Personal Statement This statement should be no more than two or three pages long. Its main task is to outline your intellectual preparation and agenda, and why that agenda is best pursued in Religious Studies at the University of Virginia. When writing your personal statement, please mention, on the first line, the area of study within the Department to which you are applying. A letter of interest that includes a 500-word statement of purpose outlining the intellectual interests to be pursued in the MA program. A strong statement will also include some discussion of how the applicant’s previous coursework in the Religious Studies Department has prepared her or him for graduate study. A transcript (or transcripts) of undergraduate work (including grades for the third-year spring term) A writing sample that demonstrates the applicant’s ability to mount and sustain an argument. Writing samples should be ten pages or longer. Two letters of reference from professors in the Religious Studies Department. All letters of reference should be submitted directly to the Religious Studies Graduate Coordinator. The minimum internet-based (iBT) TOEFL score requirement is 90 (including sectional minimums of 22 in speaking, 22 in writing, 23 in reading and 23 in listening). The minimum paper-based TOEFL score requirement is 600. Applicants may submit scores from the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) as an alternative to the TOEFL exam. The minimum IELTS score requirement is 7.0 in each section Applicants must upload unofficial transcripts of their entire post-secondary academic record to the online application, including all undergraduate- and graduate-level coursework. Applicants are expected to have achieved a minimum GPA of 3.0 in their undergraduate programs.