Motivation letter for master application

Hello,

I am just starting to apply for master programms in the direction of Computer Science in Media and Interaction Design. Unfortunatelly, I have never written a letter of motivation before - and especially not in English. I am having a hard time figuring out whether what I'm writing goes into the right direction at all and whether the language I'm using is really appropiate (more formal, less formal? Is it simple and precise enough or are the sentences too long? etc. ).

However, after doing some online research, I stumbled upon this community and saw some of the responses greatly helped people in developing their letters. Maybe someone could help me too, by giving me some feedback or cirticism.

Thanks a lot!

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Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to apply for University-I-am-applying-for's Media Technology master program.

After achieving an BSc. in computer science in media at University-I-Studied-At (Germany) in 2009, I've been working as a Teaching Assistant at the University-I-Worked-For in Cairo at a faculty of Applied Sciences and Arts. The experiences I have made there brought me to the decision of continuing my academic career and pursue a masters degree.

I have always been fascinated by technology as a way of communication and expression. Initially, this manifested itself in a keen interest for the creation of web applications – also my reason for studying computer science in media. However, this changed when I had the opportunity to take part in a university project creating an interactive media installation: Through my involvement, I got introduced to physical computing and camera-based tracking systems and ever since then, I have been fascinated by the possibility of reaching beyond the screen into the real world. I continued to take part in the design and realization of many interactive art works – ranging from further installations, to performances and objects. Due to the experimental nature of artistic projects, drastic changes in concept may occur suddenly and technical solutions addressing them have to be found quickly; often under heavy time pressure. I know these conditions well and got used to deal with them effectively.


As I continued designing interactive media, I realized that good results require taking into account the complex nature of human beings to a much higher degree than my computer science background alone allowed me to. I turned towards media theory, the social sciences and philosophy; I even took a gap semester in which I became a guest auditor at an other university's faculty of philosophy. The knowledge I acquired in that time opened up an unique perspective on my profession. Ultimately, it shaped my future career: I choose to analyze how users are experiencing interactivity across different interfaces as the topic for my bachelor thesis. Throughout that process I got convinced that a deeper understanding of the relation between human beings and technology can be achieved by reflecting upon prototypical designs and embedding the findings in a theoretical context. I continued to work with this approach during my time teaching at University-I-Worked-For, both in courses with students, as well as in projects together with colleagues.

On a more private level, I consider teaching as one of the most rewarding experiences in my life. Though it kept challenging me in unforeseen ways, at the same time it provided me with an abundance of opportunities to grow. One of my greatest challenges was my fear of talking to a crowd full of strangers. This kind of situation has been difficult for me for as long as I can remember and therefor I had been trying to avoid it whenever possible. However, I successfully confronted my fear and overcame it: In the two years at University-I-Worked-For I gave numerous classes, that were ranging in size from small groups in workshops, up to over 130 students in lectures. I had the opportunity to encourage young people to pursue their interests in designing interactive media and to practice critical thinking about their usage in society. It was very insightful to discuss with them the impact of media in the light of the recent political developments in Egypt. Through them, I was provided with an unique and far more detailed perspective on the country, than I ever would have gained on my own. Being still in contact with many of my students, I hope to continue both working on joint projects as well as our friendships.

I have been interested in studying at University-I-am-applying-for's Media Technology program since I visited one of your Mr. X's presentations, that he gave at University-I-Studied-At when I was a student there. I feel University-I-am-applying-for can provide me with the inspirational environment that I need to grow, while at the same time giving me the chance to expand my knowledge in the core areas interesting me. I am convinced, that I would add to the diversity of University-I-am-applying-for's academic environment; both through my capability of thinking outside the box as well as through my extensive experiences in working interdisciplinary and intercultural.

Thank you for reviewing my application and I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Me