PhD Motivation Essay

Hey guys,

I am about to apply for a PhD position in Economics, and thus I need to send them my motivation essay.

May i dare ask to review and put some comments on it? Especially as most paragraphs start with "i", it would be nice to get some additional ideas how to present them....

In a famous poem about choices in life, Robert Frost had to choose between traveling two paths down the forest. He took some time to decide, as each path was different in its shape but equally fine to go along with. Finally he decided, and in its own words, taking one ’has made all the difference’. At this moment, I am in Robert Frost’s position.

This summer I am about to graduate and I have to decide whether to aim for a postgraduate education or go job hunting.

I decide to take the path which finally leads to PhD, because I see myself ready for the next step as an economist: getting an even broader perspective than my master studies offered thus far, and learn the tools to tackle down real life problems in order to make them solvable with the power of economic theory.

My genuine enthusiasm and belief in the power of economics needs some lines to explain. As an adolescent I first read about Game Theory while reading the John Nash Biography “A beautiful mind”. Even though I did not understand how economist did it, I was fascinated of how they can find an order among the chaos of human behavior. It seemed to me as if everyone follows precise rules and that those who understand the rules have the advantage of being always a step ahead.

The more time I spend thinking about it, the more it fascinates me that some underlying order can be seen in most of our daily life decisions.

During my studies at the University of Passau and my current ones at Maastricht, I got to know some of those rules which guide and limit ourselves. But as our knowledge in the field of behavioral economics grows, some of the things I learnt as fundamental principles of economics turned out to be wrong or need to be restated in the near future. With every new paper, some white spots on the map vanish, but other ones are created.

Kaynes ones said that the difficulties lie not so much in developing new ideas, as in escaping from old ones. I think, the opportunity to come up with something new or to break down my own old beliefs is what stimulates me to spend time on research.

I have chosen to apply for the Economic Theory, Behavior and Computing track, because it offers the chance to specialize in the fields of Game Theory and Industrial Economics, but I can still keep my mind open for other fields I may come in contact with.

My overall goal for the postgraduate studies is, to better understand market structures and the activities of competitors in an industry.

I decided to apply for postgraduate education at Maastricht University because of the good experience I have from attending my master studies here.

Throughout my studies at Maastricht, I come to value the academic atmosphere of the challenging discussions which I experienced in the classroom. During those discussions, I learnt a lot about critically analyzing and evaluating given arguments. As our multinational group has diverse views on topics, especially when it comes to the field of public policies which we discussed in two of my courses, I become versed in holding my ground while being sensitive to other opinions. I think that the dialogue-focused teaching system at Maastricht University boosts the exchange of thoughts in a unique way and I see forward to experience this also in my postgraduate studies.

I have the experience that the UM staff does value the academic thought, but never losses track to the real world application, which fits with my character. If I were asked to describe myself, I would talk about a person who is eager to see how to use the tools learnt during previous studies in real life application and whom the research of “how to apply it” as much fascinating as the ‘why is it’ question.

I think among relevant factors which would allow me to successfully progress in my PhD studies is having genuine enthusiasm for economic topics, being a proactive character who can think on his own feet, having the necessary self-discipline to work independently and finally being also able to work constructively within the department.

I see myself as a proactive, innovative mind. I have the ability to spot new opportunities or potential problems and find solutions for them. I have been active in German politics since I was 16 years old, at the end as a chairman of a 20 person chapter of a political youth organization. During those years, I participated at several conventions, which is the place where parties discuss tomorrow’s policy setting and changes to their basic program. As I discovered nuisances in daily life, I thought of ways to solve them through politics. Topics were ranging from failures in the application of the Bologna education reform process to fighting social injustice for the gay community to donate blood.

I spend two month in Washington DC for an internship at Bank of America, and during this time I learnt how to use math as a clear descriptive language and the importance of being competent in using the necessary numerical concepts. I grasped the importance of paying attention to detail and working precise. Having acquired this knowledge will help me with those tasks during my PhD studies, who require staying focused on detail.

Further, I learnt to understand my own role, strengths and weaknesses in a team, and thus I am confident in my abilities to work independently of with cooperation of fellow colleagues in the department.

I am convinced that I have most of the quantitative background to handle the math-intensive nature of economic courses due to my previous studies. The opportunity of the 2+3 program which Maastricht offers sounds to be a perfect combination for me, as I can get additional tools and knowledge, especially in the field of Econometrics in which I have limited knowledge thus far. After taking up the challenge of independent research for the final dissertation, I would like not go for a further academic career, but for research in a government agency on competition issues.

I hope that I could provide you with evidences to confirm my ability to success in postgraduate studies, and that I was able to describe my reasons for selecting Maastricht University as a potential school for future studies.