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School of Education

Personal statements, personal statement criteria, higher education and student affairs, m.s.ed. in higher education and student affairs.

The personal statement should provide a concise reflection of why you are interested in becoming a student affairs professional. You may want to touch on what may have led to your desire to be a student affairs professional, and address anything you want the committee to know about your qualifications for the program. Finally, you may want to also address why you are interested in studying at Indiana University. The final statement should be double spaced and no more than 2 pages in length.

Ph.D. in Higher Education

Your personal goal statement is an important part of the review process for our faculty members as they consider your application. This statement allows faculty to learn about your background, work experience, and additional qualifications that make you a strong candidate for the program. It also serves as a platform for you to share your goals for graduate study, your interests in working with particular faculty members, and your thoughts about how IU’s program would help you reach your desired career outcome. This statement should be 500 words or less. You can upload your personal goal statement as a PDF file or as a Microsoft Word document (.doc or .docx) into the online application itself.

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Personal Statement

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Writing Your Personal Statement

There are two types of personal statements: those that require you to answer prompts and those that provide few or no directions. If not specified, your personal statement should be approximately 1.5 to 2 pages in length.

Before you begin writing your personal statement, take time to reflect on your past experiences, reasons for applying to graduate school, and what makes you stand out from the other applicants.

General Guidelines

Tell a story/concentrate on your opening paragraph, be specific, do some research and know your audience, avoid certain subjects and clichés, showcase your fit, formula for success, where you've been, where you're going.

Be sure to highlight how receiving this graduate degree factors into your long term goals.

Why this school

What's your narrative.

Answering the questions below will provide a strong foundation for writing your personal statement.

• What is missing from your application packet that you want the committee to know about you?

• Are there any gaps in your academic record that you should explain?

• Have you overcome any hardships or obstacles to get to this point?

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Core values.

Indiana State is committed to these core values:

Learning:   We prepare the next generation of leaders and citizens by providing personalized and transformative experiences that lead to success in the classroom and beyond.

Discovery: We nurture intellectual curiosity and growth through the creation of new knowledge and the joy of enhanced human understanding.

Engagement: We collaborate with our local and global communities to create long-term relationships, connectedness with integrity, and a shared sense of pride.

Inclusiveness:   We take action to honor the diversity of individuals, ideas and expressions, ensuring they are genuinely recognized, valued, and lived.

Indiana State University Vision Statement

We will be the university of choice for students seeking a distinctive, high-quality education highlighted by challenging experiences that prepare our graduates to contribute to the economic vitality and civic and cultural development of their communities and the global society.

Indiana State University Mission Statement

We transform the lives of students through a high-quality education infused with experiential learning, community engagement and career-readiness. Our students succeed within a culture of inclusion and support that provides the skills and knowledge to impact Indiana and beyond.

Approved by the Indiana State University Board of Trustees, May 8, 2020

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Graduate Admissions Application

• Please review the questions on this form and fill out only if you can complete all areas.
• If unable to answer the questions at this time, bookmark this page and return when prepared.
• Read departmental information before proceeding.

Departmental Information

You have chosen to apply for admission to a graduate program in the Department of Chemistry. The Department of Chemistry offers degree programs leading to the Ph.D.degree in Chemistry and related subdisciplines.

If you are applying to the MS Chemistry/MS Environmental Science Dual Degree Program, please note that two separate applications are necessary. One should be submitted to the Department of Chemistry and the other one to the Environmental Science Degree Program.

Before continuing your application, please read the instructions located here: chem.indiana.edu/graduate/admissions

In addition to this questionnaire and the graduate school application webform, all applicants (both Domestic and International) are REQUIRED to submit ALL of the following supporting documents before your application can be considered.

• Personal statement (submit through graduate school application webpage).*
• Resume or Curriculum Vitae (submit through graduate school application webpage).*
• Official transcripts from all colleges and/or universities attended (you must request that the registrar’s office of each school you attended sends an official transcript directly to IU Chemistry, see address below).
• GRE scores: you must request that ETS sends your scores ELECTRONICALLY to Indiana University – Bloomington (code 1324), Dept. of Chemistry (code 301).
• TOEFL scores: international students and non-US citizens must request that ETS sends your score ELECTRONICALLY to Indiana University – Bloomington (code 1324), Dept. of Chemistry (code 62).
• Letters of recommendation: you should have indicated three or more letter writers on the application webform. It is your responsibility to verify with those individuals that they received an email with instructions for uploading their letter and that they upload their letter.**

* If you did not upload these documents on the webform, you should send them by email to [email protected] ** If you entered email addresses incorrectly for your letter writers or if they did not receive an email about how to upload their letter, contact [email protected]

Application Deadline

International Applicants - December 1 Domestic Applicants for full fellowship consideration - December 15

The Department of Chemistry admits students in August only.

