Satetment of purpose for an erasmus mundus scholarship

Hello, I'm writing my motivation letter for a master in public policy, with this letter I got into the master but without a scholarship, how can I make it better?

Growing up in Colombia, one the most violent countries in the world, with homicide rates as high as 86 for each 100.000 inhabitants, motivated me to think about the economic and social causes of these indicators starting a career in economics. As I studied the problem, I found multiple explanations, being inequality and poverty conditions (in which a considerable amount of the population lives) some of the most relevant.

However, the conflict has achieved such dimensions that every single person it’s been related to it. The most worrying about it is that inside the Colombian State itself, there have been found connections with illegal armed groups and drug traffickers, which questions the State’s capacity and authority to fight them. Accordingly, it is imperative to make structural reforms in every level of Colombian’s society, implementing good and appropriate Public Policies, which is one of my main motivations to apply to this Master.

The fact that it is an interdisciplinary and Europe focused Master is another reason to apply; during my undergraduate studies I was particularly interested in subjects related to political analysis and development, and Europe is a typical case study and example of successful public policy. As a result of my interest for these fields my undergraduate thesis was a study of the institutional arrangements ruling the voting process inside the Congress of Colombia, specifically, we studied the process of approving the National Investment Plan and we built Power Indexes for each region that participates in the decision.

Consequently, taking courses like State, Government and Society and Politics, Power and Development will enrich my knowledge of the relationship between economics and politics in order to continue investigating these topics. Accordingly, I would like to start the Master at the Institute of Social Studies with the MA in Development Studies, Governance and Democracy continuing with the MA in Public Policy at the Central European University.

In terms of a future career this Master is valuable for me for two reasons. First, I see myself researching in the fields of public policy and development; therefore, taking courses in a Master level will enhance my critical and analytical abilities to be an excellent researcher. Second, the practical experience acquired during the internship period will allow me to start a career as a policy maker at a government agency. Moreover, I will be able to use my work as a policy maker to enhance my abilities as a researcher and vice versa.

Finally, this Master is going to contribute not only to my professional life but to my personal life. Intercultural exchange is something I have wanted to do for a long time now; not only because it will enhance my tolerance and respect for other cultures, but because I personally am very interesting in traveling and getting to know the world. I’m excited to be part of such an exciting experience and I appreciate the opportunity to apply to this program.