v2026.1CASRAI Dictionary 714 entries across 20 domains · CC-BY 4.0714 entries · CC-BY 4.0

Dictionary termTrack AStablev2026.2

Personal statement

A short narrative section in a researcher's CV, biosketch, or grant application in which the researcher articulates in their own voice why they are qualified to undertake the proposed work, their career trajectory, and any contextual factors relevant to the assessment.

ByCASRAI Editorial Board

· Last updated 21 May 2026

Examples

Worked examples

Is an instance
A one-page NIH personal statement explaining why the applicant's expertise in vascular biology and their cohort access make them suited to the proposed aim

Counter-examples

Looks similar, but isn't

Not an instance
A full life story is not a personal statement in the funding-application sense

Editorial commentary

Section A of the NIH Biosketch is the canonical example; analogous sections appear in fellowship applications and faculty appointments. Personal statements are first-person, narrative, and intentionally space-limited; they are evaluative material, not autobiographical sprawl.

References

NIH Biosketch Instructions (2021 revision)
Royal Society R4RI Resume for Researchers (2020 v1)

Also known as

Personal narrative · Bio personal statement

Machine-readable encodings

Use in your systems

JATS XML <role> element

xml

<role vocab="credit"
      vocab-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/"
      vocab-term="Personal statement"
      vocab-term-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/personal-statement" />

Schema.org DefinedTerm (JSON-LD)

json

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "DefinedTerm",
  "name": "Personal statement",
  "identifier": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/personal-statement",
  "description": "A short narrative section in a researcher's CV, biosketch, or grant application in which the researcher articulates in their own voice why they are qualified to undertake the proposed work, their career trajectory, and any contextual factors relevant to the assessment.",
  "inDefinedTermSet": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/domain/mentorship-training-and-career-stages/",
  "url": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/personal-statement",
  "sameAs": [
    "Personal narrative",
    "Bio personal statement"
  ],
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
}

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