Motivation Letter Opening and Closing Lines
Motivation letter opening and closing lines for a European master's: 12 constructed examples, why 'I am writing to apply' wastes a line, how to end.
Motivation Letter Opening and Closing Lines
Open with the answer to the programme's first question; close with what you will do with the degree. KTH caps its letter at under 500 words, Chalmers at one page, and Sciences Po at the word limit in its online form. At those sizes, a first line like "I am writing to apply for…" and a last line like "Thank you for your consideration" spend words the reader cannot score.
Most advice on openings comes from job cover letters or US statements of purpose, where a story hook is common. A European master's motivation letter is shorter and the programmes tell you what to answer. Our view: your first sentence should already say which programme and why; your last should name one specific use of the degree. The twelve constructed lines below show the difference. When your draft is ready, a one-page motivation letter review checks whether the opening states your purpose and programme choice.
Every university page quoted below was checked on 31 October 2026. Most of them print no cycle year, so recheck the programme page for your intake.
On this page: the first line · six openings · the last paragraph · six closings · sign-offs · checklist · questions
What the first line has to do
Look at what each programme asks first.
| Programme | What the page asks, in its own order | Length |
|---|---|---|
| KTH, Computer Science MSc | "why you have chosen this programme at KTH, what you hope to gain from it and how your interests and skills will help you succeed in your studies" | "less than 500 words" |
| Chalmers, master's letters (general rule) | "State the reason why you have chosen a specific Master's programme and Chalmers University of Technology." | "must not exceed 1 page" |
| EPFL, master's statement of purpose | "You are required to describe your academic background and your career strategy. Please be precise about the objectives you wish to reach through your studies at EPFL." | "should not exceed 1000 words" |
| Sciences Po, master's | "Your background and personal journey" first, then the programme, your goals and your contribution | The limit shown in the form |
KTH and Chalmers ask "why this programme" before anything else. EPFL asks for your background and career strategy, then for the objectives you want to reach at EPFL. Chalmers adds: "The autobiographic section can be fairly brief." So an opening paragraph about how you first became interested in a subject answers a question these pages put later, or not at all.
KTH adds a rule about the very top of the page. If you apply to more than one programme, "state which programme each letter applies to at the top of the page." That label is not your opening sentence. Put the programme name as a heading line, then start the letter with your purpose.
Sciences Po is the exception in order. Its page asks you first to "describe the specific aspects of your personality and prior experiences that have led you to apply to Sciences Po and to this particular programme." Even there, the experiences must lead to "this particular programme", so the first paragraph still has to arrive at the programme. Our Sciences Po master's motivation letter guide covers its four parts.
The countercase: if the programme gives you a template or a fixed question list, follow its order, even if it starts elsewhere. Utrecht's motivation statement template, which opens with "Why have you chosen this Master's programme, and why at Utrecht University?", and TU Delft's letter prompt are examples of set structures; see our TU Delft motivation letter guide.
Six openings, weak and strong
Twelve constructed examples, written by us, not real applicant statements. Course and project names are invented for this guide. Each pair shows a weak line, a stronger line and a one-line diagnosis.
1. Field opening (computer science)
Weak: Ever since I was a child, I have been fascinated by computers and technology.
Strong: I am applying to KTH's Computer Science MSc because I want to work on the reliability of distributed storage, the problem my final-year project ran into and could not solve.
Diagnosis: the weak line answers no question on the page. The strong line names the programme, the reason and the evidence in one sentence.
2. Thesis-led opening
Weak: I am writing to apply for the Master's programme in Environmental Engineering at your esteemed university.
Strong: My bachelor's thesis measured nitrate in two village wells over one monsoon season, and it left me with a question about treatment that this programme's water quality courses address directly.
Diagnosis: "I am writing to apply" repeats what the portal already knows. The strong line starts with the work the reader will want to check.
3. Work-experience opening
Weak: I have three years of experience as a software engineer and I am now looking for new challenges.
Strong: After three years building payment systems, I need the formal grounding in optimisation that my team kept borrowing from papers we could not fully read; that is why I am applying to this programme.
Diagnosis: "new challenges" says nothing about this programme. The strong line names the gap the degree closes.
4. Career-switch opening
Weak: Although my background is in commerce, I have always been passionate about data science.
Strong: I studied commerce, then taught myself statistics for two years to analyse our family firm's sales data, and I am applying because I have reached the limit of what I can learn without a structured master's.
Diagnosis: "passionate" is a claim. The strong line gives the switch, the evidence and the reason in the order a reader checks them.
5. Research master opening
Weak: Research has always been my dream, and your research master's is the perfect next step.
Strong: I want to test whether informal credit groups change how migrant households save, and this research master's offers the two methods courses, in survey design and panel data, that my undergraduate degree did not.
Diagnosis: a research master's reader wants a question. The strong line gives one and ties it to the programme's training.
6. Scholarship-letter opening
Weak: I would be deeply grateful to receive this scholarship, as it would help me financially.
Strong: The scholarship would let me take the full-time thesis track instead of working alongside my studies, and the thesis is where my plan to study flood-resilient housing begins.
Diagnosis: a scholarship committee reads for what the money makes possible. The strong line says so in one sentence.
What the last paragraph has to do
The final paragraph should look forward. Sciences Po says it most plainly. It asks you to "articulate your professional aspirations and explain how this programme will help you achieve them. Be as specific and forward-looking as possible." It also asks for "Your contribution to the programme and community". Chalmers asks you to say "what your expectations are for your future career and the impact it may have on the society where you will practice your profession." EPFL asks for your "career strategy".
