Structure of the Program
Political Science and International Relations (PSIR) Program lasts four years. All of the courses in first and second year are composed of must courses. The third year's courses are made of a combination of must and elective courses and the fourth-year courses are elective courses. The content of the courses are listed below (You can reach to the course program and/or website by clicking on the course names written in bold)
CURRICULUM
Click on the course code to see its Course description.
| FIRST YEAR | ||
|---|---|---|
| First Semester | ||
| PSIR 101 | Introduction to Sociology and Politics | (3-0) 3 |
| PSIR 105 | World History, 1453-1914 | (3-0) 3 |
| PSIR 111 | Study Skills in Social and Political Sciences | (3-0) 3 |
| ECO 101 | Microeconomics | (4-0) 4 |
| ENGL 101 | Development of English Reading and Writing | (4-0) 4 |
| TUR 101 | Turkish I * | (2-0) NC |
| Second Semester | ||
| PSIR 108 | Issues in Global Politics | (3-0) 3 |
| BUS 100 | Career Planning | (0-2) 1 |
| PSIR 110 | International History, 1914-1989 | (3-0) 3 |
| PSIR 112 | Statistics for Political Scientists | (3-0) 3 |
| ECO 102 | Macroeconomics | (4-0) 4 |
| CNG 100 | Introduction to IT & Applications | (2-0) NC |
| ENGL 102 | Development of English Reading and Writing II | (4-0) 4 |
| TUR 102 | Turkish II * | (2-0) NC |
| SECOND YEAR | ||
| Third Semester | ||
| PSIR 203 | History of Political Thought I | (3-0) 3 |
| PSIR 212 | Comparative Politics | (3-0) 3 |
| PSIR 218 | Political Sociology | (3-0) 3 |
| PSIR 237 | Principles of Law | (3-0) 3 |
| ENGL 211 | Academic Oral and Presentation Skills | (3-0) 3 |
| HST 201 | Principles of Kemal Atatürk I * | (2-0) NC |
| Fourth Semester | ||
| PSIR 202 | Constitutional Law | (3-0) 3 |
| PSIR 206 | History of Political Thought II | (3-0) 3 |
| PSIR 210 | Theories of International Relations | (3-0) 3 |
| PSIR 211 | Comparative Government | (3-0) 3 |
| PSIR 214 | War and Peace Studies | (3-0) 3 |
| HST 202 | Principles of Kemal Atatürk II * | (2-0) NC |
| THIRD YEAR | ||
| Fifth Semester | ||
| PSIR 303 | Public International Law | (3-0) 3 |
| ENGL 311 | Advanced Communication Skills | (3-0) 3 |
| E | Elective 1 | (3-0) 3 |
| E | Elective 2 | (3-0) 3 |
| E | Elective 3 | (3-0) 3 |
| Sixth Semester | ||
| PSIR 304 | International Organizations | (3-0) 3 |
| PSIR 309 | Research Methods for Political Science | (3-0) 3 |
| E | Elective 4 | (3-0) 3 |
| E | Elective 5 | (3-0) 3 |
| E | Elective 6 | (3-0) 3 |
| FOURTH YEAR | ||
| Seventh Semester | ||
| E | Elective 7 | (3-0) 3 |
| E | Elective 8 | (3-0) 3 |
| E | Elective 9 | (3-0) 3 |
| E | Elective 10 | (3-0) 3 |
| E | Elective 11 | (3-0) 3 |
| Eighth Semester | ||
| E | Elective 12 | (3-0) 3 |
| E | Elective 13 | (3-0) 3 |
| E | Elective 14 | (3-0) 3 |
| E | Elective 15 | (3-0) 3 |
| E | Elective 16 | (3-0) 3 |
Organisation of the program
- The PSIR program is organized around three types of courses:
- Core or compulsory ('must') courses: all PSIR students must take these courses,
- Elective courses: all PSIR students take a number of electives from a range of options,
- Exchange courses: some students who study abroad or on exchange programs are exempted from courses taken at other institutions or transfer their credits back to METU NCC.
'Irregular' students should consult with their student advisor and exchange students should consult with the program co-ordinator regarding exemptions, variations to prerequisites, and transfer of credits, or any other individual circumstances. Some courses, both core and elective, are provided by programs other than PSIR.
From 2023-2024 academic year onwards the status of the following courses will change from “must” to “elective”:
- PSIR 305 International Political Economy
- PSIR 400 Graduation Project
- PSIR 401 Contemporary Political Theory
- PSIR 403 Contemporary Issues in Global Political Economy
- PSIR 404 Contemporary Issues in War and Peace
Students who have not taken these courses or who took them and failed are going to take them as electives. Students who took these courses as must courses and passed them will take them as PSIR electives.
Core courses, elective courses and course choice
In order to graduate, students must take a minimum of 46 credit courses : 30 core ('must') courses and 16 elective courses.
- All PSIR credit courses are 3-credit courses. (Some courses provided by other programs are 4 credit courses)
- All students must complete all core courses (compulsory).
- All first level courses are to be core courses.
- All second level courses are to be core courses.
- Third and fourth level courses must be taken according to the following rule :
In addition to compulsory courses, students must take at least ten of their elective courses from the PSIR list. Of the remaining non-PSIR portion, a maximum of six courses may be taken from any other program.
Electives
- Students may select electives, in accordance with the rules above, from a list of elective courses which will be published each year. The range of PSIR electives hitherto offered in the program have included the following :
- PSIR 305 International Political Economy
- PSIR 306 Processes of European Integration
- PSIR 308 Gender and Politics
- PSIR 311 Nations and Nationalism
- PSIR 314 Political Economy of Turkey
- PSIR 316 Understanding Capitalism
- PSIR 320 International Human Rights
- PSIR 322 History of the Cyprus Conflict
- PSIR 323 Political Psychology
- PSIR 333 States and Societies in Central Asia
- PSIR 340 Politics in International Migration
- PSIR 341 Contemporary Social Theory
- PSIR 343 International Development
- PSIR 345 Turkish Foreign Policy
- PSIR 348 Public Opinion & International Relations
- PSIR 381 Development and the Developing World
- PSIR 400 Graduation Project
- PSIR 401 Contemporary Political Theory
- PSIR 403 Contemporary Issues in Global Political Economy
- PSIR 404 Contemporary Issues in War and Peace
- PSIR 409 Political and Economic Rise of China
- PSIR 413 Comparative Political Cultures : Greece, Turkey, Cyprus
- PSIR 415 Political Economy of Environment and Energy
- PSIR 416 Terrorism and Global Society
- PSIR 418 International Humanitarian Law
- PSIR 420 Politics and Society in Turkey
- PSIR 421 Transitional Justice
- PSIR 423 Historical Sociology and International Relations
- PSIR 424 Theories of Diplomacy
- PSIR 425 Ethics and International Relations
- PSIR 427 Approaches to State-Society Relations
- PSIR 428 Politics of Literature
- PSIR 429 International Politics of Oil
- PSIR 430 Imperialism & Making of the Modern Middle East
- PSIR 431 Law and Institutions of the European Union
- PSIR 451 Theories of Democracy
- PSIR 454 Ottoman Diplomacy and the European States System
- PSIR 463 Russian Foreign Policy
- PSIR 470 Turkey and the EC/EU
- PSIR 559 Politics and Society in Latin America