Masters Degree Letter of Intent

Hi I was wondering if anyone could please help me out with this its for a masters program for environmental sciences

these are the 5 questions i have to answer. this is what i have so far...

The statement of purpose should be between 1500 and 2500 words in length, and address the following questions in clearly separated sections:

• Why do you think that Environmental Science is relevant and important in the contemporary world and why do you think a study on this subject is necessary?
• What is your personal motivation to apply for this programme?
• In which ways do you think your prior experiences, qualifications, and skills will support your studies in this new domain?
• What do you expect to learn in doing this master programme, and which role does it play in your further academic, personal, and professional development?
• Having looked at the past and present research activities and foci of Environmental Sciences at the University of Vienna, which questions relate most to your own current interests?

1. 1.Our environment is important because it shapes and influences our lives and we depend largely on the environment for our survival. Environmental science is relevant and important in the contemporary world because it addresses the challenges facing the current and future generations. These issues range from water scarcity, conservation of resources, terrestrial and aquatic pollution, ecosystem degradation to global warming. These challenges affect all nations and are interconnected to the well-being of humanity and all species alike on earth. Over the course of human history people have been observing nature, manipulating it and interacting with all its systems. Through these interactions people have developed many interconnected and validated ideas about the physical, biological and social worlds that surround us. I think a study on this subject is necessary, especially in the contemporary world, because it offers key skills in understanding environmental problems on a holistic level; it can help us find the ways and means to maintain an ecological balance. This subject approaches global issues from an interdisciplinary approach; through the lens of biochemistry, physics, biotechnology, chemistry, sociology, botany, toxicology, remote sensing and engineering. Through this perspective, as a discipline, environmental science offers concrete and viable solutions to current environmental and social problems. Due to the fact that the very issues the globe is facing currently were created by humans in the first place, I believe that social science plays a huge role in order to understand the crisis holistically and to actually implement policies and management. Environmental scientists play a key role in society’s response to environmental challenges and issues. This subject can help us to find ways and means to maintain the ecological balance necessary in order to build a sustainable future that is stable economically and socially.

2. 2. My personal motivation for studying Environmental Science is about being an active part of global, social and environmental change, and the creation of just and sustainable societies and environments. During my undergraduate degree I became very interested in sustainable development and conservation biology, its principles and associated tools that allow the evaluation of potential risks and prevent them. Growing up in Bosnia my grandmother inspired in me a respect for nature; she taught me that we need to take care of the earth for it provides all of our basic needs. From an early age I had a passion for nature and being outdoors, simply observing it and participating in it because I learned that we are not any separate from nature than the bee is from its flower. Graduate school became an earnest consideration after upper-level undergraduate courses at the University of British Columbia ignited my curiosity in the dynamic area of conservation biology. The appeal was born out of the discipline’s emphasis on integration of different scientific fields, with the express goal of understanding biological systems as more than the sum of individual parts. Furthermore, my studies in the field of Anthropology merged the two fields together. As I studied about human culture and ecology I learned more how humans evolved throughout Earth’s history and how we have developed to our current situation. My motivation truly to study this program stems from my internal sense of social justice and humanities; resource consumption is not evenly distributed across the globe and those being most affected by global change are not the consumers but the producers of the world. I believe in an interdisciplinary perspective and analytical tools for communicating about problems of sustainability. It represents an important complement to technological and natural science approaches to sustainability by focusing on the cultural dimensions of consumption and resource use, cultural perceptions of environment and economy, and social science perspectives on the global distribution of environmental problems. After studying your Environmental Sciences Master’s program, I became acquainted with its interdisciplinary approach and was immediately drawn to the program. I want to study at your university and focus on bio-geochemical cycles and global climate change; specifically the anthropogenic perturbation of global cycles.

3. 3.As my first exposure to Biology in my studies I took the course “Cell and Organism Biology;” I was especially impressed that, despite of the advances in technology, there remains much to learn about Biology. At the University of EU I earned a Minor in Biology after completing required pre-requisite and upper level Biology courses. During my student exchange at the University of Edinburgh I was involved in the Science Club, which involved weekly meetings, study session and laboratory work with research and graduate students. I took “Zoogeography” at the University of Edinburgh which informed me on the current and past distribution of animal species and how the conservation of these species was dependent on the actions and habits of people; this course complimented “Animal Mechanics and Locomotion” at UBC the following year. My background in Anthropology, Sociology, Geography and Biology has allowed me to create my undergraduate degree with an interdisciplinary approach. Specifically, courses such as “Sociology and Natural Resources” gave me a better understanding how human behaviour, policies and technology play a major role in natural resource consumption and its subsequent distribution across the globe.

At the University of EU I immersed myself into the science program as much as possible. Complementing my strong academic performance are my advanced skills in leadership and communication. In several of the projects during my studies, I was the team leader responsible for building and leading our project team. At the beginning of the program, teams were assigned three key members: programmer, an English speaker, and a mathematician. Everyone taught his or her teammates while exploiting his or her own special expertise. As the team leader, I was responsible for not only my mathematic area of expertise, but also distributing project assignments and responsibilities as well as governing interpersonal relationships. In addition to my academic work, I was involved in the Environmental Action Club where I served as a member for Undergrad University Earth Day. Furthermore, as an undergraduate, I worked part time, twenty-five hours a week, which has taught me the art of prioritizing my time; a skill that will no doubt help me face the rigours of graduate school. The reasoning abilities I have developed through my coursework, in particular the ability to think logically and critically fostered by my minor in Biology.

4. My current professional experience has brought me in contact with people from the BC Sustainable Energy Association where I work as an Environmental Educator. Through this job I have a better understanding of the needs of community and the current environmental threats to the province of British Columbia. As an Environmental Educator I liaison between educational institutions and the non-profit organization BCSEA; I deliver educational workshops, called The Climate Change Showdown. This workshop is meant to educate kids about their environmental impact (carbon foot print), global climate change and what they can do every day to reduce their energy use. The workshop includes simple biology and sociology with activities the children have to do in order to fulfill the requirements of the workshop. This workshop has allowed me to network with various natural resource companies such as BC Hydro and Fortis BC which provides British Colombia with hydro-electric power, this job has directly related to my interest of alternative forms of energy.

4. 5. In doing this master’s program I hope to learn and gain skills which would enable me to better understand the processes controlling the environment at present in order to apply solutions to current ecological problems. Skill sets such as concepts of human ecology and how we can develop our communities sustainably; I want to combine and apply inter-disciplinary knowledge to explore environmental biology and sustainability. Moreover, by combining my theoretical and specialized education with hands-on research in the second year, I will gain critical work experience


Furthermore this program would allow me to gain insight into environmental law, economics and because these are the fields in which policies and management are exercised.





5. Having looked at the past and current research done by the department of Environmental Sciences the questions which relate most to mine would be the completed project lead by Dr.Hermann Hausler and the “Use of Geothermal Energy in Lower Austria.” Alternative forms of energy is an area of interest I would like to focus on due to the fact that the current energy sources we are” tapping” are finite and are depleting very quickly.