Curriculum
Students have to pass at least 7 courses, a seminar, a comprehensive exam and finalize their dissertations to complete the program.
Course Program:
- 2 must courses
- 1 must seminar
- 2 elective courses on an Area (Asia, Eurasia, Europe, Middle East or Latin and North America)
- 2 elective courses on a Social Science Discipline (History, Sociology, Political Science, International Relations or Economics)
- 1 free elective
After the completion of all the courses, students take the PhD Comprehensive Exam in three fields:
- Area Studies
- Selected Area of Specialisation
- Selected Social Science Discipline
According to METU Rules and Regulations;
- A PhD student must take and pass comprehensive exam in the 5th or 6th semester. PhD comprehensive exams are administered twice a year, in May and November.
- A PhD Student must graduate at the end of the 12th semester at the latest, in order to be awarded with the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
All students must follow METU Academic Calendar and know METU Rules and Regulations Governing Graduate Studies.
Suggested Course Load During Study
- 1st Semester: ARS601 and an elective
- 2nd Semester: ARS602 and an elective
- 3rd Semester: Two electives
- 4th Semester: ARS600 and an elective
- 5th Semester: Comperehensive exam
- Students have to choose their supervisors before the end of the 2nd Semester.
- Starting from the 3rd Semester each and every PhD Student must add ARS699 - PhD Dissertation (as a must course) and Special Topics (as an elective course). The course code of the Special Topics varies from professor to professor. Please consult your supervisor to register into the right course.
Must Courses
ARS 600 - Doctoral Seminar in Area Studies
The main objective of this course is to introduce students to advanced methods and techniques used in the field of Area Studies, and to practice these methods through individual research. In this course, each student specifies their selected area of research and carries out directed study throughout the semester, the results of which are presented at the end of the semester. (It is suggested to take this course in the third or the fourth semester.)
ARS 601 - Area Studies
This PhD course is designed to introduce the key themes in Area Studies as well as a variety of disciplinary theoretical approaches used to study areas in the world. The course will also explore how regional dynamics interact with local, national and global forces. The course will begin with a discussion of the scope, development and interdisciplinary nature of Area Studies. Next, the course will examine the relevance and limitations of the main disciplinary approaches that anthropology, history, sociology, economics, political science and international relations use in studying areas. The final part of this course will be devoted to students' individual research projects on the key debates in African, the Middle Eastern, Asian, Eurasian, European and American Studies.
ARS 602 - Research Methods and Ethics in Area Studies
This course aims to provide students a general assessment of qualitative research methodology. It will present various qualitative methods involved in social scientific research as well as offer awareness as to how these methods are related to broader social scientific issues. By presenting a variety of methods, the course will encourage students to reflect upon these methods and their appropriateness in different research contexts. It will proceed with assignments asking students to analyze different methods used in the prominent works of area studies. It will also include assignments that will demand from students a review of the use of several research methods for an original topic of their own choosing. The course will, hence, encourage reflective thinking both on methodology in area studies as well as on the practice of some of the methods.
Last Updated:
04/08/2020 - 21:57