Upcoming Events

  • Bilkent History Graduate Symposium Call for Paper Deadline February 14, 2025 For more information please refer to: history.bilkent.edu.tr/bilkent-history-graduate-symposium-2025
  • Bilkent History Graduate Symposium 2025 Accepted Abstracts Announcement March 1, 2025 via e-mail.
  • Bilkent History Graduate Symposium 2025 Day 1 May 7, 2025

 

 

There are three tracks within the Programs for Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy in History: Ottoman History, European History and American History.

 FACULTY OF ECONOMICS, ADMINISTRATIVE AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
PROGRAM FOR MASTER OF ARTS 1

 

Number of courses

Total Credits

Compulsory courses

2

6

Compulsory thesis-related courses

3

0

Electives

6

18

Total

11

24

Compulsory Courses:

Course Code

Course Name

Credit

HIST 507

Methodology in History I

3

HIST 508

Methodology in History II

3

GE 590

Academic Practices

0

HIST 692

Pre-Thesis Seminar 2

0

HIST 599

Master’s Thesis

0

Total

6

 

Restricted Elective Courses: (Five of the following)

 

All HIST 5XX or higher level courses with at least 3 credits.

Elective Course: (One of the following)

All 5XX or higher level courses with at least 3 credits.

 

1. There are three tracks within the Program for Master of Arts in History: Ottoman History, European History and American History.

2. To satisfy the requirements of the Pre-Thesis Seminar, additional thesis-related courses, including language courses, may be specified by the student’s Academic Advisor and the Department.

 

 

What does this mean in practice?

HIST 692 Pre-Thesis Seminar is a non-credit course, directed by the student’s academic advisor, which runs in each of the semesters of the MA Program, designed to ensure that the student is doing, or has done, the necessary relevant courses for his or her thesis and degree, both within the credits specified above, and sometimes in addition to them, and that the student is otherwise prepared to graduate as Master of Arts in History.

In the case of each track in the Master of Arts Program, there are normally required courses. If a student is exempted from a course normally required, it should be replaced by another course as agreed with the student’s academic adviser. There may be exceptions made to the requirements below, but all exceptions need to be approved by both the student’s academic advisor and the department.

 

For all MA Students

Students should be aware that the department requires all MA students to demonstrate some proficiency in a Modern Foreign Language other than English or Turkish by the tıme of graduatıon from the Master Program and should take additional language courses if this requirement has not already been satisfied or waived because of an existing proficiency in such a language.

Note that the following courses should be taken every semester until graduation:

GE 590            Academic Practices
HIST 692         Pre-Thesis Seminar

Note also that the course

HIST 599         Master’s Thesis

should be taken every semester until graduation, normally starting from the First Semester of the Second Year of the MA program, or earlier if the requirements for the Restrictive Elective courses  and Elective course have already been satisfied.

 

MA Program (American History Track) — Courses Normally Required

The 5 required Restrictive Elective Courses should be courses designated by the Department as American History courses. In most cases this should be obvious. If in doubt, ask. Note that some courses with a transatlantic reach may be designated as both American and European History courses.

The single unrestricted Elective Course, which can be from any department including the Department of History, should be chosen in consultation with the student’s academic adviser.

 

 

 

MA Program (European History Track) — Courses Normally Required

The 5 required Restrictive Elective Courses should be courses designated by the Department as European History courses. In most cases this should be obvious. If in doubt, ask. Note that some courses with a transatlantic reach may be designated as both American and European History courses.

The single unrestricted Elective Course, which can be from any department including the Department of History, should be chosen in consultation with the student’s academic adviser.

In addition to these, students will be required to do the following courses, if and when they are offered, unless they have already been done, for example in the Preparatory Year:

HIST 416     Medieval British History
 HIST 481     Latin for Medieval and Early Modern History I
 HIST 482     Latin for Medieval and Early Modern History II

 

MA Program (Ottoman History Track) — Courses Normally Required

The 5 required Restrictive Elective Courses should be courses designated by the Department as Ottoman History courses. In most cases this should be obvious. If in doubt, ask. Among these courses, the following are compulsory unless they have already been taken:

HIST 501     Ottoman Paleography I
HIST 502     Ottoman Paleography II

The single unrestricted Elective Course, which can be from any department including the Department of History, should be chosen in consultation with the student’s academic adviser.

In addition to the above, students must complete, or have completed, or must have been specifically exempted by the Department from, the following:

HIST 401     Ottoman Turkish and Paleography I
HIST 402     Ottoman Turkish and Paleography II

Normally these courses would have been done during the Preparatory Year, but there may be occasions, for instance with a student joining the Department having completed the Minor Program in History (see Minor Program in History), or where these courses have been postponed because of insufficient Modern Turkish, where this is not so.