Letter of Motivation - Request for Review

Dear All, I have written this letter of motivation for a PhD positions. I need help in improving this letter. Please have a look at it and suggest change

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Dear Sir

I am writing to apply for the PhD position at XX.

I have completed master’s program in ABC and graduate program in XYZ. My career aim is to work in the area of biodiversity conservation through resources management perspective. The challenge of implementing conservation measures, while managing the resource needs of various user groups, in a sustainable manner motivates me to work in this field.

I was introduced to the subject of ecology during my graduation course work, where I learned the fundamentals of the subject. Later, during my post-graduation at ABC, I explored the subject of ecology and biodiversity in deep through study of courses, such as: Ecology, Biodiversity Assessment and Conservation, Ecosystem Dynamic & Climate Change and Geosciences. I have been interested in ecology and biodiversity from the very beginning of my career. To strengthen my competencies in this area, I participated in number of field excursions to different types of forest-ecosystems in India. I learned various field methodologies related to assessment of species richness, species diversity and disturbance regime. Moreover, I have an excellent working knowledge of tools like Remote Sensing, Digital Image Processing, Geographical Information System, Spatial data analysis and statistical analysis.

My work during summer dissertation and master’s thesis has enhanced my competencies in area of ecology and biodiversity.

My summer dissertation project was based on the analysis of the fragmentation of micro-watershed. In this project, I used Land-Use Land-Cover (LULC) maps and field observations to identify the areas of improvement in a micro-watershed.

My master’s thesis was based on the identification of landscape variables contributing to the elephant-train collisions. This project involved Digital Image Processing and Spatial & GIS analysis on remotely sensed data. To determine the ecological variables contributing to elephant-train collisions I carried out supervised classification of the Landsat V data into pre-defined land-use categories followed by fragmentation analysis and statistical analysis of landscape variables.

I have been an active participant of the extra-curricular events during my university years. I enjoy working in teams and was part of organizing committee for the university annual fest, cultural programs and field excursion.

I am interested in PhD fellowship titled “XXXX”. Forest is said to be one of the largest sink of Carbon dioxide and any change is expected to disturb this. As REDD+ envisage sustainable management of forests with view of decreasing emissions, it is imperative to quantify the impacts of human-induced change on emission. This knowledge will be instrumental in prioritizing areas and processes for management. I believe I will be able to effectively contribute to this project because of my knowledge of field methodologies, expertise in remote sensing, GIS and Statistical analysis and deep interest in this subject

I am enclosing my curriculum vitae and two references with this letter. I feel that my professional knowledge coupled with my personal interests makes me a suitable candidate for his opportunity. I am excited by the possibility of working on this project with a diverse team

Thank you for considering my application and I look forward to your response.

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Thanks and Regards