• First Name *
• Last Name *
• Application Number * Please enter your Application ID, found at the top right of each page of the IU Bloomington Graduate Admissions Application.
• Primary Graduate Program * Analytical Chemical Biology Chemical Physics Inorganic Materials Organic Physical
• Secondary Graduate Program * Analytical Chemical Biology Chemical Physics Inorganic Materials Organic Physical
• Are you a first generation college student (a student whose legal custodian(s) did not complete a 4-year degree)? * Yes No
• Were you awarded a Pell Grant for undergraduate study? * Yes No
• Are you currently an applicant or a nominee for a fellowship from an organization or agency other than a university (such as the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program or the NIH Predoctoral Fellowhip Program)? * Yes No
• If No, skip on to the next question, if Yes, which fellowship(s)?
• Native Language(s) *
• Other Languages Languages you can speak, read, and write: (Please indicate which category applies to each language.)
• Have you been involved in any education science outreach activities during your undergraduate studies(such as visits to schools or youth groups to present science demonstrations, classroom aid, etc.)? If so, please describe these activities briefly.
• Check any of the following areas that interest you: * Biophysical Bioanalytical Mass Spectrometry Chemical and Structural Biology Chemical Instrumentation Catalysis Drug Design and Synthesis Environmental Chemistry Inorganic and Organometallics Organic Metals Organic Synthesis Photovoltaics Physical Organic Laser Spectroscopy Materials and Solid State Synthesis Nuclear Supramolecular Chemistry Surface and Interface Science Theoretical Other (please describe below)
• Other Research Areas
• Please list any IU Chemistry faculty with whom you may be interested in working or particular projects in which you are interested. Feel free to be as specific or as general as you like. It is also helpful to include some comments about this in your personal statement.
• Career Objectives * Check all that you are currently considering. College/university professor Other teacher/lecturer/educator Industrial research chemist Process development Production National Laboratory Science Writing or public policy Other (please describe below)
• Other Career Objectives

Verification

• This box is for spam protection - <strong>please leave it blank</strong>:

In accordance with the national agreement developed through the Council of Graduate Schools, which states that "an offer by an institution after April 15 is conditional on presentation by the student of the written release from any previously accepted offer," I agree that if I accept a fellowship, scholarship, or assistantship from Indiana University, the acceptance becomes binding after April 15 and will preclude the later acceptance of a stipend offer for the following academic year from any other institution unless I first obtain a written release from the graduate advisor of the relevant degree program of Indiana University.

The resolution of the Council of Graduate Schools, for which 373 universities have indicated support, including Indiana University, also states: "Students are under no obligation to respond to offers of financial support prior to April 15; earlier deadlines for acceptance of such offers violate the intent of this resolution."

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At Indiana State University, prepare for the future you want, on a campus you’ll love, in a community that will feel like home. Apply for admission today and discover the many reasons to wear BLUE!

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A number of grants ask for personal statements as part of the application. However, what they mean by the term can vary widely. “Personal statement” in some applications might refer to a hybrid research narrative-personal background format, while in others it might refer to a more strictly personal, i.e., autobiographical, essay. Be sure to pay close attention to how the funder defines the personal statement.

If an application requires a personal statement in addition to a more traditional proposal narrative, one productive way to go about writing the personal statement is to think of it as an intellectual biography and piece of creative non-fiction, which serves to connect where you are now (interested in a particular area of research) to your past (an event or context that brought you to the present) while also projecting into the future (where you see yourself going after having completed this research).

This blog post from UMass Amherst gives a good overview to different things you will want to keep in mind as you prepare a personal statement.

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MSW Admission

The University of Southern Indiana's Master of Social Work Admission Committee begins accepting applications each year on September 1.

Non-BSW/Traditional and Advanced Standing Part-time students are admitted for the Fall semester. Advanced Standing Full-time students are admitted for the Summer semester.

Each year, the application deadline for Advanced Standing Full-time admission (i.e. those   with  a Bachelor of Social Work degree) occurs on the  second Friday of January ; the application deadline for non-BSW (i.e., those  without  a Bachelor of Social Work degree), Advance Standing Part-time and program readmission occurs on the  second Friday of April .

