Dear Postgraduate forum members,

I am currently applying for a PhD position in the field of neuroscience.
But before submitting my letter of motivation, I would like to post my letter here on this forum with the hope that you guys can criticize my letter. I would aprreciate it very much. Because of word number limitation I'll post in two parts.

I would like to thank you in advance!

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Subject: Application fMRI research assistant in XXX


Dear Prof. Karin Roelofs,

Currently, I am finishing the Neuroscience and Cognition master programme at XXX University with the Experimental and Clinical Neuroscience-track and with strong interest in decision-neuroscience. Through this letter I would like to express my strong interest in the PhD position at the department for XXX at XXX Institute for XXX.

During my master programme, I have obtained broad knowledge about neuroscience, and especially on the topic of decision-making, valuation and food-reward. First, during the “Fundamentals of Neuroscience and Cognition” course we have touched upon almost all aspects of neuroscience, including fMRI, TMS, EEG. To briefly sum up some elements of this course related to Neuroimaging, I have learned the physics of fMRI, the neurophysiological basis of the BOLD response and EEG signals, I have worked with Neuroimaging software to edit and align fMRI data using MNI coordinates, I have been introduced to DTI Fiber tract visualization and programming tools such as Matlab, and I did some practical work with EEG and TMS. Second, during my major research project, I performed research on the role of dopamine in food-choice and food-reward in experimental rats and mice. I have used variety of techniques, including in vivo electrophysiology, optogenetics (which allows real-time (in-)activation of genetically defined population of neurons in free-moving animals), behavioral observations, behavioral task designing and programming, and brain slicing and staining.. Finally, I have followed additional courses to improve some additional skills, such as laboratory animal science, academic writing and speaking, and statistics.
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part 2:

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There are a number of reasons why I am applying for the PhD programme. A general reason is that I would like to pursue my carrier path at the academic level. The high-quality education at XXX, together with qualitative (senior) researchers would undoubtedly contribute to a successful PhD programme, in which I will be challenged to further improve myself at the academic level, and to achieve high-level academic work. Currently, I am still busy with writing my master thesis, which is about investigating the neural basis of valuation and decision-making, and which is the final piece of work before finalizing my master programme. I expect to obtain my Master degree very soon. The most important reason is the specific focus of the PhD programme I am applying for, namely the neuronal basis of vocal communication. The capability of the brain to produce and perceive vocal with high efficiency and minimum latency is highly interesting, and mapping the neural mechanism of this process would be an exciting, yet developmental challenge for me. Finally, with my neuroscientific knowledge and experience together with the excellent support of experts in this field at the C.I.N., I do think I would be a suitable candidate to study the neural mechanism of XXX.


I hope you share my opinion that I would be a suitable candidate for the PhD programme on the topic of XXX. This would allow me to pursue my academic ambitions.

I appreciate your time and effort and I would like to thank you for considering my application.


Yours Sincerely,