Letter of Motivation

Hello fellow users,

I am a German citizen that got his bachelor's degree from an American college. I am now applying for a master program at a hometown business school. I would like your opinion on my letter of motivation. Some background information: the GPA of my German high diploma was rather weak, that is why I am making such a big deal of my newfound academic motivation. Some more general questions: 1. If the letter is required to be written in English, which do I use: British or American English? It really only matters for terms like program/programme, etc. 2. Is it master or master's program? I have seen it written both ways. 3. What is best introductory and closing sentence? Is it really the popular "I hereby wish to state my interest for a place in..." and "thank you for considering my request," respectively?

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Dear Prof. Dr. xxx,



I wish to share with you my motivation for applying for the master program in International Economics at your school.



My immediate motivation for pursuing a master’s degree in International Economics at the school xxx is a practical one: to further my career objectives. Based on my present work experience, this program would further my skills for international projects, especially in the large emerging markets I am currently engaged in. It would also advance my theoretical understanding of economics, bring me up to date on the latest discussions in the field and provide me with additional management competencies needed for business dealings with international trading partners.



I am currently working for xxx, a rapidly growing, young global trading company in Berlin. In my position as group purchasing manager, I manage the procurement of manufactured goods from the company’s Chinese and European suppliers and am responsible for the acquisition of new trading partners. Previously, I held a position in the equally internationally oriented logistics industry. At xxx, one of the largest freight forwarders in the Chicago region, I was the liaison person for a group of more than 250 nationally diverse contractors and served clients from multinational corporations, such as Kodak and Coca-Cola.



Though born, raised, and schooled in Berlin until the age of 22, I began my personal international approach when I moved to the United States. I graduated summa cum laude from college xxx with a four-year Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and a minor in Business Administration. It was during my studies of governmental and social institutions that I developed a strong interest in the economic processes that are influenced by them. In the semesters that followed, I acquired a state-of-the-art perspective on global business and a fundamental knowledge of the theories and processes of large-scale economic systems. Though not formally introduced to the branch of microeconomics, I established a strong understanding of the functional aspects of marketing and the operations of marketing systems, the foundations of management theory and practice, and the basic concepts of accounting and financial management. In addition, I interned at the college’s xxx Institute for Marketing Research where I led a successful research project, which helped company xxx, America’s leading manufacturer of rail tank car valves, improve its products.



The more deep-seated motivation behind my academic aspirations stems from the educational expectations I have come to set for myself. Starting with my first semester of college in the United States, I approached my schoolwork with an unprecedented sense of scholastic determination, which resulted in the completion of the first of eight successive semesters with the highest honors. I developed an unimagined passion for learning, especially about the forces that regulate intercultural human affairs. The discipline of International Economics—with its interdisciplinary reach beyond numbers, statistics, and theorems to its effect on human behavior, policies, and institutions—would serve to satisfy that passion.



Thank you very much for considering my request, I am looking forward to hearing from you.



Sincerely,

xxx

THANK YOU!
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