Sample Science Personal Statement
My ambition to study for a degree in Physics has developed out of a natural taste for maths and science subjects, in which I have always achieved success at school and for which I believe I have some aptitude. I am also very much aware of the significance of the subject in the human world, both historically and for the future. It is physicists who have produced much of the modern world. Almost every development in theoretical physics has led ultimately to technological advance which has changed the way we live. The Crookes tube led to the development of the valve, which led to the transistor, which led to the microprocessor. To be a theoretical physicist is to be at the point of contact with the future, and the prospect of playing a part in the discovery and application of physical properties which might change people’s lives across the world is very attractive. Indeed, if anyone is to solve the problems of environmental damage, energy source depletion and population growth, it is likely to be a physicist (with a little help, perhaps, from his chemist friend).
I am also drawn by the realisation that this is a wonderfully exciting time to be a physicist. Such dynamic developments as the recent CERN discoveries are changing our very conception of how the universe works and the how matter behaves. The pursuit of nuclear fusion could be one of the most important ventures in the history of the human race, and success here would alter our fate in unimaginable ways, liberating us from the problem of energy resources, solving the pollution problem at a stroke, as well as changing the political map of the world. And for astronomers there has surely never been a more dramatic time in all history, with new discoveries being made weekly through the technologies of space telescopes and probes to other planets. To consider how little we knew comparatively even thirty years ago is to appreciate the way that the work of physicists has changed our conception of the cosmos and of our place in it.
All areas of the subject interest me. Quantum physics offers the opportunity to control nature at the atomic and sub-atomic levels, as well as revealing aspects of matter unimagined by Newton. The world of electricity and magnetism is fascinating and full of applications in our everyday lives, as is solid state physics, revealing the potential of semiconductors. Particle physics is perhaps the most dynamic area of all, where the most dramatic discoveries are being made and are likely to continue to be made. To work in any of these fields would offer me the prospect of both personal and professional fulfilment.
The intellectual method involved in the study of physics strikes me as valuable and important. Working by reason and the collection of evidence is surely the only real way to understand the world we live in and to fight superstition and fantasy, and I view a degree course in the subject as very valuable personally in this way. I find great satisfaction in coming to understand the fundamental principles of matter and energy, and my own confidence grows through such clarity of thinking.
My mother tongue is Chinese, and I have increasingly sound English. I believe that languages are of the first importance in the modern world, particularly in the international realm of science. I am a keen reader of scientific journals, such as Astronomy and Astrophysics and New Scientist, which I particularly enjoy because of the way it relates scientific discovery to real life, and presents it in a social and cultural context. As a student I am very determined and focused on my goals. The things that interest me consume me totally and command my full attention. At the same time I have great self-discipline and powers of concentration, and I know how to meet deadlines, fulfil demands and manage my time efficiently. I believe I have the necessary qualities to be a very successful undergraduate.
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