and give a rationale for your proposed area of study. You should demonstrate a good level of understanding of the proposed area as a discipline so you can argue for its approval as a course of study leading to a liberal arts degree at Duke. Explain how your proposed course work reflects your interest in the declared area and the significance of the proposed program to the development of your intellectual interests and talents, and your personal ambitions or career goals;
• Set out in detail the relationship of each course or cluster of courses to the focus of the program and to your educational goals;
• Explain how the proposed curriculum achieves breadth and balance of learning comparable to Program I.

Your personal statement is expected to be 4-5 pages long.  Your name and the title of your program should appear on each page.