Dear students,

The Department of International Relations is special in many ways. It lies at the intersection of many areas and teaches you how to ensure stability, prosperity and order, and how to protect human life. Its goal has never changed since the first international relations department in the world was founded in Aberystwyth in 1919.  It tries to train people who will ensure that wars do not break out, power is used for nothing other than deterrence, and problems are resolved through international norms, regimes and organizations.
For this purpose, in the İKÜ Department of International Relations, you will take courses from many fields of social sciences including philosophy, sociology, economics and history. You will learn law, history and conflict resolution. You will see how the systems of states work and what factors influence decision-making processes. You will study the Middle East, the Caucasus, the Balkans and the European Union as well as international organizations, media-politics relations, human rights regimes, political transformation and democratization of Turkey throughout history.
With exchange programs, you can spend one year at a university abroad and live among a different culture and internalize other aspects of world politics. The Department offers a multicultural structure. You will have teachers and classmates from all over the world. You will study what the students in any university in Europe or America study.
The department will give you the opportunity to make sense of the world, to get rid of your prejudices, and to see universal norms. It will allow you to look at politics from different perspectives, empathize with others, understand and change yourselves and others.  What the Department tries to do is transform the world through you and make it a more livable place.
The İKÜ International Relations Department lays the groundwork to make you successful academicians, diplomats, journalists, broadcasters, public relations specialists, advertisers, bankers and more. You, as well as our previous graduates, will advance in your professional life with what you have acquired here. All you have to do is work and work hard.
 
I wish you success,

Prof. Dr. Çağla Gül Yesevi
Chair of the Department of International Relations