My letter to express my scientific interest in applying for the Doctor Program in Mathematics.

Motivation letter for Ph.D scholarship

I'm currently applying for a scholarship for the Ph.D. program in mathematics. And I try to write a motivation letter. Could anyone check for me the content and the grammar of this letter? Thank you a lot.

To whom it may concern:

My name is Phi Tien Cuong, a student of the second year of Master at Mathematics Pure and Application program at Laboratory J.A Dieudonne in Nice, France. I am writing this letter to express my scientific interest in applying for the Doctor Program in Mathematics.

Last year, I have studied the first year of Master in Institute of Mathematics in Vietnam, and with the excellent result, I have soon received a scholarship from Laboratory J.A Dieudonne. While studying in the International Master Program at Institute of Mathematics in Hanoi, I attended all conferences of Probability, such as the workshop "Stochastic processes- numerical methods and related topics". In this effort, I realized my passion in continuing studying and becoming a researcher in Probability and Statistics. I started to read books to be more skillful in Probability and Statistics. And I tried to contact with professors working in the field of Probability for more studying materials and opportunities to study in Probability.

In a few months ago, I have started to work on a Statistics project, under the supervisor of Professor Patricia Reynaud-Bouret.By working hard for a long time, I have completed the first part of the project. Under the supervisor of Professor, I have learned a lot of important skills for a researcher, such as carefully in writing a proof, creativity in thinking and generalized a problem,... Moreover, with a high training condition in science, I can easily access to plenty of specialized book in Mathematics, discuss with other highly reputed professors.

Given the opportunity to study at Nice, I am confident that I will be able to make the best out of it. My two years studying on highly training condition like Institute of Mathematics in Vietnam and Laboratory J.A. Dieudonne helped me build a strong background in Mathematics, especially in Probability and Statistics. I believe that J.A Dieudonne is the best place for me to pursue a Doctor program in Probability and Statistics, where I will be able to acquire essential knowledge and skills to achieve my goal of being a professor and researcher in Probability and Statistics in Vietnam. To my long commitment of working as a young researcher for the Institute of Mathematics, my connection with the university will enable me to contribute to the partnership between the university and the Institute of Mathematics for more intensive collaboration in research and education.

With its established reputation in higher education, a greatly relevant doctoral program of Probability and Statistics, and the scholarship opportunity, Laboratory J.A.Dieudonne is a perfect choice for me to pursue the Doctor degree. I believe that my background and experiences in Mathematics will make me a strong candidate.

Thank you for your time and consideration and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours sincerely,


Phi Tien Cuong

Phi, the only part of this letter that you can use is the fourth paragraph that discusses the reasons why you chose to apply for your PhD at this university. The earlier parts of the letter are more inclined to represent your personal statement instead of a motivation letter. The motivation letter should be comprised of information that shows a number of things regarding your career.

The motivation letter must first, indicate when and how you discovered your had an interest in Probability and Statistics. This early foundation should also portray the development of your interest in the field. From there, move on to your immediate past exposure in the field that resulted in your enrolling in the masters program. What drove you to pursue that level of higher learning? Now that your education there is almost completed, what are the other existing driving factors that push you to immediately enroll in a PhD program even without having any additional professional experience in the field yet?

Your motivation in this aspect must be stronger than simply having a ready scholarship from your government or something similar. Those are very weak reasons to pursue the PhD course. You have to convince the reviewer that you have a valid professional, career growth reason that makes you feel an immediate need to continue your education rather than working for a few years before you apply for admission to a PhD course. You need a strong enough reason to convince the reviewer that you qualify for immediate enrollment soon after completing your masters course.