Cornell University Graduate School (PhD)

Essays

1. Statement of purpose · required

   The academic statement of purpose should focus explicitly on your academic interests, previous research and/or relevant professional experience, and motivation for pursuing your intended area of academic focus during your graduate studies.

   Get a read on this essay

2. Other essay · required

   Personal statement: Your personal statement should describe how your background and experiences have influenced your decision to pursue a graduate degree and your readiness to do so. In your response, you should consider how you might contribute to Cornell's founding principle of being "an institution where any person can find instruction in any study," and institutional core value to provide a community of belonging, where scholars representing diverse backgrounds, perspectives, abilities, and experiences can learn and work productively and positively together.

   Get a read on this essay

Cornell requires two statements of every applicant: "There are two types of statements included in the Graduate School's online application, (1) the academic statement of purpose and (2) the personal statement, both of which are required for all graduate degree programs." The Graduate School sets no length; fields set their own, commonly two pages or 1,000 words. The page also tells applicants to read the Graduate School's guidelines on the use of AI tools before drafting, and says the personal statement should complement rather than duplicate the academic statement of purpose. No deadline dates on this page.

Checked against gradschool.cornell.edu/admissions/application-steps/personal-statements on September 11, 2026. Programs change their prompts between cycles; confirm on the program’s own page before you submit.