Last updated: 22 September 2026
A motivation letter is one page that answers three questions: why this subject, why this programme, and why you. Most rejected letters fail because they answer a fourth question nobody asked — how much the applicant has always loved learning.
The four mistakes that show up in almost every weak letter
It opens with a childhood memory. “Since childhood I have been fascinated by computers” tells the reader nothing they can evaluate. Open with something only you could have written.
It praises the university instead of connecting to it. Three sentences about the institution’s prestigious reputation are three sentences the committee already knows. Name one course, one lab, one professor’s research area, and say what you would do with it.
It lists qualities with no evidence. Hardworking, punctual, passionate, dedicated. Anyone can claim these. Replace each claim with the thing that proves it.
It never says what happens after. Funders are buying an outcome. A letter that stops at graduation leaves the most important part out.
The structure
One page, around 500–600 words, four or five paragraphs, no heading, no bullet points.
- Opening (3–4 sentences). A specific situation that put you on this path.
- Academic track (4–5 sentences). What you studied, how you did, one project described concretely with a measurable outcome.
- Why this programme (4–5 sentences). Name the specific course, module, lab or supervisor.
- Why the funding matters (2–3 sentences). Factual, not pleading.
- After (3–4 sentences). What you intend to do with the degree, where, and who benefits.
Template
[Your name][Your city, country] · [email] · [phone][Date]
Motivation letter — [Programme name], [University name]
[Opening: one specific moment or problem that started this. Name the place and the year.]I completed my [degree] at [institution] in [year] with [result]. [One project, described concretely.] [What that work taught you.]
I am applying to [programme] because of [specific course, lab, or research group]. [What that specific thing offers that you cannot get where you are.] [Two sentences on the financial situation, factual and brief.]
After the programme I intend to [specific plan]. [Who benefits.] [Closing thanks.]
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Filled example
Motivation letter — MSc Water Resources Engineering, TU Delft
In August 2022 the canal behind our village in Vehari overflowed for the third year running, and the district engineer’s explanation was that nobody had the data to predict it. I spent that winter building a rain gauge network from six cheap sensors and a spreadsheet. It was crude, and it was the first flood warning our union council had ever had.
I completed my BSc in Civil Engineering at UET Lahore in 2024 with a CGPA of 3.61. My final-year project extended that sensor work into a low-cost flood alert system for three villages, covering about 4,000 people, using solar-powered sensors and SMS alerts that cost under Rs 30,000 in total to deploy. Building it taught me where my knowledge stops: I could collect data, but I could not model a catchment properly.
I am applying to TU Delft’s MSc in Water Resources Engineering specifically for the hydrological modelling track and the Deltares collaboration, because the gap in my work is modelling, not hardware.
My father is a schoolteacher and my own savings cover roughly two months of living costs in the Netherlands. Without full funding I cannot take up a place.
After the programme I intend to return to Punjab and work in provincial irrigation and flood management. The villages downstream of that canal are the reason I want the training, and they are where I intend to use it.
Sincerely,
Ahmed Raza
Before you send it
Change the programme name, course names and reasons for every application. Read it aloud once; anything you stumble over is a sentence to cut. Check the provider’s own instructions for a specified word count or required question.
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