Motivation Letter for Counter Terrorism and Criminology Course (Australia Awards Scholarship)

Dear all, I am preparing for Australia Awards Scholarship this year and kindly need your help for feedback and insights. Thank you in advance. As for my background, I am from Indonesia and work in the public sector, and have a bachelor's degree in Criminology.

Letter of Motivation

Pro-ISIS activity in Indonesia may have declined in recent years and the pandemic also played a role in discouraging it. However, terrorist networks always find ways to adapt and regenerate, thus still pose a high risk. This motivates me to pursue a degree in Australia to become an expert in counter-terrorism and contribute to develop policy and strategy in my institution, the National Counter-Terrorism Agency of Indonesia, and contribute in transnational crime prevention.

The Counter-Terrorism and Public and Social Policy program from the Macquarie University is my first choice. The program will help me understand the theories and concepts in terrorism studies, the issues and developments of terrorism in the global context, and explore contemporary policies and programs of counter-terrorism in various countries. I am eager to learn from experts, particularly Prof. Andrew Tan who specializes in terrorism in Asia and had researched terrorism and counter-terrorism in Indonesia. At the same time, the program will give me insight on various factors to shape, develop, and evaluate policy. This master provides modules about core issues in counter-terrorism and relevant knowledge in public policy.

My second choice is the Master of Criminology, the University of Melbourne which attracts me with its broad subject on criminal justice governance to terrorism. The modules can give me hands-on experience in the development to the evaluation of public policy and examine crime on a global scale, particularly terrorism and other related crimes. Furthermore, the program will have experts to share their insight in global trends on crime and criminal justice that can extend and deepen my perspective in criminology, particularly in terrorism prevention

Studying in Australia will allow me to gain the necessary capabilities to become an expert in counter-terrorism, and contribute to my institution's policies and strategies concerning terrorism in Indonesia

You need to relate your current position and position within the agency with your interests in the aforementioned courses. The information about terrorism and anti-terrorist stance of Indonesia helps inform the reviewer about the situation, but offers no clarity on why you would want to join the ranks of people who hold these masters degrees. Do not tell me that you hold a degree in Criminology. Tell the reviewer that. Then explain how the undergraduate certification you have lends itself to your current profession and its relevance to your course choices. For each course choice, it is not enough that you are interested in completing the course, you have to explain its applicability to your current role or targeted future position. A combination of both goals would be most useful in helping assess your reasons for the proposed courses.