Motivation Letter

Hello!
I've seen good comments and help with motivation letters on this forum, so I decided to ask for some help too, because my English is far from perfect... I am applying for MS in Neuroscience/Cognitive science at Germany Uni and I will greatly appreciate about every comment. Thanks in advance for your help!

The letter:
Dear Sir or Madam,

I am applying for the Master’s program “Interdisciplinary Neuroscience” at ******. In this letter I will try to describe my motivation for applying to your master program.

Last year I finished to study at one of the best Russian universities - ************* and my major was Clinical Psychology. Since my first year in the university, I have held the top academic rating (based on the grades of students). I have been awarded the ****** State University scholarship, which indicates my academic success. During my studying I have worked part-time as a volunteer at Charity Foundation, where I organized events, parties and cultural activities in the orphanages. After I graduated the University I was offered to hold a position of the head of a social-psychological adjustment department in this Charity Foundation. In my opinion, it is a good evidence of my leadership and organizational skills.

To start with, I would like to explain shortly why I am interested in studying at Master’s program “ ” In my opinion, understanding of the mechanisms that underlie the mental and cognitive disturbance is one of the most interesting, but also one of the most complicated tasks in psychological science. Therefore my aspiration is to conduct the research on cognition and neural dysfunction underlying the mental disorders such as schizophrenia and autism. During the time I have conducted the research for my undergraduate thesis I faced with the puzzle: I found a noticeable discrepancy between experimental and control groups in a way how they process the incoming information. But it was a challenge for me how to explain the reasons of this discrepancy. I realized that it is impossible to explain the mechanisms underlying the cognitive dysfunction development only in the context of clinical psychology when it is isolated from neuroscience and cognitive psychology. Moreover, I believe that for deeper understanding of the mental disorders it is essential to know the theories, principles and patterns of cognitive processes and neural architectures in health. I believe that I could reach a substantial progress in this exploration by studying at your Master’s Program.

I would like to continue my education in ***** Universität because I have faced several limitations for research in the educational system in Russia. The first one is that there are no Master’s programs dedicated to Cognitive Science in Russia. Furthermore, there is an extensive gap between clinical psychology and other fields of science in my country. As a result research possibilities of Russian clinical psychologists are limited by a narrow-minded approach to conducting research. Also German scientists hold strong positions in the fields of cognitive and mental functions research from the origins of experimental psychology till present time.

In particular, I would like to study at the Master’s program at the ********* University and there are several reasons for this preference. First, this University offers the interdisciplinary oriented program. (So, I would be able to acquire an extensive training both in the fields of neuro- and cognitive sciences. In addition, I think that this Master’s program would help me to overcome the gaps in my knowledge and give me the tools for integrating clinical psychology and cognitive science.) Second, I have chosen this program because it is practice-oriented. During the training students have the opportunity to gain hands-on experience with fMRI, EEG, variety of psychophysical methods and other research tools. So this program can provide me with profound understanding of various research methods. Third, I would like to note that this Master’s program offers intensive training in the fields of Mathematics and Statistics. In the light of my future research goals the value of such a training is extremely high. And the last but not the least reason is that the program in Cognitive Science at the ***** University is widely considered among the best in Europe and therefore will give me the necessary credentials in the job market in my home country.

On the one hand, my education and research experience provided me with valuable insights needed for research activity. On the other hand, my work and life expirience gave me the understanding of my real live goals and aspiration. So I am certain that, if given a chance, I will exceed your expectations and will greatly appreciate you about the opportunity to come back to the university and learn more.

Best regards,
Marina S+