Motivation letter for Masters Programme

Dear all, I would be endlessly grateful if you could take a look at my motivation letter/statement of purpose and give me your advice on improving it. This program has been my dream and I really want to do this right! It is an Erasmus Masters so it takes place in 2 institutions, however the admission process is handled by only one university. Here goes nothing! Thanks

Dear Sir or Madam,

With this letter, I am applying for a position in the ********* Programme. It is my ambition to become an expert on European policy and pursue a PhD focusing on the relationship between the new media and current European challenges, particularly populism and migration. While working towards a combined undergraduate degree at ****** University in England I had an opportunity to study both International Relations and Media and Communications which inevitably resulted in noticing the connection between the two and acknowledging the vast impact of media populism on democratic quality, particularly with the rise of new media. If given a chance to participate in this program, I would like to explore these issues in more depth in my dissertation and gain the skills necessary to apply this knowledge to my future academic and professional career.

During my undergraduate studies, I engaged in a number of extracurricular activities including being the president of the Model UN Society that participated in London International Model United Nations and Ljubljana Model United Nations, and a member of Politics and Debating society where I improved my public speaking skills by participating in weekly academic discussions. Also, in the wake of the migrant crisis I volunteered for a year at ***** organization that provided support to vulnerable migrants in the UK by assisting people to settle into their new communities. As someone who aspires to become an expert in migration policy, I felt it necessary to gain a perspective of the social difficulties and bureaucratic challenges UK migrants experience daily and help find practical solutions.

Upon completing my Bachelor’s degree, I wanted to gather practical experience that I could then implement in my further education so I started a 3 month full time internship at the British Embassy in *****. The vote of British citizens to leave the European Union comes with after-effects and makes for an uncertain, however undoubtedly exciting platform for those just starting their career in European affairs. I enjoyed tremendously interning at the embassy as I got a chance to learn from and observe diplomacy professionals who were stationed all around the globe and work alongside them on strengthening the relationships between ***** and the UK in the wake of Brexit. At the moment I am doing a research internship at the Institute for ******** where I am focusing on improving my analytical skills through conducting research on various current issues, such as tracking media pluralism in the European Union and analyzing ***** policy changes since its accession to the EU.

I chose this course because as a new programme it offers a fresh perspective on a variety of issues concerning European politics, economy and culture and provides its students with skills for both an academic and a professional career. Furthermore, its highly international profile offers an opportunity to be a part of a diverse and international community, meet scholars from all over the world and learn from their cultures and viewpoints on social issues. As the main focus of my research are European migration and media populism, modules such as European Comparative Politics and Society, Current Challenges in Europe, Methodology and methods and many more will help me gain a better insight of European politics and advance my analytical and research abilities. During the second semester, ***** University would be an excellent institution to learn about EU economy, Justice and Home affairs and take a Dutch language course or enhance my nearly fluent Russian and German ahead of returning to ***** to complete my dissertation and internship. After participating in the Erasmus exchange in **** I found myself captivated with **** culture and history but lacked time to explore it to the extent I wanted to. Therefore, this course would also be an excellent opportunity to improve my **** language skills at **** University and ultimately do an internship in a ***** based institution. All of the higher education institutions offered during this program are some of the leading in Europe and it would be an invaluable experience to be given a chance to continue my education at some of them.

I consider myself to be a highly motivated and disciplined student; during my Bachelor’s degree I have not failed one exam or an assignment of any kind and graduated with a high Upper second-class honours degree. I am eager to continue with the dedication I have always worked with to accomplish my goals and gain more knowledge and insight in European politics and society. Considering my academic and professional performance so far and my desire to enrich my own and others’ knowledge, I am convinced that I will be a valuable addition to the program. I hope to be given this chance, as I am confident that I am capable of meeting and even exceeding your expectations.

Thank you for considering my application.

Yours sincerely,