Motivation letter for a PhD position in University of Amsterdam

Hi everyone,

I am applying to a PhD position in Communication Science at the University of Amsterdam. The following is my letter and I would really appreciate any comments.

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"Dear Professor XXX and the Admission Committee,

I am applying to the PhD-candidate position in ERC project at the University of Amsterdam. I am invested in understanding the underpinnings of change in specific population’s behavior through profound social science research. My career goal is to get engaged in academia as a researcher as well as a faculty member.

I received my bachelor’s degree in urban planning and design from University of Tehran (Iran) and continued my education with a master’s degree in urban planning from University at Buffalo, State University of New York (UB). My graduate program was a research-oriented degree and educated me in conducting social science research. Right after receiving my master’s degree, I was offered admission to the PhD program in urban and regional planning in UB. However, after two years of PhD coursework and right before taking my doctoral qualifying exam, my advisor informed me that he was leaving the university. This was a time for me to rethink the path I was taking as a PhD student. I realized that without my primary advisor, UB could not offer what I was looking for in a doctoral program. I strive to pursue my PhD education in a university that would provide hands-on experience in social science research with an advisor who would help me maximize my potentials in my path to becoming an independent and reliable researcher.

My interest in the effect of media on public opinion and subsequently perceiving public opinion as a communicative process stems from my background, growing up in Tehran, Iran and living and studying in Buffalo, NY. Growing up in Tehran gave me first-hand experience in how new modes of communication (e.g. social networks, blogs, video sharing websites, and instant messaging and VoIP applications) provide a different aspect of political information (from the official and traditional media) and a realm for people to express their opinions and interact with each other. These new modes provide the opportunity for people in Iran to participate in a form of civic engagement that would be prohibited in any other forms. Within these, people can exchange different clusters of information and because of the distrust of majority of Iranian citizens in the government, these unofficial and informal clusters of information are often more trusted than official sources. On the other hand, studying and living in the United States for five years showed me the other part of the spectrum. Public trust in the government and the media related to different political parties gave the majority of Americans solid view points and made them opinionated. These opinions are often difficult to manipulate. Stereotyping based on nationality, racial group of religious beliefs is an example of relying solely on traditional forms of media and overlooking other source of information. As an Iranian woman in the United States, I was exposed to such consequences in a daily basis.

Additionally, as an urban planner whose research focused on improving social capital as a means of developing social justice, I have always been interested in the role of information provided by news media compared to “interpersonal political discussions” in civic participation. As noted by Robert Kitchin et al. (2013), the change in nature of political practice and mass communication has reconfigured how citizens interface, dialogue and collaborate with one another. As mentioned previously, I have witnessed how social media and other new forms of communication inform and mobilize diverse groups of population. I am fascinated by how the information provided by these media encourage social movements and set political agendas that are difficult to censor and control. These channels often have real-time response to unfolding events and in some cases they even precipitate in such events.

My academic background have equipped me with the necessary tools to conduct research in social science. In addition to all the valuable education that I received in my undergraduate and graduate programs, I also took 4 semesters of PhD coursework in UB, including 18 credit hours towards research design and qualitative and quantitative research methods. The research design course introduced me to the structure, logic, and process of research relevant to various social science disciplines, focusing on the field of planning. It drew on research design traditions in multiple social science disciplines, and examined how these traditions may inform planning research. Topics that the research design course covered included (but was not limited to) ethical considerations in research, sampling, and reliability and validity in research.

The advanced quantitative methods courses that I took equipped me with knowledge in advanced statistical analysis such as multivariate analysis, principle and confirmatory factor analysis, and hierarchical linear models. I also became experienced in working with Statistical Analysis System (SAS) as a mean to perform quantitative and statistical analysis. The advanced qualitative methods courses, on the other hand, made me competent in different qualitative methods such as content analysis, focus group discussions, and semi-structured interviews. While working of different qualitative-methods projects, I used QDA Miner as the qualitative data analysis tool for managing, coding, and analyzing data gathered from the aforementioned methods.

Additionally, I took two directed reading courses focusing on mixed-methods research design. In these courses, I thoroughly studied various prototypes of major mixed-methods designs and their philosophical assumptions and procedures. Then, I designed and conducted a mixed-methods research on the difference between perceptions of UB’s domestic (US citizens) versus international students concerning university’s travel demand management programs. This study followed an exploratory research design starting with analyzing the content of 158 student blogs to find initial points of concerns of students about transportation and travel mode choice. This content analysis was followed with a survey of 120 random students to provide data for quantitative analysis. Finally, in-person interviews with 10 students (who also took part in the survey) to better understand the outcomes of the quantitative analysis. This research project brought together different analytic skillsets that I had learned in previous research design and methods courses.

To summarize, although my previous education is not in communication science or other equivalent fields, I have strong interest and enthusiasm in studying how behavior changes in response to new information provided by media, and a solid foundation in conducting social science research and employing different quantitative and qualitative methods. As for the ERC project that I am applying to, I am specifically interested in applying content analysis armed with statistical analysis in studying the causes and consequences of change in public opinion about Europe.

Given my past history of commitment to excellence, I believe that my credentials and skills would be an asset to your research team. I am trained as an urban planner, which involves a complex nexus of abilities and skills, from analyzing social and physical environments to public outreach and beyond. Because of the nature of the urban planning profession, I am trained to work in groups and enjoy working collaboratively as a part of a team. Additionally, my diverse background and education will certainly add to the diversity of your program and team. I view the opportunity to get involved in your project and PhD program as a stepping stone for my goal to become involved in academia as a researcher and a faculty member.

Thank you in advance for considering my application. I hope that you will find my research interests in causes and consequences of change in public opinion, my commitment to research, and my research experience thus far a natural fit for your doctoral program. Should you have any questions or need any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me. I look forward to hearing back from you.

Sincerely, "