Department of Sociology (MA)
Institute of Social Sciences

Department of Sociology (MA)

Beykent University’s Thesis and Non-Thesis Master’s Degree Programme in Sociology of the Department of Sociology, Institute of Social Sciences, began to offer postgraduate education in October 2016. The Programme aims to cultivate students into sociologists who can analyse and understand the society we live in with the help of classical and contemporary theoretical approaches, analyse the social facts and phenomena through scientific methods, and correctly and clearly transmit the results obtained verbally and in writing.

Degrees Offered

Master’s Degree in Sociology

Cycle

Second Cycle / EQF 7 (Master’s Degree)

Admission and Registration Requirements

To apply for the Thesis Master’s Degree Programme, candidates must hold a bachelor’s diploma, and submit their copy of the ALES (Academic Staff and Postgraduate Education Admission Exam) score, which must be at least 55 of the required weight (verbal or quantitative or equally weighted) by the Programme. The exam is centrally held by ÖSYM (Centre for Assessment, Selection, and Placement). The ALES is not required for the non-thesis master’s degree programme.

Recognition of Prior Learning

In accordance with Article 10 of the Regulation on Beykent University’s Postgraduate Education and Training, students are admitted to the programmes at Institutes through horizontal transfer provided that they meet the requirements for horizontal transfer, which are determined by the Academic Board upon the Institute Administrative Board’s decision, and the Head of the Department’s opinion. Students submit a letter of application by means of which they request to be exempt from certain courses within the same postgraduate programme of Beykent University as the courses of the postgraduate programme of another university they had enrolled in before. Their application including the course contents and transcripts will be Head of the Department, and the Board will decide which courses the students took will be awarded credits for the courses they must take within the Programme they have recently enrolled. The courses students took at the university they attended may be recognised as the elective or compulsory courses with the Institute Administrative Board’s approval.

Competence Requirements and Rules

Non-Thesis Programme: 1 and a half years, 2 terms in each year, 15 weeks in each term, 90 ECTS in total.

Thesis Programme: 3 years, 2 terms in each year, 15 weeks in each term, 120 ECTS in total.

Programme Description

The academic staff within the Programme consists of 10 tenured faculty members, 3 of whom are professors who pursued an academic career in the field. The duration of the Non-Thesis Programme is at least two terms, and maximum three terms. The duration of the Thesis Programme is at least four terms, and maximum six terms. The Programme offers a Turkish-medium education.

The Programme focuses on two aims: First of all, it aims to enable the students to adopt the basic theoretical and research methods necessary to gain a sociological perspective and carry out research. Secondly, there has been a need for research in certain fields and experts in parallel with Sociology’s classical study fields and changes taking place recently. For this reason, the Programme aims to enable the students to specialise in the fields in need such as Environment, Immigration, Gender, and Collective Memory.

Learning Outcomes

Students:

  • Have advanced knowledge of Sociology due to their undergraduate studies, and improve their knowledge.
  • Acquire advanced competence in theory and practice regarding the historical development and change of Sociology.
  • Carry out research through scientific methods in Sociology.
  • Analyse, evaluate, and interpret the social structure of Turkey, and the changes in this structure on local, national, and global platforms.
  • Use the quantitative and qualitative research methods and techniques used in Sociology and other disciplines to carry out theoretical and empirical scientific research.
  • Combine the knowledge they acquired in their field with the knowledge regarding other disciplines, and make contributions to production of knowledge.
  • Comprehend, and benefit from the interdisciplinary interaction in Social Sciences.
  • Have knowledge of the principles of scientific and professional ethics, abide by these principles.
  • Work individually and independently while carrying out research which will ensure a solution to the problems regarding different areas of social life, and undertake responsibility as a team member.

Besides, the Programme enables the students who studied a field of Social Sciences besides Sociology during their undergraduate studies to analyse the society they live in, and it also enables the professionals who wish to gain a different perspective to acquire intellectual background information, deep knowledge, cultural qualification, and wide perspective.