Letters / Cultural Studies - Letter of Motivation for Erasmus Mundus Master's Program and Scholarship [2]

Erasmus Mundus scholarship application letter

Hello all,

I kindly need your correction and input for my motivation letter that I wrote for applying Erasmus Mundus scholarship. I will highly appreciate your suggestions. And I have almost 3 years of work experience but not directly related to the program, should I mention it as well even if it is already written on my CV?

P.S. I included a paragraph that explains the reasons why I couldn't get all A's in my first and second semesters, but I am not sure if it ruins the flow.

Thanking you in advance.

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to express my interest in the xx program, as it has become my ambition to continue my education in this field after taking Cultural Studies course during my undergraduate years.

Learning and reading about culture, ideology, discourse, nationalism, postcolonial, racial, and gender issues have extremely widened my viewpoint and improved my critical thinking and research skills. After all of this information, many questions were raised in my mind, and I started to approach everything I encountered very critically by relating it to my studies, that is to say, I began to make sense of the world. However, since learning is an unending process, I always find more information that leads to new questions. The x program will help me find answers to my questions, and use these answers to contribute to the field and society to become a better world citizen. By studying x, I would like to learn more about multiculturalism, European identity, values, and politics from a wide perspective thanks to the interdisciplinary approach of the program.

I want to pursue my career in academia as a researcher by making contributions to the program which will open new doors for me to get new experiences and help me to receive the best education to prove myself in the field of research, and equip me with skills and knowledge to achieve my desire to become a productive and socially beneficial academic. I would love to have the opportunity to learn and work alongside recognized research professors. The core concepts such as Cultural Diffraction of Europe and Historicizing European Multiplicity will be of particular relevance to my career plans as a researcher since I am interested in the studies of European societies and cultures, identity, and diversity.

My passion for x is the outcome of my keen interest in cultural studies, languages, and politics. I currently hold my Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Literature from xx University, having graduated with a GPA of x and as High Honor Student. I became especially interested in European cultures and languages after finding the opportunity to attend Erasmus+ Mobility programs. I attended both Erasmus+ Mobility for Learning and Traineeship in Italy. This experience allowed me to become better acquainted with life in Europe and gave me a great chance to develop myself as a more open-minded person and to interact with people from all around the world. It also made me aware of cultural and political differences among European countries. Apart from being proficient in English, I can speak Italian, German, and Spanish at different levels.

During my undergraduate years, the courses I took helped me gain insight into different fields of study and made me acquire literary, linguistic, cultural, and theoretical knowledge. The elective courses, such as Fundamentals of Cultural Anthropology, Gender Studies, Critical Thinking Skills, and Latin as well as several online courses, such as Comparative Politics and Global Issues, Migration and Mobility, Religion and Conflict, The European Union: Crisis and Recovery, Cultural Diplomacy, Cultural Diversity and the City broadened my mind and helped prepare me for my future studies. Also, I wrote many research papers, and some of them are: "Carnivalesque Theory and Rio Carnival" in which I discussed Bakhtin's theory and its relation to Rio Carnival in terms of the atmosphere of relief, polyglossia, and laughter, and I talked about the image of Harem and Ottoman Empire in my paper titled "Aslı Sancar's Book Harem: A Journey of Love in relation to Edward Said's Theory of Orientalism" Besides, I analyzed Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice in terms of gender roles and gender inequality in my paper titled "Concept of Marriage in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice" Also, my friends and I started a podcast on which we talked about gender discrimination around the world.

Apart from my curricular studies, I am a travel, book and an art lover. What I like to do while traveling is to try to be a local to experience the culture and even to speak the language because, in my opinion, this is the only way to understand a country, its culture, and people.

I missed some of my classes and exams in my first and second semesters as being traumatized and scared after bearing witness to two attacks in my city in 2015. However, I overcame this fear by reminding myself of my goals and future, and when we came to the end of this journey, I was one of the best students of my faculty, having graduated with High Honors Degree.

It is my dream to be a part of x because it is a good match between my academic background and interest in languages and cultures and my desire to gain knowledge in new disciplines, such as economics, politics, and international relations. Moreover, the program allows studying in different countries and experiencing different academic environments, which will enhance my intercultural skills and expand my knowledge to share with people for a better future.

Given my education and experience, I am confident that I am an excellent fit for the x program. I have researched the program and determined that the coursework and research profile are a strong match and ideal for me to develop my academic potential. The courses in the curriculum from a large variety of disciplines and being able to choose between research and professional tracks are what I look for. I am confident that, in return, I can make a significant contribution to the program and society.

Thank you very much for considering my application.

Yours faithfully,

A.A