How to Write a Personal Statement for a Masters in Fashion Marketing

What is a personal statement?

According to graduate careers site Prospects, a personal statement is a piece of writing that you submit as part of your postgraduate application and is your first real chance to sell yourself to the university and demonstrate that you are a right fit for the course.

The personal statement should act as a supporting document to your CV that primarily highlights your work experience in more detail, alongside why you are interested in the course and what you are planning to do with the Masters.

At the University of Leeds, academics are looking for students to go into detail about why they are applying for their particular university, so it’s worth discussing which modules in the course content you are most excited by (read the module guide thoroughly before starting this) or if there are any research projects underway that you are interested in.

Why do I need to write one for a Masters in fashion?

In a highly competitive market, universities are looking for fashion students who can bring a wealth of knowledge and a unique perspective to the course to enhance everyone’s learning experience.

Therefore, the need to provide a personal statement is becoming increasingly common as a mandatory requirement at the application stage of fashion Masters courses. This helps universities ensure that the highest calibre of applicants who are realistically able to succeed at postgraduate level are accepted onto their course.

Personal statements act as a unique opportunity to introduce and sell yourself to course academics and make sure that your application stands out from the rest.

How do I write a personal statement for a Masters in fashion marketing?

Your personal statement will be included in your online application. There is no definitive structure for the personal statement to allow flexibility in how you summarise your motivations but in general it should cover these three areas:

1. Your previous background in relation to the qualification
2. Why you are choosing the university in particular
3. What you are planning on doing with the Masters and how you will use this in the future

If you meet the standard entry requirements, you’ll need to focus your personal statement on why you want to study with the University of Leeds. On the other hand, if you do not meet the standard entry requirements (are a non-standard applicant), change the focus to show you are eligible through cross-transferable skills and demonstrate how you’ll make a difference to the course by outlining your career journey to date and justifying why you are switching to the fashion industry.

What shall I include?

When writing a fashion marketing personal statement, we’d recommend that you include:

• Your reasons for applying for the fashion Masters course.
• Which specific fields within fashion marketing and design management interests you the most.
• Your academic experience to date, including the subject areas and modules that you most enjoy.
• The most significant research project or dissertation you have undertaken, discussing the title, research methods and overall outcomes.
• Any previous experience of engaging in quantitative research alongside the research methods and statistical packages used.
• Your career plans and how the course might help you achieve them.

How long should a fashion marketing personal statement be?

Although there is typically no given word count, at a Masters degree level, your personal statement should be no less than one page in length. The course leader will be checking your writing capabilities, so it needs to be professionally written and thoroughly proofread for spelling and grammar before it is submitted.

Did you enjoy this blog? Here’s some related fashion management content that you may be interested in:

• 5 reasons to study International Fashion Marketing and Design Management
• Careers in fashion management: 5 roles to explore
• Introducing our online fashion marketing masters
• Leeds School of Design: leading the way in fashion research