Psychology

Hello. My name is Prof. Dr. Işıl BİLİCAN. I have been a faculty member and the department chair of the Psychology Department at Istanbul Medeniyet University since 2012. Our department staff consists of professors from various fields of psychology. The aim of our department is to provide fundamental courses in different areas of psychology. These areas include developmental psychology, social psychology, clinical psychology, and industrial psychology, representing various domains of psychology. Our department follows the scientist-practitioner model, which aims to enable students to conduct research, develop academic knowledge, and have a practical foundation. The courses in our department are designed based on the accreditation regulations of the Turkish Psychologists Association. In the first year, in addition to the introductory course to psychology, courses related to psychology are offered from other disciplines. These include introductory courses to sociology, philosophy, economics, biology, and mathematics, aiming to provide students with knowledge and understanding of the interconnectedness of psychology with other fields. In the second year, psychology students take their compulsory courses, which include cognitive psychology, social psychology, developmental psychology, statistics 1, statistics 2, and personality psychology. The third year builds upon the second year and includes more advanced courses that require a deeper understanding of psychology. These courses include psychopathology, clinical psychology in personality, industrial and organizational psychology, physiology, and physiological psychology. In the third year, our students also start taking elective courses. These elective courses can be from the psychology department, as well as from the faculty and university elective courses. In the fourth year, our students have three remaining mandatory courses. These include ethics, history of psychology, and a mandatory internship course. In addition to these, our students can take elective courses from the department, faculty, or university. The aim of faculty and university elective courses is to contribute to students' knowledge and understanding of university life and social sciences. They have the freedom to choose a certain number of elective courses. Our department has a laboratory for our students, where they learn the practical application of statistical knowledge, such as using the SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) program. In this course, they learn how to use SPSS practically, analyze data, and report their findings. This is one of the courses that we attach great importance to. Our students will continue to utilize the skills they acquire in these laboratory courses in their subsequent classes. One of the aspects of our department that we take great pride in is providing internship opportunities to our students. During the fall semester of the fourth year, our students participate in an internship program in the psychiatric department of a hospital. This allows them to establish contact with patients and gain hands-on experience. Our department has ERASMUS agreements. Currently, we have agreements with three European universities, and the number of these agreements continues to increase over time. Our students are encouraged to make use of these facilities.

Our department organizes many events. Throughout the year, we invite many academicians to share their research in their respective areas of expertise. Our students are also invited to these meetings. Additionally, we organize seminar series based on current developments. For example, one of the recent seminars we organized focused on disaster management. For the past three years, we have also been organizing career days. These career days allow both current students and alumni to participate. We invite expert psychologists who are both academics and practitioners to meet with our students and alumni, enabling them to benefit from their experiences. Moreover, our students have the opportunity to participate in national and international projects led by faculty members. They can join projects funded by institutions like TÜBİTAK (Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey) or teachers' TÜBİTAK projects. They can also participate in faculty members' internationally supported projects, ERASMUS projects, and other EU projects, gaining valuable experience through their involvement. Furthermore, our students collaborate with faculty members in conducting TÜBİTAK projects. We take great pride in the TÜBİTAK projects that our supported students have written so far. Additionally, our faculty members attend national and international conferences every year. Some of the conferences we regularly participate in include the National Psychology Congress in Turkey and the Işık Savaşır Clinical Psychology Congress. As for international conferences, we attend events such as the European Congress of Psychology, International Congress of Applied Psychology, and European Congress of Work Psychology. The fields in which psychology graduates can work are very diverse. After graduating from our department, our students can work as clinical psychologists in hospitals by obtaining a master's degree in clinical psychology or work as psychologists without specializing in clinical psychology. They can also work as clinical psychologists in private clinics and rehabilitation centers in correctional facilities. They have the opportunity to work in nurseries and shelters as well. Additionally, they can find employment in human resources departments, public relations departments, and sales departments of various organizations. In short, the career opportunities for psychology graduates are extensive. Our department is known for its friendly and approachable environment. Our faculty members are also friendly and approachable, so I cannot say that our students face significant difficulties in their courses. However, some courses may require more effort due to their nature. For example, based on the feedback we have received from our students, they may face some challenges in the academic English course. To ensure that our students can follow the literature, especially during their postgraduate studies, academic English is a mandatory course. In case students face difficulties in this course, our faculty members provide the necessary support. Furthermore, in our experimental psychology course, students are taught to write articles according to the standards of the American Psychological Association (APA). It may take some time for them to become accustomed to these standards, and we provide the necessary assistance in correcting their writing to help them adapt to these standards.