Motivation Letter

Hello

This is my motivation letter for Erasmus Mundus programme. I have read a lot of materials but I'm not a native English I am not good in writing motivation letters at all.
So, please, look through my letter and check any grammar mistakes or some things that don't sound natural in English.
I would be thankfull for all your comments!

Motivation

It is very important, that students are highly motivated to follow the Programme. This can be proved in a good motivation letter, which should be one page maximum . Experience like internships, jobs, project works, etc., is not obligatory, but it might be advantageous and should be mentioned in the application.

Letter of Motivation

Dear Sir or Madam,

It is a big pleasure for me to express my high motivation to apply for the XXX program(Urban studies) through Erasmus Mundus scholarship, scheduled to start in fall, 2013.

First of all I would like to introduce myself: My name is XXX and I am currently completing a comprehensive undergraduate degree in Business Economics at the University of XXX (Bulgaria). With an outstanding academic record based upon a challenging curriculum, I am proud of my achievements. I was always among the top 10% of my class.

I also have a good knowledge of Mathematics and Statistics since it was essential during my studies. Due to the wide range of different disciplines that Business Economics involves, soon after starting my studies I was interested in economics and social relations then I realized that the Urban planning and research was the specialty where I really want to focus on. Since I have been travelling a lot and have visited famous cities I am really impresses to see those huge changes in our society, such as development, immigration, and increased population. Most of all, in my country we are facing urban problems, such as rapid urbanisation which is causing many changes the country. That calls out for the corrective, instructive and collaborative work of graduates who have achieved a degree in urban studies and have the ability to propose solutions and design alternatives.

In fact, during my studies in Economics and Sociology classes I became passionate about people and the society we live in. I believe that to understand how the societies are changing through the time we have to look at them somewhere and the most appropriate places to do that are cities. It follows from the fact that they are political arenas in which the various interests brought together are in modern societies and clash with each other. I have also done a research with my colleagues in Bulgaria on the processes that produce certain patterns of human settlement and charts - the changing relationships among areas shaped by urbanization, such as metropolis and countryside, and city and suburb. Our team received the highest score on the competition and the we were awarded with a honour from the Dean.

I am confident in my decision to apply for the XXX as it will give me a strong background in bases of urban theories through different disciplines. Owing to the high achievements I had, I was selected to spend one semester abroad at XXX University, Lithuania. While studying there I took several elective courses in urban management and planning. Through this experience I became fascinated with issues that affect urban development and future of urbanity. Together with my international colleagues we worked on a project and did a research under the topic “The role of small shopping streets”. We were fascinated about the fact that so many small shops right there are owned by members of ethnic minorities and immigrants and we saw practically how these small shopping streets have a huge implication on people’s life and behaviour.

Moreover, globalisation and internationalisations are some of the many issues that we can see in any city. Living in the four of the most international cities in Europe and studying in four of the top universities I will be given the unique chance to expand my horizons and it would help me to deal with cultural diversity as a critical experience for the globalising environment we live in. Understanding urban processes, based on the experience of the older cities, is going to be very important to understand and develop my knowledge about cities and city strategies.

I am sure that this experience would not only be exciting, intensive, and valuable educationally for my professional career, but also for my overall personal development.

Once again I am grateful to you for considering my application and I am looking forward to a favourable reply!

Sincerely,
Nadezhda Dimitrova