How Long Is a Motivation Letter? European Limits

How Long Is a Motivation Letter? European Limits

A European master's motivation letter is as long as your programme says, and the published numbers do not agree: about 400 words at Uppsala, under 500 words for KTH Computer Science, about one A4 page at ETH Zurich, at most 1,000 words at EPFL, 1,000 to 1,500 words at TU Delft. Where no limit is printed, the norm is one A4 page.

Our view: there is no European norm, so the only wrong length is the one you copied from another university. A single range for every European letter does not match what these pages say. One school sets a minimum of about 700 words, and five of the 22 universities below do not ask for a general letter at all. The document also changes its name: motivation letter, letter of motivation, statement of purpose, motivation statement or personal statement. Read the limit under whatever name your programme uses.

Every university page quoted below was checked on 31 October 2026. Limits sit on programme pages and change between intakes, so recheck yours before you upload. When your draft fits its limit, you can test it against the one-page European motivation letter rubric.

Contents

• Published limits, university by university
• Words, characters, pages
• Two outliers: a floor and a long range
• Schools that do not read a letter
• Cutting one draft to three limits
• A length check before you upload

The answer: your programme's number, then this table

Find your programme's own page first. A university-wide page sets a default; a programme page overrides it. KU Leuven says so directly: "Motivation letter (recommended length: one A4-page)", followed by "Each programme may request additional documents". ETH Zurich prints its one-A4 rule on programme application pages (we checked Computer Science and Electrical Engineering and Information Technology), not once for the whole university.

If you find no number anywhere, write one A4 page. Two universities in our table publish a default for that case: KU Leuven recommends one A4 page, and Utrecht's motivation statement template says "In the Netherlands a motivation statement is generally one to two pages." One page satisfies both.

Published limits, university by university

Each row quotes the page linked in the first column. "Programme" means the limit is set for that programme, not the whole university.

Three things in this table change what you write.

1. The units differ. Eight rows count words, eight count pages, and two hand the limit to a form or another page. A word limit and a page limit are not the same rule; the next section shows how to convert.
2. The limit belongs to the programme. ETH, KTH, Twente, UvA and Copenhagen print their numbers on programme pages. Two programmes at UvA in this table differ: one A4 for Economics, 500 words for Data Science.
3. Some limits are floors. École Polytechnique's is a minimum, and TU Delft's range starts at 1,000. More on both below.

Words, characters, pages: which ceiling you are under

Page limits. None of the page-limit universities above sets a font, a font size or margins on the page we checked. So "one page" means one page in a readable layout, not 800 words in 9-point type. Uppsala is the only one of these universities that converts its page into words: "usually one page (c. 400 words)". Our recommendation for any one-A4 limit: 400 to 550 words, in 11- or 12-point type with normal margins. That leaves room for a header and a signature line and still reads as one page.

Word limits. Count the whole letter, including the BSc thesis summary if it sits inside it. TU Delft's 250-word thesis summary is part of the essay's list of required items, so it falls inside the 1,000 to 1,500 words.

Form limits. A form field enforces its own number. Helsinki's Data Science admission criteria spell out what happens if you paste too much: "Any text exceeding the defined limit will not be assessed." The reader stops where the limit stops. Sciences Po asks you to paste the letter "directly online", so the counter in the form is the one that counts. The UK and European motivation letter guide explains how an uploaded letter, a pasted field and a question form each change the writing. For character-counted boxes, the character-limited SOP rubric reads whether every character is doing work.

Two outliers that break the "shorter is better" rule

Two published rules say a short letter can be too short.

École Polytechnique, MScT. The FAQ asks "How long should my statement of purpose be?" and answers "Minimum: approx. 700 words". A tight 450-word letter that would be ideal for KTH Computer Science is under-length here by the school's own rule.

TU Delft. The essay is "1,000 – 1,500 words" and has to cover your motivation for the programme, why TU Delft, your preferred specialisation, a hypothetical thesis project ("Please limit your answer to three possible topics") and the BSc thesis summary. A 600-word letter cannot answer five questions at the depth the range implies. The TU Delft motivation letter guide works through each of the five parts.

The countercase: a floor is not a target. If you reach 700 words at Polytechnique with padding, you have met the rule and wasted the extra space. Write to the questions, then check the count.

