Personal Statement of Experience (PSE) for Consecutive Education

Queen’s Faculty of Education believes that the best teachers are not necessarily the ones with the highest academic standing. Personal qualities and experiences are vitally important to the successful educator.  Accordingly, we weigh your Personal Statement of Experience equally with your academic qualifications.  The PSE is a required document in the Teacher Education application. 

PSEs are assessed only for applications that are deemed eligible (i.e., after the transcript is assessed). Paper, email, and/or fax submissions are not accepted. 

Where is the PSE and how do I submit it to Queen’s?

After you have submitted your application through TEAS, you will receive an e-mail from us (education.registrar@queensu.ca) giving you instructions regarding how to submit your PSE online through MyQueens Portal (click on the "Personal Statement of Experience" link, under "Apply for Admission" in the "Admissions" section at the lower left of the webpage). 

What types of experiences should I include in my PSE and do I have to have a certain number of hours of experience?

Queen’s does not have specific requirements for the number of hours spent teaching or in teaching-related activities. Queen’s believes that personal qualities and experiences are important to the successful educator. The Consecutive PSE is a brief two-question supplemental application: for question one, applicants list up to 5 activities or jobs (paid or unpaid) that they have been involved in, including the positions held. Activities are valued equally and may include but are not limited to the arts, athletics, hobbies, volunteer, religious, social, farm, and/or household responsibilities. For question two, applicants explain what they have learned from their list of experiences that will help them as a future educator.

Can I submit reference letters and resumes?

Only documentation specifically requested by the Queen’s Education Registrar on the Admissions website is considered for admission. Letters of reference are not requested and hence will not be read; please do not send them.

PSE Instructions

1. The statement must be prepared in your own words, without professional assistance.

2. It is recommended that the PSE be prepared in a text editing program (such as Microsoft Notepad) so that it will copy into the online form without extraneous coding.  Be sure to save a copy for yourself.  As a precautionary measure, you will be timed out of your online session if you have spent more than 30 consecutive minutes on any one page without navigating to another page.

Consecutive PSE

Question 1: Using the chart, list up to 5 activities or jobs (paid or unpaid) that you have been involved in, including the positions held. Activities are valued equally and may include but are not limited to the arts, athletics, hobbies, volunteer, religious, social, farm, and/or household responsibilities. The maximum number of words in each field is approximately 30 or 200 characters with spaces.

Question 2 [approximately 3,400 characters with spaces]: Explain what you have learned from your list of experiences that will help you as a future educator. Use paragraphs and full sentences.  This is your opportunity to demonstrate your written communication skills.

Referees: On the online PSE, please provide the name and contact information of an individual not related to you (employer, supervisor, etc.) who can attest to your skills or experience in at least some of the areas you have listed. Your referee may be contacted to verify your statement.