After World War II, European Union (EU), as new regional cooperation shaped in Western Europe, has become one of the most important models of regional integration in the world with its extensive institutional structure and extended policy areas. While the legal, political and economic aspects of the European integration process were primarily during the Cold War era, in the 1990s foreign policy, security and defence have become important aspects besides internal policy developments. In the mid-1980s, the EU turned towards restructuring its relations with the countries out of the union by means of enlargement policies. When looking from these sides, European integration is a multi-dimensional project with its political, economic, legal, social and cultural integration aspects. Therefore, this multi-dimensional nature has not only developed European Studies as a distinct specialisation area at the graduate level but also added an interdisciplinary characteristic to it.

This interdisciplinary Graduate Programme in European Studies aims to provide students with specialised knowledge of political, legal, social and economic aspects of European integration. In addition, the Programme also aims at locating Turkey, an official EU candidate country since the Helsinki Summit of 1999, in the context of a changing and enlarging Europe by examining how and in what ways might the movement of Turkey towards the European Union affects domestic structures and policies in Turkey. Accordingly, the Programme intends to contribute:

•  To help form specialist staff on different aspects of the European integration and EU in different institutions and establishments,

•  To constitute public opinion about EU and Turkey-EU relations by means of seminars and conferences

•  To determine and analyse the changes that Turkey encounters in constitutional, legislative, institutional and policy contexts during the European integration process.

The European Studies Programme targets students who aim to:

•  Specialise in the relationship between the European countries and their global relations and work as a director or as a specialist at national and international organisations and NGOs which operate in those fields.

•  Prefer to work as researchers for the European Studies departments and centres worldwide and be accepted to doctoral programmes in those fields.

•  Be trained to work as a director, consultant and researcher at the public and the private sector and international institutions in Turkey and abroad.

•  Work in researcher and executive positions in Europe and Turkey for the world's leading Area/Europe Research Centres and distinguished Think Tanks.

•  Have the opportunity to pursue their careers in the Europe sections of the leading media organisations.

•  Pursue PhD degrees and an academic career in a range of programmes including but not limited to International Relations, Political Science, Area Studies, etc.