None of these asks you to summarise the letter. Our recommendation: end on one concrete use of the degree and, where the programme asks for it, one thing you will bring. Do not restate the paragraphs above. Do not end on gratitude.
Our arithmetic: "Thank you for your time and consideration of my application" is 10 words. In a KTH letter that must be under 500 words, that is 2% of the letter spent on a line no question asks for.
Six closings, weak and strong
7. Career-goal closing
Weak: In conclusion, I am confident that this programme will help me achieve my goals.
Strong: After the programme I plan to join a grid operator's planning team and work on battery siting, the problem my internship could only describe.
Diagnosis: "my goals" is empty. The strong line names a role and a problem.
8. Contribution closing
Weak: I believe I will be a valuable addition to your programme.
Strong: In the programme's group projects I can bring two years of field survey work, including running interviews in two languages.
Diagnosis: "valuable addition" asserts. The strong line gives the reader something to check against your CV.
9. Return-home closing
Weak: After graduation, I want to go back to my country and contribute to its development.
Strong: I plan to return to the state transport agency I worked for and lead the bus network redesign it has postponed twice for lack of in-house modelling skills.
Diagnosis: "contribute to development" fits any applicant from anywhere. The strong line fits one person.
10. Research-direction closing
Weak: I hope to pursue a PhD in the future.
Strong: If the thesis confirms that the effect holds in panel data, I want to extend it in a PhD; if it does not, the methods training still prepares me for a policy research role.
Diagnosis: the strong line shows a plan that survives either result.
11. Summary closing
Weak: To summarise, my academic background, work experience and passion make me an ideal candidate.
Strong: The question I started with, why our storage cluster lost data under load, is the one I want my master's thesis to answer.
Diagnosis: the reader has just read the summary. The strong line returns to the opening question and points it forward.
12. Gratitude closing
Weak: Thank you very much for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.
Strong: I would start the programme with the distributed systems course in the first period, because it decides which thesis groups I can join.
Diagnosis: the weak line is polite but answers nothing. The strong line ends on a plan. Course names here are invented; use one from the real programme page.
Sign-off formulas
There is no university rule on sign-offs on the pages we checked. These are our recommendations.
- Typed into a form box (Sciences Po says to write it "directly in the designated section of your online application"): no salutation and no sign-off. Every word counts against the limit.
- Uploaded as a formal letter: a short close such as "Yours sincerely," and your name is enough. "Kind regards" reads as an email.
- Anonymised letters: some programmes forbid your name. Chalmers' Architectural Design letter "must not reveal your name, age, gender or ethnicity." There, no signature at all. See our architecture master's motivation letter and portfolio guide.
- French letters: a French formula such as "Veuillez agréer…" belongs only in a letter written in French. In an English letter, use an English close.
Layout, date and address lines are covered in our motivation letter format guide.
Check your opening and closing
- Does the first sentence name the programme and your reason? If not, cut until it does.
- Does the first paragraph answer the programme's first listed question?
- Did you put the programme name at the top if KTH or a similar page asks for it?
- Does any sentence say "passion", "dream" or "esteemed"? Replace it with evidence.
- Does the last paragraph name one role, problem or plan you could be asked about at interview?
- Does it say what you will bring, where the programme asks for a contribution?
- Is the close free of summary and gratitude lines?
- Does the sign-off match the format: none in a form box, none where names are banned, short in an uploaded letter?
Questions about motivation letter openings and closings
How do I start a motivation letter for a master's?
With the programme and your reason in the first sentence. KTH asks first "why you have chosen this programme at KTH", and Chalmers asks for "the reason why you have chosen a specific Master's programme". Start there.
Should I start with a story?
Not usually. Chalmers says "The autobiographic section can be fairly brief." Sciences Po does ask for your "personal journey" first, but it must lead to "this particular programme" within the paragraph.
How do I end a motivation letter for university?
With a specific plan for the degree. Sciences Po asks you to "Be as specific and forward-looking as possible." Name a role, a problem or a next step.
Do I need "Dear Admissions Committee"?
Only in an uploaded letter. If you type the letter into a form box, skip it. If the programme asks for an anonymised letter, use no name anywhere.
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 checks whether your opening states the programme and your reason, whether you answer what the programme asked, and whether your forward plan is specific. For a longer UK or European letter, use the master's motivation letter and personal statement rubric.
More motivation letter guides:
- Why this programme: the motivation letter paragraph: the paragraph that follows your opening
- Motivation letter mistakes to avoid for a master's: the procedural mistakes that cost more than a weak line
- Motivation letter for master's: 3 annotated samples: whole letters, sentence by sentence
- Statement of purpose opening lines: for US-style statements of purpose
- Graduate school essays hub: every master's statement guide
Sources
Retrieved 31 October 2026, except where noted.
- KTH, Computer Science MSc entry requirements (no year stated): letter content, under-500-word limit, programme name at top of page.
- Chalmers, Apply for master's programmes (2027 entry): one-page limit and letter contents.
- Chalmers, Architectural Design MSc (2027 entry): anonymised letter rule.
- EPFL, Master's online application (no year stated): objectives and career strategy, 1,000-word limit.
- Utrecht University, Motivation statement template (PDF, no year stated): set question order.
- Sciences Po, Motivation letter (no year stated): four assessed areas, form entry, word limit in the form.
Review Your Motivation Letter
See how your own draft reads against the limit and the questions your programme publishes.