Stipendium Hungaricum motivational letter - MSC Biology in University of Debrecen

letter of motivation

Dear Administrative Committee,
First, I would like to thank the Tempus Public Foundation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary for organizing this program designed to aid potential students financially. My name is Tran Duc Hoang, a recent graduate from the University of Science and Technology Hanoi (USTH). One of my greatest aspirations has always been to study abroad because I have always wanted to utilize my knowledge to help contribute to my country and leave a legacy for future generations. Therefore, with this letter I would hereby like to apply for the Stipendium Hungaricum Scholarship for an MSc in Biology at the University of Debrecen.

Because of my previous academic background and personal attributes, I am an excellent candidate for this scholarship. In terms of academic credentials, I have a degree in Biotechnology - Drug Discovery from USTH and have worked on three biology-related projects, 1 in highschool and 2 in university. In university, the first project was "Identification and distribution of antimicrobial resistant bacteria along the Bac Hung Hai Irrigation system". In this project, we culture all the bacteria in five selective mediums to select the specific target bacteria, then using the MALDI TOF Mass Spectrometry to identify all the isolated bacteria in the water sample, then, evaluate their antibiotic sensitivity level by culture the bacteria in a series of antibiotics to harvest their antibiotic profile. The result of our project helped the government to provide timely response plans to protect people's health. My last project was my graduation thesis, which I worked on in the Arthropod Laboratory of National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, titled "Monitoring the Circulation of Dengue Virus in Vung Tau in 2020-2022". My project evaluated the circulation and degree of transmission of DENV serotypes to assist local health authorities in forecasting new foci of infection, allowing them to implement effective treatment methods both locally and nationally.After these projects, I learned that, with the advanced technology we now have, nearly all pathogens can be identified, classified, and it is possible and necessary to find out new types of pathogenese as soon as possible, whether they are dangerous to humans to promptly take preventive measures. And the desire to improve my knowledge in this field to contribute to future science as well as my personal passion for biotechnology motivated me to apply for a an MSc.

After learning about the programs of the schools and research groups, I chose the MSc program in Biology at UND. The program contains the necessary biology below the level of the organism courses, such as cell biology, gene manipulation and microbiology, which, I believe, will build a concret knowledge foundation for anyone who wants to do research in this field. Hungary is one of the countries with a strong development of biology and medicine. Three Nobel Prizes in medicine, as well as many international conferences on biotechnology held at UD are proofs of the development, acquisition of achievements as well as teaching in Hungary. With the knowledge acquired as well as the technology learned from UOD, I believe it will be of great help to me when I return to Vietnam to help contribute to the development of the biotechnology industry, which is still quite new and nascent in Vietnam, not only through researches but also to re-teach the knowledge learned here.

Being a recipient of the Stipendium Hungaricum would undoubtedly provide me opportunity to deepen my understanding of biotechnology and realize my aspiration of becoming a researcher. I firmly think that the advancement of biological and technological knowledge will progress Vietnamese science, which may eventually lead to improved human welfare and sustainability. Therefore, it would be a privilege to be able to participate in this growing adventure with the assistance of Stipendium Hungaricum.

Yours faithfully,
Tran Duc Hoang

The opening sentence is non- essential and does not really leave an impression on the screeners. It is a waste of space since it does not move the essay forward. start by introducing yourself instead. Then offer an overview of the motivating factors you will be discussing, ending the paragraph with a career goal reference. The committee members appreciate direct to the point opening presentations. They do not waste time considering small talk and suck-up statements such as this opening salvo.

The second paragraph is too presumptive and should be reworded or deleted from the presentation. It comes across as arrogant , a negative for the applicant. Reviewers are turned off by applicants who believe that they can guess what criteria the applicants are chosen by. Such comments come across as dictatorial to them. A point of view that they do not appreciate in any applicant.


This is the closest to a motivation that this letter came to. Unfortunately it is a useless motivation as it lacks clear specifics as to the ambition of the applicant? Do you wish to become a scientific researcher of sorts? Be specific about the type. If so, why? Explain the motivation on those terms. The current version leaves this open to interpretation, causing the members to guess what you mean. In which case, they just won't consider you for the scholarship.

I believe that the letter is too long and does not really show your motivation is the mentioned program.