Schools where length does not matter because the letter is not read

Before you cut or expand anything, check that your programme asks for a letter. At these universities, the general document list asks for no motivation letter, or says plainly that it will not read one.

Sweden's national portal adds a rule for every university that uses it: "Documents that haven't been requested won't be considered and will delay the processing of your application." universityadmissions.se. That matters at KTH, where the requirement is set programme by programme. The Sustainable Energy Engineering page lists a summary sheet and a CV as its programme documents, with no letter of motivation, and says "Do not submit documents that are not requested." Galway's Health Psychology MSc says "There is no need to submit a personal statement for this programme."

Our view: where no letter is asked for, do not send one. Put the effort into the document that is read instead: TU Eindhoven's course descriptions, KTH's summary sheet, DTU's qualification template. The Nordic master's letter guide covers what DTU's fee-waiver letter is for.

Cutting one draft to three limits

If you write one long letter first and cut it down for shorter limits, cut by component, not by trimming every sentence. Below is one budget for a long draft and two shorter targets. Each column answers the questions that university's page asks.

Constructed example: one applicant's word budget at three limits

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant's plan. Context (invented): an electrical engineering graduate applies to TU Delft, EPFL and KTH Computer Science in the same year. The numbers are our arithmetic; each column adds up to its total.

What moves, and why:

• Thesis topics go first. Only TU Delft asks for them. They are 300 words of the Delft letter and zero of the other two.
• The BSc thesis shrinks from a summary to a sentence. TU Delft asks for up to 250 words. At EPFL it becomes evidence inside your academic background; at KTH, one line about what you built.
• EPFL's career strategy grows. EPFL asks you to "describe your academic background and your career strategy" and to "be precise about the objectives you wish to reach through your studies at EPFL". Half the EPFL letter goes there. The EPFL statement of purpose guide has a full 1,000-word plan.
• The autobiography appears only at KTH. KTH Computer Science says "Include an autobiography with the development and relevance of your academic and professional pursuits". The other two pages do not ask for one.

Here is the same piece of evidence at three budgets. Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant statement.

TU Delft (60 words): For my BSc thesis I designed and tested a battery-monitoring board for my department's three-scooter test fleet. Over 14 weeks I wrote the firmware, logged each cell's voltage once a second and ran 60 charge cycles. Two cells drifted 40 mV apart under identical charging, and explaining that drift became the question I want to take into an MSc thesis.

EPFL (33 words): My BSc thesis, a battery-monitoring board and its firmware, ended with a 40 mV drift between two cells after 60 charge cycles. Explaining it needs the estimation methods my degree did not teach.

KTH CS (16 words): I wrote the firmware for a battery-monitoring board and found a cell drift after 60 cycles.

Each cut keeps the applicant's own role and one checkable result. What goes is context the shorter page did not ask for. For adapting a whole paragraph to each university's questions, rather than its word count, see whether one motivation letter can go to several universities.

A length check before you upload

1. Open your programme's page, not the university's general page, and copy the limit word for word.
2. Write down the unit: words, pages, characters or a form field.
3. Check whether it is a ceiling, a floor or a range.
4. Check that the programme asks for a letter at all. If not, send none.
5. Count the final file. For a page limit, print it or export it to PDF and look.
6. If the letter goes in a form, paste it early and read what the form shows. Text past the limit may not be read.

Questions about motivation letter length

Is 500 words too short for a master's motivation letter?

Not if the programme's limit is 500 words or one page. It is under-length for TU Delft (1,000 to 1,500 words) and for École Polytechnique's MScT (a minimum of about 700 words).

How many words is one A4 page?

Uppsala puts one page at about 400 words. None of the other page-limit universities in our table gives a number. Our recommendation is 400 to 550 words in a readable 11- or 12-point layout.

What if my programme publishes no limit?

Write one A4 page. KU Leuven recommends one A4 page, and Utrecht's template says one to two pages is normal in the Netherlands.

Can I go slightly over a word limit?

Do not plan on it. Helsinki's Data Science criteria say text past the limit "will not be assessed", and Sciences Po's form caps you at its limit. On an uploaded file, staying inside the number is the safe reading of every rule above. If the portal calls it a statement of purpose instead, the limit still comes from the programme page; see motivation letter vs statement of purpose in Europe.

Utrecht gives a norm, not a cap: 'generally one to two pages', as the Utrecht University motivation statement guide explains.

