Philosophy Department Master’s Program
My name is Esra Alptekin. I’m a first year Master’s student in the Philosophy Department at Istanbul 29 Mayis University. I did my Bachelor’s degree here as well. I decided to continue in my graduate studies here because I was already familiar with the academic team here. This department is host to many different factors that distinguish it from the other departments here. We study both analytic and continental European philosophies as well as Islamic Turkish thought philosophy. Normally, a school will follow one certain school of thought and give that school of thought more weight, however, our program here was designed to be more comprehensive. In the graduate program you can take classes from many different areas of philosophy. In the second semester, you can choose which professor you would like to continue your studies with. Our library here has a very large student capacity. So we can very comfortably work there whenever we want. As well, the Islamic Studies Library also allows third and fourth year graduate students to use their facilities. Our classrooms are open to us in the evening hours so we can work there together in the evenings. My interest lies in children’s studies. I am very interested in active philosophy and alternative education. Another reason I decided to continue my studies here is that while I am studying educational philosophy I can also receive theoretical and practical from my professors and my school. I wanted to work in children’s studies before I came here. So when I told my professors that I wanted support and that I wanted to do active work they said absolutely we can help you. Right now I am in the middle of my studies. So I can get the help I request easily. This is a major advantage for me to study here. What I wanted to study was very specific and precise. So I had to be sure that they would be able to support me in what I wanted to do. My research here as started on the basis of mutual trust. It has been advantageous for me to have an academic community in which I can work, to have contacts with different professors whose references I can use if I decide to work somewhere else, and to have someone to help and focus my article and thesis writing. I can attend study groups that my professors have ties to. With their direction, I can write articles and they can have the results in their hands. Aside from this, as I was saying before, we have many versatile professors in our department. For example, if someone is interested in mathematical logic philosophy, we have Ayhan Çitil. If you are interested in esthetic philosophy, we have Emre Şahan. If you are interested in the philosophy of history or Islamic thought, there is Tahsin Görgün. Those who want to study Hermeneutics can work with Selami Varlık. These names are the names of those professors who lecture in the graduate department here.
The biggest advantage of the library here is that if I give them a list of books that I need, they can supply them to me quickly. If there is a book that we cannot find, they ensure that we can get it. So I think the library here is very beneficial. The library also has the ability to convert documents into PDF format which is even more useful and beneficial for us. We simply tell them which subject we are interested in. Later, while researching this subject, you will be able to recognize experts and researchers in the field. We have professors from so many different fields and these professors have really become experts in their fields.
As well, I think the graduate program scholarship opportunities are important. I think the location of the campus that offers scholarships is important. For example, I am at the Altunizade Campus. Most of the philosophical and social activities happen in Taksim or Üsküda. It’s a big advantage that these places are close to my campus so I can more actively participate in these types of activities. Social well-being is just as important in the educational context. That’s why it is quite important to research your scholarship opportunities well.
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The biggest advantage of the library here is that if I give them a list of books that I need, they can supply them to me quickly. If there is a book that we cannot find, they ensure that we can get it. So I think the library here is very beneficial. The library also has the ability to convert documents into PDF format which is even more useful and beneficial for us. We simply tell them which subject we are interested in. Later, while researching this subject, you will be able to recognize experts and researchers in the field. We have professors from so many different fields and these professors have really become experts in their fields.
As well, I think the graduate program scholarship opportunities are important. I think the location of the campus that offers scholarships is important. For example, I am at the Altunizade Campus. Most of the philosophical and social activities happen in Taksim or Üsküda. It’s a big advantage that these places are close to my campus so I can more actively participate in these types of activities. Social well-being is just as important in the educational context. That’s why it is quite important to research your scholarship opportunities well.