Personal Statement for Tourism Development and Culture EMJMD

Supporting Personal Statement

Hello there! I need a little bit help with my personal statement for Erasmus Mundus Tourism development and culture program. The instructions are as follows:

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to apply for Tourism Development and Culture EMJM program starting in September 2019. This year I am going to graduate from Uzbekistan State World Languages University from English philology Bachelor as one of the top students.

I have always had deep interest in social sciences, in history, foreign languages, literature and art. Maybe this was the main reason that urged me to choose philology for my bachelor studies, because linguistics is based on the interconnectedness of all the listed subjects. Although I was quite into my major, I was doubtful about which career path to take. When I heard that State Tourism Committee was organizing courses for training guides, I decided to enroll as I wanted to try myself in a different environment. However, as the course progressed, I grew more and more passionate about it and couldn't wait till my first real excursion. After completing the course, I first worked at the State Museum of Victims of Repression and then began to conduct tours around the city of Tashkent. During this period of time I got a lot of experience and put into practice all my knowledge and, most importantly, realized that I want to connect my professional path with tourism. I really love my job as a guide, but I would like to expand my horizons, explore the tourist world from angles unfamiliar to me and get deeper understanding of contemporary issues relating to tourism development. Considering this and the fact that there is a shortage of qualified employees in tourism in Uzbekistan, I aim to become a specialist with solid theoretical and practical background. For me it is important that I use my knowledge and skills not only to reach professional goals but also make valuable contribution to the community I live in.

I chose to apply for Tourism Development and Culture EMJM program because the curriculum gives the opportunity to explore the tourism industry from different angles, ranging from its cultural nature all the way to tourism marketing and the place of tourism in sustainable development. I believe that the proposed opportunity for learning from professionals and combining theory with practice will help me to become a competent specialist.

I am an ambitious results-oriented person who is eager to learn new things. Having a job in addition to my university studies taught me that I am capable of working productively on several different tasks at the same time. I learned how to manage my time and energy in order to reach good results. I have proven to work well both independently and as a team-member through carrying out courseworks and doing group projects at university. I will apply those skills to my Master`s studies and use them in my future career as well.

I like challenges and learning new things from them. I believe this program is another challenge that surely will result in rich experience, personal growth and professional maturity. I will be very grateful and lucky if I get this chance. I hope that my application will have a positive outcome as I look forward to your answer.

Best regards,

Nargiza Khamidova

Although I was quite into my major, I was doubtful ...
Personally, I don't think this sounds very positive. Maybe you can omit this part and highlight on subjects you really enjoy during your study that relates (at least partially) to the major you're aiming for.

could not wait until

I really love my job as a guide, but I would like to ...

The 'but' part bugged me a little bit. "I love this, but-" doesn't sound like you like it very much anymore. Consider something like "As a guide, I learned to appreciate the importance of viewing tourism development from different angles, as well as understanding contemporary issues that came with it."

I will be very grateful and lucky if I get this chance. I hope ...

I don't think you need this part as it doesn't reinforce the ideas that you presented previously. All applicants will feel the same as you, and they also hoping that they get positive results from the screening committee. I think you can combine the rest of this paragraph with the previous one.

Advices: I think you haven't fully address these prompts:
- how it relates to your personal and academic interests
- Explain why you think you are a good candidate for the programme given your previous studies and the courses offered on the programme in both years.

Try to look at the program's curriculum and find a subject of specialty field that interests you, and try to talk about that. You mentioned that you want to understand contemporary issue-do you have class/subjects you're looking forward to? Or is the field trip, for example, is the thing that excites you the most? Why choose this program, specifically?

Good luck on your application!

Don't make boastful claims in your letter such as "top student". What the reviewer considers a top student and what you are, based on your records may be two different things. Allow the reviewer to come to that conclusion on his own. There is no reference in the essay to the course curriculum you will be taking both years and how it specifically ties in with your educational background (related college course/s) and work experience. Your excitement in writing the letter is palpable, but it doesn't translate into an informative essay based on the discussion requirements. It might not be tremendously helpful with your application in its current state. I strongly advise that you revise the content by outlining your responses based on the prompt requirements first, then building the actual essay from there. That way you will see if you truly responded to all the questions or if you missed out on some points.