Click on the button below for a dropdown of information.

To get started, complete the following four steps:

1.) A completed  USI Application for Graduate Study  and $40 application fee.

2.) Upload the following to your application account.

• Resume/CV As part of the application, you will be required to upload your resume/CV as a PDF file. The resume/CV file name should be   Lastname-firstname-resume.pdf   (ex. Smith-Joe-resume.pdf) . Your resume/cv should include the following information:
• All college/universities attended, starting with the most recent, and include the name of the institution, dates attended, and degree(s) awarded. If no degree was awarded, please state such.
• Employment history, starting with the most recent, and include name of organization, location (city and state), a brief description of duties and dates of employment.
• Field/Internship experiences, starting with the most recent, and include name of organization, location (city and state), a brief description of duties and dates of employment.
• Relevant volunteer activities, starting with the most recent, and include name of organization, location (city and state), a brief description of duties and dates of employment.
• As part of the application, you will be required to upload your resume/CV as a PDF file. The resume/CV file name should be   Lastname-firstname-resume.pdf   (ex. Smith-Joe-resume.pdf)
• Personal Statement/Narrative Answer the following questions as an opportunity to describe yourself, and the qualities beyond academic grades that make you ideally suited to be a Clinical Social Worker. Responses should be thoughtful, honest, yet professional, and should demonstrate excellent writing skills, critical thinking, insightfulness, and self-awareness. Be comprehensive, yet succinct in your response and use examples from your life experiences.
• Life Experience -  Describe events and life experiences that have informed your choice to pursue a Master of Social Work degree and a career in Social Work. 
• Values -  Describe the ways that your personal values, beliefs, and interests are congruent with the mission and philosophy of social work. 
• Diversity -  Think about situation(s) when you had to deal with differences in age, race, disability, ethnicity, gender, religious and/or sexual orientation. Based on your experience, how do you plan to work with diverse and vulnerable people?  
• Additional Experiences -  What experiences have allowed you to develop the skills necessary to be an effective social worker? 
• Summary -  Provide a final summary of your statement, highlighting what you consider to be the most important points for the admission committee to know about your application to the MSW Program. 
• You will be required to provide three professional references including name, email and phone number. An email will be sent to each of these individuals upon submission of this application requesting a reference.

3.) Submit official transcripts to Graduate Studies.

• Official electronic transcripts are preferred and can be emailed from the previous institution to  [email protected]
• Mailed transcripts can be sent to this address: Graduate Studies University of Southern Indiana 8600 University Blvd. Evansville, IN 47712

4.) International students may be required to provide  additional information.

Admission & Readmission Applications

MSW Admission Application

Admission Policy

It is the applicant's responsibility to provide all required materials to the Social Work Department by the application deadline. Applications are reviewed when all materials have been received by the Social Work Department MSW Admissions Committee.

Admission decisions for the Master of Social Work (MSW) Program are based upon:

• A review of past academic performance;
• Relevant work and/or volunteer experience;
• Letters of recommendation;
• A personal statement;
• An admission interview (when required).

Indiana Public Law 11-1994 and MSW Admission

In order to fully comply with Indiana Public Law 11-1994 (conviction of sexual offenses against children), the Social Work Department will conduct a criminal history check of students requesting admission to the Master of Social Work program. This check will be conducted at the point of admission and upon entering the field placement. A student who has been convicted of sex offenses against children as identified in P.L. 11-1994 will not be granted admission to or allowed to continue in the Master of Social Work program.

Individuals who were convicted of such crimes outside of the state of Indiana are required to report their intent to reside more than seven days in the area within Indiana to local law enforcement authorities having jurisdiction in the area of intended residence.

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Criminal Justice Ph.D.

We embrace cross-cultural + interdisciplinary inquiry.

As a graduate student, you apply research insights and technical training from other disciplines to issues in law, crime, and justice. Our faculty connects to the departments of Anthropology, Developmental Science, Law, Political Science, Psychology, Public Health, and Sociology, among others.

Our faculty conduct research in the United States and abroad, encouraging you to pursue new and emerging areas of inquiry. Faculty mentors provide you with the theoretical and methodological skills needed to do so.

The Ph.D. in Criminal Justice requires a minor, allowing you to deepen your proficiency in two intersecting areas.

View our research Learn more about this degree in our Student Portal

Interested in applying to IU Criminal Justice?

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