Tips for Applicants

Our personal statement prompt includes three questions. Be sure to address all of them. While everyone’s writing style will vary, don’t make the admissions committee exert a ton of interpretive effort to understand why you want to do this specific graduate program. While you may wish to address the third prompt (how will you show up as a learner?) explicitly, an answer to the question ought to also be discernable throughout the rest of your personal statement and diversity statement.

We provide our admissions criteria not only for the sake of transparency, but also so you can use them as a tool! As you’re working on your application, periodically step back and apply the rubric to your application as a whole. Have friends and family do the same.

Obviously, your personal statement is about you. You’re telling us why you want to pursue a graduate degree in museum studies, and you’ll want to highlight your strengths, experiences, and interests. But remember that a central criterion for us is your potential contribution to the program, the field, and, ultimately, the world. We’re in this field because we believe museums can make the world a better place. A compelling personal statement doesn’t just say what the applicant likes about visiting museums or working in them; these might provide justification for pursuing museum work as a hobby. A compelling personal statement articulates a connection between personal strengths and interests, on the one hand, and collective flourishing on the other.

We review applications holistically. In other words, we don’t evaluate each component of your application in isolation; rather, we draw evidence for your academic potential, professional experience, and potential contribution to the program from across all of your application materials. At the end of the day, we’re interested in who you are as a whole person and a learner. We don’t offer admission to abstract lists of qualifications; we offer admission to human beings we’d be excited to work with as students and colleagues.

All of this isn’t to say that you shouldn’t share information about your qualifications and accomplishments. Please do this! But be sure they’re contextualized within a larger story about who you are as a person and how you see yourself helping to make the world a better place through museums.

While they’re separate pieces of writing, there should be a clear resonance between your personal statement and diversity statement. Between the two pieces of writing, you are allowed up to 1,250 total words; use that space efficiently. Have a great story that speaks to your commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity, access, and sovereignty, but don’t have room to include it in your diversity statement? Consider whether it might be well-suited to your personal statement. Struggling to find room to fit all your varied interests and experiences into your personal statement? Consider whether you might use the diversity statement to speak to an aspect of your experiences, interests, and goals that both enriches the account provided in your personal statement and provides a specific, concrete example of your experience with and commitment to IDEAS values.

Remember that the goal of the diversity statement is demonstrate what you will contribute, concretely speaking, to the advancement of IDEAS values in Museology and beyond. While your statement should speak in some way to these values in general, at 250 words it will not be exhaustive; the important thing is to demonstrate evidence of how you understand these values, how you’ve grown to appreciate them in a way that’s specific to your own life, and what lessons you’ve taken away from those experiences for how you can support the advancement of these values.

Who should write my letter of recommendation?

Choose recommenders who know you and your work and can write enthusiastically and persuasively about why you would excel in a graduate program.  It’s more important that your references know you well than it is for them to be a “name” in the field.

Museology requires two academic letters of recommendation, and we recommend applicants obtain a third letter, either academic or professional, if possible. If you’re confident in the strength of your two academic letters, you may benefit from rounding out your application with a strong professional recommendation. If you either lack a strong professional recommendation or have any concerns about the strength of your two academic letters, it may be a good idea to obtain a third academic recommendation.

How can I ask for a letter of recommendation?

We suggest applicants reach out for letters of recommendation as early as possible. Make it a goal to ask for your letters at least six weeks before the application deadline to give your recommenders enough time to write their letter.

Begin with telling them you are applying to our program with a short explanation of what our program is and why you are interested in applying. When asking if they would be willing to write you a letter of recommendation, make sure to give them a polite way to decline, such as: “Do you feel that you know me well enough to write me a strong letter of recommendation?” Make sure you get a confident yes before proceeding. A half-hearted recommendation could jeopardize the hard work you put into your application, so it is worth the extra effort to find strong recommenders.

Once you have a positive response, follow up with an email confirming your conversation, reiterating the deadline information, and providing the supplemental materials for your recommender to write the letter (see below).

I have been out of school for some time, and am not sure if my professors will remember me. What should I do?

Museology requires at least two academic letters of recommendation to provide the admissions committee an indication of your ability to succeed in an academic graduate program. We recommend reaching out to your former professors as early as possible to request letters of recommendation. Be prepared with supplemental information to remind them of your work – grades, papers you wrote for them, or other examples of your academic work.
If you have been out of school for a while, you may be surprised by how many professors do remember you, at least with some context (and maybe a photo). Even if they don’t remember you well, a positive if relatively brief recommendation is better than no recommendation at all. If you are struggling to obtain two academic letters of recommendation, please email us at uwmuse@uw.edu for further guidance.

How can I help my recommenders write a strong letter?

Once you’ve selected your recommenders, make it easy for them to write you a strong letter of recommendation. After they have agreed to be your recommender, provide them with:

• Links to our admissions criteria page (in addition to the prompts provided in the admissions materials page).
• Your resume or CV.
• Your transcripts.
• Your personal statement or a summary of why you are applying to our program.
• The application deadline.
• Suggestions in bullet form for what they could highlight about you in their letter.

• We recommend waiving your right to review the letter of recommendation. See our Frequently Asked Questions page for more information.
• Don’t be afraid to follow-up with reminders about the application deadline.
• Send your recommenders thank you cards.
• If you have further questions, email us at uwmuse@uw.edu.