This article is about the third essay in the Chevening application, which is about the course choices of the applicants. Before writing this essay you should have already chosen the courses you would like to study, as it will be very hard to write the essay if you do not know which courses you want to study and why. Chevening has provided a list of universities with which it has a part funding agreement, and from which you must choose the ones you are applying to. The courses you choose must be ones being offered by these universities. Chevening committee prefers if you already have some sort of contact with the Universities, by the time you submit the application, so it is better to apply well in time, and ideally receive a conditional offer. If not, you will be given a 100 word section in the application to explain.
However, in order to apply, you must be able to find the universities that offer the best learning and select courses that are best suited to your career plans and objectives for the future. All universities on the list provided by Chevening are top institutes and ideal for learning, so the only factor that decides which ones you will be applying to is the courses offered by them. Research a little about which universities offer the best courses in your field of study. University rankings can be helpful in this regard. Then visit the website for each course. Look up course modules, course outlines, and objectives for all your desired courses, and study them in detail. Compare course modules for similar courses being offered at different universities and see which one meets your requirements better.
An important point to remember would be that this essay is about highlighting the gaps in your knowledge of your field, and explaining how the courses you have chosen to study will fill those gaps, and prepare you for your future role as the leader Chevening wants you to become. This is why, while choosing the courses, look at the skills that you both need and want to acquire for your career, and judge to the best of your ability which courses will be able to teach those skills to you.
At this stage, the problem you will most likely face is if you should apply to one university for all three courses, or if you should go for three courses at three different universities. It depends, of course on which courses are best suited to your career goals, but generally you should be applying to three different universities for three different courses, as it will increase the chances of conditional or even unconditional offer from any one of them. This way, you will only have to contend for the Chevening acceptance, and not worry about the university acceptance too.
Having discussed the university and course selection, let us look at the question prompt for this essay and see how best to answer it.
Outline why you have selected your chosen three university courses, and explain how this relates to your previous academic or professional experience and your plans for the future. Please do not duplicate the information you have entered on the work experience and education section of this form (minimum word count: 50 words, maximum word count: 500 words)
The question asks why you have selected to study the three courses you have chosen. How is your choice relevant to your
- a) Academic background
- b) Future plans
Having understood the requirements of the question, proceed to writing. You can begin by bringing a significant problem to the reader’s attention that you hope to remedy by studying these courses. As mentioned earlier, you should write about an important gap in the knowledge that is needed to solve this problem, which studying these courses will fill, thereby enabling you to solve the big problem that exists in your country. Take a while here to think and identify a genuine problem that exists in your country, which your field of work can solve. Highlight the magnitude of the problem. Substantiate with some details of real events where that problem was faced.
Next, talk about your passion in solving the problem, but how you are limited in some respect by your knowledge and skills when it is possible to do much in eradicating the problem. This is where you should talk about your courses.
Remember, your courses should be related to each other. This means that they should be relevant to the same field, your existing field of work that you are going to pursue in the future. Over the next three paragraphs, mention each course in each paragraph, and explain the following:
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What does the course teach you? What skill is it going to equip you with? This can be done by consulting the course materials mentioned in the beginning of the article. Keep this part brief.
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Why have you chosen this course? Does it augment your understanding of a topic you have studied before? Does it offer practical research that is directly relevant to your field of work? Do not forget to link your reasoning to your past academic background, and future goals. Also talk about how the course contributes to bridging the gap that exists in the knowledge needed to counter the problem mentioned in the beginning. Consider the questions mentioned above and think along those lines.
This outline is just a format that will aid in effective and concise explanation of the required points.
Finally, conclude with briefly summarising how your choice of courses as a whole aligns with your future goals. Proofread it and adhere to the word limit as always.