[Discussion] Sabanci University - History grad. admission

[Gonul]

From: Aksin Somel <somel@sabanciuniv.edu>

Sabanci University History Graduate Program would like to make the
following advertisement concerning graduate admissions for the year 2004:

Announcement : 31 January 2004 is the "Early Admissions" deadline
for  the History MA and PhD Programs at Sabanci University (Istanbul,
Turkey). Depending on first-round results, there may or may not be
a  second round of admissions in July '04. * Both the MA and the
PhD programs revolve around Ottoman, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish
History, though this is not an exclusive focus, and is accompanied by a
strong emphasis on situating the Ottoman empire and modern Turkey within
their proper Balkan and Near Eastern contexts. An innovative curriculum
strives to combine broad comparative and theoretical perspectives with
empirical rigour, teaching with learning, and personal research with
institutional projects. * The language of instruction is English. *

At the time of writing, the standing faculty comprises three pre-Tanzimat
Ottomanists (Metin Kunt, Tülay Artan, Hülya Canbakal), two 19th-century
specialists (Hakan Erdem, Aksin Somel), two historians of the Republican
era (Cemil Koçak, Halil Berktay), and a specialist in Byzantine and
Medieval Balkan art and architecture (Bratislav Pantelic).
* This is supplemented by instructors in the relevant research languages,
as well  as through strong interdisciplinary cooperation with adjacent
or overlapping programs in Political Science and Cultural Studies.
Hence the Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish History track in particular
benefits from additional support in intellectual history (Serif Mardin,
Ayse Kadioglu) as well as in literature (Hülya Adak, Annedith Schneider),
social theory (Ayse Öncü), gender and war-and-peace studies (Ayse Gül
Altinay), and oral / family history (Leyla Neyzi). * In addition, there
is a regular rotation of one or two visiting professors per term who
are mostly specialists of the Ottoman Balkans (Elizabeth Zachariadou,
Rossitsa Gradeva) or of Modern Central and Southeast European History
(Jitka Maleckova, Diana Mishkova, Stefanos Yerasimos, Fikret Adanir). *
Ongoing institutional projects (such as the Joint History Project,
the Shared History Project, or the Alternative History Textbooks
Writing Project) are well-connected to Turkish and Balkan networks in
nationalism studies, critical historiography, and education reform.*
The 2-year MA program envisages a minimum of 12 courses spread over
four semesters, plus a short (average 75 pages) thesis that can
and should be produced over the last term of course-work plus the
following summer (end August) at the latest. The PhD program requires
an additional 12 courses plus a minimum of three years for thesis
research and submission.

There are no field restrictions for applying to the MA Program in
History, while PhD applicants must have an MA (or the equivalent)
in History, Art and Architectural History, Sociology, Anthropology,
Political Science or Literature. All candidates must (a) fill out
a standard Application Form, including (b) a statement of purpose
(min. 1500 words) reflective of their intellectual horizons and
research interests. They should also submit (c) at least two letters of
recommendation; (d) an official, stamped and sealed BA or BSc transcript
(with a minimum 2.50/4.00 CGPA) for the MA Program, and both the
undergraduate and master's transcripts for the PhD Program; (e) valid
LES scores (in the top 8 percent on the Verbal or Equally Weighted
scale) for applicants from Turkish universities, and GRE scores (of a
minimum total of 1100 for the Quantitative and Analytical components)
for all others; as well as (f) a valid English language fluency score
(min. 237/580 for TOEFL, or 7 for IELTS).

Admissions procedures entail, in addition to a committee review of all
files : A written exam on Friday, 20 February for all applicants from
Turkish universities, followed by an interview on Friday, 27 February,
for all short-listed candidates. Both exam and interview will be held
on the Orhanli, Tuzla campus of the University.

The annual tuition fee for graduate studies at SU is currently
USD 7500, while the total cost per year may come to 11,000 dollars
(including on-campus room and board).  Scholarships may comprise
a half-tuition waiver, a full tuition waiver, or a tuition waiver
combined with a 9-month stipend.  These are all competitive and
merit-based, and are available to all candidates. All admissions and
scholarship offers will be going out in late March or early April, on
the same lines with most North American graduate admissions procedures.

For further information, please contact : Dr. Selçuk Aksin Somel
(somel@sabanciuniv.edu ; office phone ++ 90 - 216 - 483 9278); mailing
address : Sabanci University * Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences *
Orhanli, Tuzla * 34956 Istanbul - Turkey