European Institute of İstanbul Bilgi University presents MA in European Studies Program (with a project)

and the BİLGİ/Viadrina Double Degree Program

for more information

The BİLGİ MA in European Studies Program, launched in 2000, is entering its ninth year with over fifty graduates and fifty students currently enrolled. The MA in European Studies program is designed to provide a thorough knowledge of the European Union, its historic development, its institutions, systems and policies. Turkey’s longstanding EU integration process, which started in 1963, continued with the Customs Union (1996) making Turkey part of the European Single Market. Within the framework of the program, Turkey’s EU accession period is analyzed and researched with a focus on recent developments. The Program, concentrating on themes such as enlargement and the societal transformations it brings to countries involved (peace, stability, democratization, regional cooperation, human rights, rule of law, etc.) and European Neighborhood Policy, also offers a wider perspective of European Studies with emphasis on issues such as migration, environmental issues, and intercultural dialogue.

Since 2007, the MA in European Studies Program functions under the European Institute of Istanbul Bilgi University, which was established in June 2007. Among various research units of the Institute are the Turkish-Greek Studies Unit, which has been running since 2005, as well as the new units which will be launched in September 2008: the French Studies and German Studies Unit. The French Studies unit is going to be launched in collaboration with Sciences Po-Paris and IFEA, and supported by the European Commission. The German Studies unit will be launched in collaboration with the German Academic Exchange Program (DAAD), and will complement the existing collaboration with the European University of Viadrina.

As one of the core countries of European integration since the early days of the European Coal and Steel Community, Germany with its political, social and economic structure deserves special attention in studies regarding the European Union. To this end, the Institute has developed close relations with many universities and Institutes in Germany. The academic cooperation with one particular German University, European University of Viadrina, is an exemplary relationship which started as a two-way exchange of students and academics, leading finally to a collaboration agreement and the creation of a Double Degree MA in European Studies program between the two Universities which is due to start in 2008.

The BİLGİ/Viadrina MA in European Studies program will start in the 2008-9 Academic Year. Selected students enrolled in the BİLGİ MA in European Studies program will study within two different cultural systems and make use of several languages. In return, graduates will not only gain an insight into life in two very different European cities and their universities, but also prepare themselves for a rapidly changing world of work across the European continent. The program aims to offer education in the field of European Studies. While enlargement and more particularly the potential accession of Turkey to the EU are important fields of studies; a larger focus of the program is on the political, cultural, economic, and legal contexts for the South-Eastern dimension of the EU. The BİLGİ/Viadrina program will offer the students the opportunity to gain a "double perspective" on the various developments in European integration, both from a Turkish and West European point of view. The initial phase of the program was funded through Istanbul Bilgi University annual budget, as well as through the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

The MA Program, organized in collaboration with European University Viadrina, offers various scholarship opportunities for successful candidates.

Emre GÖNEN

Istanbul Bilgi University

MA in European Studies

Program Director

Application Schedule

Informational Meeting: 5 September 2008, Friday 6:00 p.m., Dolapdere Campus / Istanbul

Speakers: Emre Gonen (MA Program Director) and Ayhan Kaya (European Institute Director)

Deadline: 8 September 2008, Monday

Written Exam: 10 September 2008, Wednesday 6:00 p.m.

Interviews: 12 September 2008, Friday

European Institute

MA in European Studies Program

İnönü cad. No: 28 34387 Kuştepe

Şişli - İstanbul – Türkiye



Contact Person:

Özge Onursal

Phone: (+90) (212) 311 6196

oonursal@bilgi.edu.tr