The Department of Political Science and International Relations that was established in 1992, aims at teaching students to approach contemporary international relations and political developments with a scientific understanding. Its goal is to cultivate students’ critical and analytical thinking, foster creativity and entrepreneurship, encourage inquisitiveness, embrace ethical values, contribute to the construction of sustainable societies, and engage in democratic values. The medium of instruction in this program is English.

In their first two years, our students take core courses including International Relations Theories, International Organizations, International Law, Political Science, Political History, and Comparative Politics. In their third and fourth years, they take compulsory and elective courses that allow them to specialize further in international relations and political science. Among these are courses focusing on Turkish foreign policy and its political structure; courses focusing on various topics such as international security, conflict resolution, democracy, human rights, political economy, development and inequality, political ethics, and migration; and regionally-themed courses focusing on the politics of the European Union, Asia, the Middle East, the Balkans, Latin America, Russia, and the United States.

Our courses are typically taught through seminars by our faculty members throughout the first two years, while the courses in the latter two years are conducted through presentations and assignments by students, either individually or in groups. The program places emphasis on developing the students’ communication and computer skills through presentations and papers. As a result of this comprehensive curriculum, students acquire the skills to comparatively analyze and critically evaluate national and international political developments using the key methods of social sciences. The national and international conferences, seminars, and workshops organized by our department contribute to the academic development of our students.

The Department of Political Science and International Relations has signed a dual degree program with University at Albany, which is affiliated with the State University of New York (SUNY) in the United States. Within the scope of this collaboration, our students enrolled in the SUNY program will study at Dokuz Eylül University, Department of Political Science and International for the first two years of their four-year education, complete their studies at the University at Albany for the last two years, and they are entitled to receive diplomas from both universities.

Our department has student exchange agreements at the undergraduate and graduate levels with many European universities under the European Union’s Erasmus+ program. These universities include the University of Hradec Králové (Czech Republic), Kodolányi János University (Hungary), University of Lille II (France), Sciences Po Bordeaux University (France), Babeș-Bolyai University (Romania), University of Wrocław (Poland), University of Pavia (Italy), and University of Osnabrück (Germany). Additionally, there is a bilateral agreement with Voronezh State University in Russia.

In addition to the undergraduate program in the Department of Political Science and International Relations also offers Master’s and Doctoral Programs within the Graduate School of Social Sciences. The postgraduate curriculum combines theoretical and empirical approaches in the fields of Political Science and International Relations. The courses are designed to inform students about important historical, political, economic, and social issues in contemporary politics at both national and international levels, and to develop their critical thinking skills.

Career Fields for Graduates

Graduates of the Department of Political Science and International Relations have various employment opportunities in both the private and public sectors. Some of the graduates of Political Science and International Relations program work as career diplomats in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as international relations and EU experts, and as foreign trade experts in various ministries, government institutions, and non-governmental organizations. Our graduates who wish to pursue their education at the postgraduate level are continuing their studies both domestically and abroad. We also have many students who are continuing their academic careers in the field of Political Science and International Relations and working as faculty members in this area. Our graduates work in the private sector, including banks, auditing firms, foreign trade companies, and the logistics sector.