Program Details

MIR (Master of Arts Program in International Relations: Turkey, Europe, and the Middle East) is a postgraduate taught Masters program of Boğaziçi University. The objective of the program is to equip students from diverse backgrounds with a solid academic and empirical foundation in the fields of Global and Regional Affairs, International Economics, Turkish Studies and Turkish Foreign Policy. The program provides a particular focus on Turkey's place in the current global political and economic environment in general and the Europe Union in particular.

MIR also aims to develop a comprehensive perspective to analyze the dynamic transformations in and around Turkey's vast neighborhood and combine this with a discussion of the meaning and relevance of political and economic developments at the global level to Turkey and its surrounding regions. Ultimately, the program aims to help students develop their analytical skills, enrich their knowledge and understanding of the challenges resulting from Turkey's pivotal situation at the intersection of Europe and regions of the World undergoing major economic and political transformations in the post-Cold War era.

MIR core seminars are designed to enhance students' theoretical understanding and empirical knowledge about the:

  • changes in contemporary global politics and economy
  • politics and economics of Turkey and its surrounding regions and of the European Union
  • transformation of Turkey's role in its neighborhood and the global system.

In addition, MIR elective courses provide the opportunity to focus on particularly salient issues such as:

  • Turkey and the European Union
  • Turkey and the Middle East
  • New orientations and instruments of Turkish foreign policy
  • Current foreign policy and security concerns
  • Energy and politics in the Caucasus
  • Balkan politics
  • Current problems of the Nation-state System
  • Changing role of international law and organizations
  • Immigration, refugees, and social integration
  • Emergence of Islamic movements as a global force
  • Gender issues in Muslim countries and in countries with large Muslim minorities.

The program prepares students for a broad range of career options. Graduates of our former program (Master of Arts Program in European Studies, or MAPES) taught over the last decade hold top positions in academia, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, international organizations, banking and insurance, research institutions, the media, and civil society. We have no doubt that prospective graduates of MIR will be able to achieve similar successes. Our new program aims to assist Turkish as well as international mid-career professionals in the private and public sectors aspiring to expand their career opportunities and knowledge.

MIR is an interdisciplinary Master of Arts program. Non-thesis MIR program has a one-year duration, whereas thesis MIR program has a two-year duration. While the program is organized by the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Boğaziçi University, the Department of Economics and other related departments support our program academically as well.

Students who have successfully completed the requirements of the Program are awarded an M.A. (Master of Arts) degree of Boğaziçi University.