The Bachelor of Political Science and International Relations in English is a four-year, fully English-medium undergraduate program that trains critical analysts, diplomats, international organization professionals, foreign-policy experts, global risk consultants, and future academics who can understand, explain, and shape the complex political and diplomatic dynamics of an increasingly interconnected world. Offered at Turkey’s most prestigious universities (Boğaziçi University, Koç University, Sabancı University, Bilkent University, Middle East Technical University, Galatasaray University, TOBB University of Economics and Technology, Özyeğin University, Kadir Has University, Istanbul Bilgi University, and many other strong English-medium departments), it is widely regarded as the country’s flagship social-science degree for students who aim to work at the highest levels of government, diplomacy, international organizations, think-tanks, multinational corporations, and global media.Students follow a rigorous, theory-driven yet policy-oriented curriculum that combines classical and cutting-edge approaches. The first two years build a solid analytical foundation through compulsory courses in introduction to political science, comparative politics, international relations theory, political philosophy and history of political thought, global history, research methods and statistics, microeconomics and macroeconomics for political economy, academic writing, and introductory law. The final two years offer advanced specialization with courses such as foreign-policy analysis, Turkish foreign policy, international security and conflict studies, global political economy, international organizations and law, European Union politics and enlargement, Middle East politics, Russian and Eurasian studies, energy geopolitics, diplomacy and negotiation, terrorism and asymmetric warfare, human rights and humanitarian intervention, democratic transitions and authoritarianism, migration and refugee politics, climate change and global governance, digital diplomacy and cyber politics, intelligence and national security, and a mandatory senior thesis based on original research that is often presented at international undergraduate conferences or published in student journals.Practical training is intensive: students complete at least one internship at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Turkish embassies and consulates, United Nations agencies in Turkey, NATO structures, international NGOs (Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, ICRC), leading think-tanks (TEPAV, USAK, EDAM, SETA, Global Relations Forum), global media outlets (BBC Turkish, Al Jazeera English, Reuters Istanbul), or multinational corporations’ government-relations departments. Many spend a semester abroad at top partner universities (Sciences Po, LSE, King’s College London, Georgetown, TU Munich, MGIMO) and participate in Model United Nations delegations that regularly win awards worldwide.Graduates are immediately recruited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (through the highly competitive career-diplomat entrance exam), Turkish embassies and permanent missions abroad, Presidency of Strategy and Budget, international organizations (UN, NATO, OSCE, Council of Europe, OECD, World Bank, IMF country offices), global think-tanks and foundations, risk-consulting firms (Control Risks, Eurasia Group), multinational corporations’ public-affairs and government-relations teams (Google, Microsoft, Shell, BP, Siemens, Coca-Cola), international media and journalism, top graduate and PhD programs worldwide (Harvard Kennedy School, Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, Sciences Po, Fletcher School, Georgetown), and an increasing number launch their own policy startups or become influential commentators and columnists.Starting salaries in diplomacy and international organizations are solid and rise rapidly with postings abroad and language allowances; private-sector and consulting salaries belong to the absolute top tier of social-science graduates. The social prestige of English-medium PSIR graduates is exceptional: they are seen as Turkey’s cosmopolitan, multilingual elite who represent the country on the global stage and shape its strategicfuture.Inn short, the Bachelor of Political Science and International Relations in English produces analytically razor-sharp, globally connected, and diplomatically sophisticated leaders who occupy the most strategic and respected positions in government, international affairs, academia, and global business, enjoying extraordinary career mobility, intellectual influence, and the privilege of directly contributing to Turkey