Chalmers caps the letter at one page but requires it only from scholarship, portfolio and Learning and Leadership applicants; see the Chalmers motivation letter guide.

Uppsala's c. 400 words is only a norm; its summary sheets set 400 or 600, per the Uppsala statement of purpose guide.

UCPH's Migration portfolio limits the letter of academic relevance to one page; see the Denmark master's motivation letter guide.

KU Leuven recommends one A4 page but makes the letter a core document you cannot submit without; see the KU Leuven motivation letter guide.

Bocconi publishes no limit at all; the Bocconi MSc motivation letter guide explains what it evaluates instead.

Sciences Po sets the longest limit we checked in France, 1,000 words typed online; see the Sciences Po master's motivation letter guide.

Polytechnique is the exception that sets a minimum, not a maximum: see the Polytechnique MSc&T statement of purpose.

Doctoral limits differ again: the EPFL EDIC one- or two-page statement has a page cap, while ETH's computer science Direct Doctorate statement has none.

Architecture programmes set the letter inside the portfolio; see architecture motivation letter limits.

At Helsinki's Data Science master's, text over the limit is not assessed; see what happens when you go over the limit.

Economics doctorates set their own caps: see EUI and Tinbergen economics letters.

Some programmes set no length because they want no letter: St Gallen's SIM asks for no letter at all and scores a video interview instead.

Get a free review of your motivation letter

Get a free Quick Review of your motivation letter against GradPilot's one-page European motivation letter rubric. It reads whether the letter names its programme and your reason for choosing it, answers what that programme asked for, ties your preparation to the programme's demands, and fits the space it is given. For a longer UK or European letter, use the master's motivation letter and personal statement rubric.

More guides for European master's letters:

• Masters in Europe deadlines for 2027: when each letter is due, from 30 November to 1 May.
• Motivation letter format for a one-page A4 letter: header, paragraph order, language and file rules.
• Motivation letter for a master's: three annotated samples: full constructed letters at 332 to 626 words.
• ETH Zurich motivation letter: what fits on ETH's one A4 page.
• Graduate school essay guides: every master's and PhD guide by destination.

Sources

Retrieved 31 October 2026, except where noted. Pages that print no intake year are marked.

• TU Delft, Required documents, MSc international diploma (no year on the letter item): 1,000–1,500 words, five required items, 250-word thesis summary.
• ETH Zurich, Computer Science MSc application (no year on the letter item): approximately one A4 page.
• EPFL, Master's online application (no year printed): 1,000-word ceiling; academic background and career strategy.
• KTH, Computer Science entry requirements: under 500 words; autobiography. KTH, Sustainable Energy Engineering entry requirements: summary sheet and CV; no unrequested documents.
• Chalmers, Apply for master's programmes: one page; when the letter is required.
• Uppsala University, Supporting documents: one page, c. 400 words; summary sheet.
• University of Helsinki, Studyinfo admission criteria, Master's Programme in Data Science, 2027: form-defined length; excess text not assessed.
• Aalto University, Apply to master's programmes (autumn 2027): documents per study option.
• KU Leuven, Requested documents: one A4 page recommended.
• University of Twente, MSc Computer Science, international admission: max. 1,000 words.
• University of Amsterdam, MSc Economics, international applicants (September 2027 intake): max. one A4. University of Amsterdam, Information Studies: Data Science, international prior education: max. 500 words.
• Utrecht University, Motivation statement template (PDF, no year): one to two pages.
• Politecnico di Milano, List of documents required by the admissions office: optional letter; two pages each.
• Sciences Po, Graduate admissions FAQ: typed online, 1,000 words.
• École Polytechnique, MScT admissions FAQ: minimum of about 700 words.
• University of Galway, Supporting documents, taught programmes: about 600 words by default; programme exceptions.
• University of Copenhagen, MA Advanced Migration Studies: one-page letter of academic relevance; portfolio 50%.
• Erasmus School of Economics, Application procedure, international diploma (2027–2028): letters not considered.
• Wageningen University, Apply for a master's programme: optional personal statement only.
• TU Eindhoven, Documents for admission (no year printed): course descriptions; no letter.
• DTU, Required documents: motivation letters only for the Honours Programme and the tuition fee waiver.
• NTNU, How to apply, international master's (2027 intake): no letter; no unlisted documents.
• University Admissions in Sweden, Find out what you need to submit: unrequested documents not considered.