About Department

The Ph.D. Program in Political Economy is designed for students who want to have a better understanding of the problems of the world and the country they live in, and who want to contribute to the solutions advanced for these problems. The aim of the program is to equip students with the understanding, technical and analytical skills to act as opinion makers in the solution of such problems. The program claims to be unique for students who see economics as a social science and who want to develop their economic understanding in a way different from the mainstream approaches. In providing alternative solutions to social problems, an interdisciplinary approach is adopted in the program; combining economics with sociology, political science, history and philosophy. After taking standard courses that can be found in any Ph.D. program, students complete their academic formation by taking courses like History of Economic Analysis, Method in Economics, Sociology of Economics and Economic Development, that cannot be found in mainstream programs. They then turn to courses that they can specialize in, like Gender Inequality, Urbanization and Urban Transformation, Problems of Income Inequality, Global Warming, and Environmental Problems. These courses on such vitally important social and economic issues will turn the Ph.D. Program in Political Economy into a unique experience for the students, which they will not be able to find in any other program.

TYYÇ

     Our target group is students who are interested in the developments of the Turkish and the world economy, and are reconciled with mathematics and numerical methods.

     The main aim of the program is to provide the students with the necessary equipment for the private sector, bureaucracy, banking and finance sector. The advanced economics and econometrics courses constitute the cornerstones of the program.

     In order to enable the students entering the program to become more specialized; elective courses in the fields of international economics, finance, game theory, international economic policy, economic development and history os economic thought are also included in the program.

Admission Requirements for the Ph.D. Program in Political Economy

Courses will be offered between 7 pm. and 10 pm. during the week and throughout the day in the weekends. Under certain circumstances, courses may also be offered between 4 pm. and 7 pm. too. Students considering applying for the program must have completed their M.A. by writing a masters thesis at an institution accredited by the Council of Higher Education (YÖK), be successful in the Academic Personnel and Graduate Education (ALES) Entrance Exam, and since the courses will be conducted and the Ph.D. dissertation will be written in English, students should have a good command of English.

For the application to be processed, a completed application package should include the following:

a) A ‘letter of intent’ specifying the reasons why the applicant would like to receive a Ph.D.

b) Two reference letters written, preferably, by former professors of the applicant. 

c) Official transcripts provided by the higher education institutions that the applicant has graduated from.

d) A resume outlining the applicant’s academic background and work experience.

g) A score of 55 or above from the Academic Personnel and Graduate Education (ALES) Entrance Exam, taken within the last five years.

h) Demonstration of proficiency in English.

      - receiving 66 or above from TOEFL, or

      - receiving 55 or above from the Foreign Language Level Determination Exam (YDS) or YOKDIL, administered by the Student Selection and Placement Centre (ÖSYM).

Applicants satisfying the above requirements will then be invited for an oral interview. Based on the application package and the interview, the Admissions Committee may find it necessary to administer a proficiency exam to determine the level of economic understanding of the candidates.

Credit Transfers

Ph.D. level credits received from other universities accredited by the Council of Higher Education (YÖK) may be transferred, provided that a similar course is offered by the Ph.D. in Economics program of Yeditepe University. For consideration, the grade to be transferred should not be lower than a BB (80/100) and the course must not be taken more than five calendar years before the admission to the Ph.D. program. Such transfers cannot include more than three courses.