Your 1,000–1,500 words personal statement should address the ways that the public humanities program connects to your background, interests, and plans for the future. Include information on how you arrived at your current area of interest, what scholarship, creative work, and experiences have influenced you, what questions/issues/problems you want to tackle in graduate school, and how graduate study fits your professional future. If you are a “mid-career” applicant, applying after several years working, you might consider framing your personal statement as a pivot from your current position, or as an extension of current work.
Essays should also speak to how and why Brown’s MA program is a good fit for your interests and training. Your essay, like most good public humanities documents, should be personal, convincing, and well written.