Letter of Motivation B.A.

Hello everyone. For my university application I am required to wirte a letter of motivation. Since in the Netherlands they are not really allowed to be selective in choosing B.A. students its more a formality but still I'd really like it to be as correct as possible so I would really appreciate it if someone could check for mistakes and give his oppinion on form and expression. I apologize in advance for any mistakes, im not a native speaker and its been a long time since I last wrote a text in English.
Thanks a lot for your help!!!

Dear Sir or Madam,

With this letter of motivation I am applying for the B.A. International Studies at XXXX University.

Since I can remember my most notable intellectual intrest has allways evolved around understanding global issues, their reasons and their effects on the world. Becuase of my special intrest in the middle east I began to study a B.A. program in Islamic Studies at the University of XXXX. The two semesters I took there confirmed to me that the area as topic was of very high intrest to me. It was the program's exclusive focus on only history and language and thus the complete lack of a political and an economical perspective that lead to the discontinuation of this program. Since than I have maintained my interest and privately widened my knowledge about international events and issues, especially the conflicts arising from the middle east, but never found a study program in XXXXX that fulfilled my academic requirements. Expanding my search radius to other European countries I learned about this program and after intense examination came to the conclusion that it does not only meet all my academic requirements but even exceeds them.

The interdisciplinary approach this program offers, is in my opinion the most logical one when trying to figure out the world and its regions in an international context. Why? Because the four major disciplines this program covers constantly influence each other and should therefore not be looked at discretely if the aim is to understand the whole picture. If we look for example on how western powers try to politically influence certain economically important regions of the world but often fail to achieve this in a sustainable way because of a crucial lack of cultural and historical understanding, we see that in order to understand global issues arising from certain areas we need to have knowledge of all the four disciplines on an area-specific and an international-comparative level. Of cause there is no absolute approach to complex international processes but I am sure that this program offers the most suitable one to my way of thinking.

But it's not only the content itself that makes me want to study International Studies at Leiden University. The international setting this program offers, adds a completely new dimension to the studies. If one wants to work in any kind of international environment it is crucial to to feel comfortable in such an environment. The extraordinarily broad bandwidth of international students enrolled in this program offers a perfect setting to develop social skills on an international level by enriching the educational process with multiple unique perspectives from all around the world. Being born and raised in XXXX by a XXXXX father and a mother of XXXXX descend I am sure that I can not only gain but also contribute in many ways to the international environment around the program. The fact that the program will be taught in English is also a huge advantage because to me it seems like the only logical language to be instructed in considering the field of study and especially the future career prospects.

Talking about future career prospects I think there are very few cities in the world more suitable for students with aspirations in international organizations or institutions than the so called International City of Peace and Justice. The Hague being the home to the ICJ, ICC, OSCE, ICCT and countless NGOs provides a lot of opportunities to gain first hand experience in that field of work. But its not only the location of the university but moreover the university itself that makes this program the perfect choice for me. XXXX University with its academic excellence especially in the field of humanities and social sciences offers a unique opportunity for ambitious students such as myself that are willing to contribute a lot of time and effort into obtaining a degree that satisfies the demands of a job market with very strong international competition. I am well aware of the fact that studying at an university with such high standards is not only a chance but also a challenge especially for young people. Having worked in a full time job for the last two years I have learned to set my priorities accordingly and feel fully equipped to take on the challenge of meeting both my own and the universities high expectations.

All the above being said I think the combination of content, international orientation of both program and city and the congruence of your university's standards with my own ambitions would make XXXXX Studies at XXXXX University the perfect match for me. Having read all that I hope that you feel the same way about me and am looking forward to receiving an offer from you.

With kind regards,
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