Motivation letter PhD

Hi! I have been reading recommendations and also learning from sample motivation letters in this site. I am writting a motivation letter to apply for a PhD position. I have written it several times and a couple of friends have read it and corrected it. Could you please tell me your opinion about it?

Name

___________________________

My address

My telephone

My e-mail

Date

Institute name

Dear Sirs,

I am applying for the position of -------- My career ambition is to become a researcher in the field of ----- applying ----tools to help in the management of ----.

I obtained my --- degree in --- with an average score above 95 percent. During my bachelor’s thesis I applied statistical tool-'the name of those'-to control for phylogenetic effects to study -- mating system evolution. The experience with my thesis made me realize the importance of mathematical tools in ecology and evolution. Nevertheless, my main concern are the current water problems and the biodiversity threats, which are a very important challenge both in my country and around the globe, in which water is becoming not only scarce but also contaminated.

My graduate studies have introduced me with the basic background of river ecological and hydrological processes, as well as the fundamentals of ecological and hydrological modelling. Even though my master’s thesis topic is related to hydrological processes, I strongly believe that the different disciplines should cooperate to deal with the management problems related to water use and the ecological aquatic ecosystems and their resources.

I had the opportunity to develop a model simulating a population of --- using --- software, after a published paper on the subject and to add some modifications to it, as part of the “---” course of my master studies. Although the task was quite challenging I liked it a lot. This model simulated the influence of---- of --- of certain sex and age, and different -- of the environment, on the population size of an age-structured population using a Leslie matrix. It produced several iterations which were random for the specific age of the --- to estimate the confidence intervals of the simulations.

Since I like modelling very much, I sought some basic experience on biological modelling with --- attending a course on “---” institute name -- in ---, with a model that simulated the dynamics of oxygen, nitrogen and cycling of nutrients in --- (no examination presented because, by that time, I already had the required credits courses for my master).

I would like to make my PhD studies in your institute, because, being the largest ---, it provides a rich infrastructure together with international teams. Furthermore, I think that its interdisciplinary approach is the best way to provide an excellent basis for my scientific career. Having contacted students from your institute, I am confident of my decision. Moreover, by studying --- applied to --- and addressing the --- problems, I have the chance to put into practice my two main interests: ecology and the water quality challenges on the one hand and ecological modelling on the other hand. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at the above number or e-mail address.

Thank you for considering my application,

Sincerely yours,

Name

__________________

Thank you in advance for your time and patience.