Middle Eastern Studies Master's Program
The recent changes in Turkish foreign policy have magnified the interest in academic circles, especially in the Middle East. Nevertheless, the number of institutes and programs focusing on the Middle East in Turkish universities is far from meeting the interest shown in this field. On the other hand, studies that analyze the region politically, economically and culturally are necessary for offering an alternative to Turkish foreign policy makers who have started to establish close ties with the Middle East.
Moreover, research on the region in Turkey remains only academic in nature and the lack of practical research/researchers is one of the most important deficiencies. Therefore, this program was opened in 2011 in order to conduct more studies on the region and to reduce the lack of researchers. In particular, the political developments and changes in the Arab world that started in 2011 crystallized the necessity of opening this program and it becomes more important to start graduate education in the fall semester of 2012-2013.
As this Master's Program provides education in 3 languages (Turkish, Arabic and English), it is required to get at least a score of “60” in English or at least 55 in Arabic on equivalent exams accepted by the board of directors of the relevant institute. Or those who have graduated from an educational institution (high school or undergraduate) that provides education in a language other than Turkish are considered to have met the language requirement.
The scientific preparation program will be applied to the students enrolled in the program. The students graduated from International Relations, Political Science and Public Administration, Sociology, History or Theology will be obliged to take 3 and students from other departments will have to take 5 courses that are determined by the Head of the Department of the Institute and not seen in their transcript for their undergraduate education. Moreover, students are required to take at least 3 of the 8 courses they must take during the course period, except for the Scientific Preparation courses, in a different language. The students must take one of the Arabic or Persian language courses that are not counted in the ECTS credit load and are not included in the average to pass onto the thesis stage. Students who are not successful in these language courses cannot proceed to the thesis stage of the master's degree. Master's theses must be written in English and/or Turkish.
Dear students in the Scientific Preparatory Program;
Applications are taken from http://ebasvuru.sabis.sakarya.edu.tr/
You can find the courses taught in the program here.