PHD Food and Agricultural Economics Personal Purpose

The XXXX School of Applied Economics and Management at XXXX University is my first choice for graduate school for a variety of reasons, most of all the sheer excellence of your program. I hope to be selected to study towards the doctorate in the Food and Agricultural Economics track. My central goal is to become a highly accomplished professional researcher in the agriculture and food sector, especially with respect to international trade and policy, particularly food security. I look forward to an in-depth and interdisciplinary immersion experience at XXXX on the full gambit of issues that have an effect on the economics of food supply and security, particularly the way in which large nations tend to determine events and situations in smaller countries. I want a state-of-the-art education in global food policies so as to be in a position to help small countries like my own country, Korea, obtain greater food security in the long term. I hope to go to work for the Korean government or a food research institute with a focus on Asia after earning my doctorate at XXXX. I definitely want to engage with policymakers and, in fact, do so on a global level. This was one of the reasons why I have worked very hard so far to attain an intermediate level in Spanish.

Before beginning my Master’s Program in Seoul, I spent three months in San Francisco participating in an entrepreneurship program at the XXXX School, where I made friends with professionals from a broad variety of industries related to food and, based on this experience, I created my own startup in Korea which I continued to improve while a graduate student. I hope to see Korea achieve greater self-sufficiency in food production with greater equality and social justice in food distribution. Thus, I plan to contribute to Korea’s prosperity as a food manager, helping her to become more competitive in global markets. As I see it, this as the best way to achieve food security, particularly with respect to the most essential crops such as corn and wheat. I seek a solid foundation in how government policy effects the international trade of food, crop movement, and farm productivity worldwide. I had a chance to participate in various research projects with the Korean government while completing my Master’s Degree at Seoul National University in South Korea. Through an ‘economic analysis of rural land use in Korea Farmland’, a project of the Korea Rural Economic Institute, I came to much better appreciate how efficient land use and production are critical to food security. I now look forward to a professional lifetime of research concerning the effects of government policy on farm productivity and international trade. 

Volunteer work has always been close to my heart and I plan to continue giving back to my community. In high school, I worked in a local hospital, 2 days a week, as a desk assistant sorting insurance paperwork. When I was a freshman in college, I promoted child sponsorship through an international charity foundation called Good Neighbors. This helped me to learn more and to think more critically about hunger in the Developing World. This year, I am doing fundraising with my colleagues in my office, sending goats to a small town in Uganda. This project is called “Goats for Christmas!” The additional 20 goats we will greatly improve the potential for the sustainable development of the people.

I thank you for considering my application to XXXX.