I would like to apply for a PhD studentship and am uncertain of how to arrange the contents.
Among other documents, I am asked to hand in a 'letter of application' and a 'summary of research experience'. In previous applications, I would just outline my research experience in the cover letter. Now, I am a little unsure of what to include in the cover later at all. Should I go into my academic history at all? If yes, to what extent?

My previous structure was as follows:
1. introductory paragraph ("wish to apply...", "graduated in ...", "academic aim ..."
2. paragraph about research experience at university (focus of studies, topic of theses, areas of research I was acquainted with, learned research skills, also: a mention of a fellowship I was awarded)
3. paragraph about an internship relevant to the studentship (general infos, topic, tasks / acquired skills)
4. paragraph about other interests (just 2 sentences: interests & experience abroad)
5. paragraph about my motivation (why the interest in this position, relevant skills that didn't belong with the other paragraphs, sentence about my enthusiasm)
6. conclusive sentence

The second and third paragraphs I just more or less transferred to the 'summary of research experience' document (except for the fellowship sentence). I will be very thankful for suggestions as to what I should do with the remaining 'hole' in the cover letter!

Hi,

I'm not sure what they mean by a "letter of Application", Perhaps contacting a possible supervisor at the university would help? When I applied I submitted a cover letter which was a page long and conveyed why I want to do a PhD a brief history of my research background and why I feel it will benefit my career and knowledge. This was accompanied by my BSc and MSc certificates along with professional qualification certificates and an academic C.V. which showed previous teaching experience and publications. But I would strongly recommend to contact a potential supervisor who could give you more information, or search the university research school website.

Sorry I couldn't help much. Hope you get sorted.

Best.