What Is the Thought, History, and Literature of Islamic Civilization Doctorate Program?
The content of the Thought, History, and Literature of Islamic Civilization Doctorate Program has been structured around Sufi thought, focusing particularly on the history and literature of Islamic civilization, and by relating it to various disciplines of the social sciences and humanities. These programs also aim to contribute to the production of civilization studies originating from Turkey. On closer inspection, it becomes clear that every study dealing with culture in this geography must make reference to the field of Sufism. Research on Sufism today also offers new perspectives to those interested in sociology and human psychology. The education the Institute provides within its Sufi Culture and Literature master's programs has been enriched by the Thought, History, and Literature of Islamic Civilization doctorate program so as to offer deeper and broader opportunities from a scientific standpoint.
Academically, our country lags behind in the fields of academic Area Studies, Religious Studies and Civilization Studies, which have been studied for many years in the West and in Far Eastern countries. This doctorate program also aims to contribute to the development of these fields in our country. In our country, independent interdisciplinary doctorate programs in core fields such as literature, history, religious sciences, anthropology and psychology are almost nonexistent. In addressing society's questions and problems and in examining many issues such as cultural identity and social responsibility, progress is largely made through international references. The number of comparative studies is also insufficient.
The program aims to increase the number of high-quality disciplinary and interdisciplinary studies conducted on manuscripts and primary sources, with language support in Ottoman Turkish first and foremost, as well as Arabic and Persian, which are the research languages of the field. Ensuring the international recognition of works produced in the Seljuk and Ottoman cultural geography is among the specific aims of the Institute for Sufi Studies. For this reason, the programs of the Institute for Sufi Studies include activities aimed at developing English writing and speaking skills.
The need to diversify, in an interdisciplinary sense, the institutional academic ground on which Sufi studies can be conducted is much greater than is generally assumed. To this end, the Sufi Culture and Literature Master's Programs (2016) conducted at our Institute fill a very important gap in our country and respond to this need. The programs give people with different professional backgrounds and professional experience the opportunity to broaden and deepen their own professional perspectives by drawing on the possibilities of the field of Sufism and relating existing approaches to it. The current master's program has a student profile that supports the capacity for interdisciplinary work. In addition to students from different disciplines, the number of students applying to our programs from the fields of Religious Sciences and Theology increases every semester, owing to the opportunities offered by the Institute's interdisciplinary approach and the program's focus on Sufism. Students coming from Religious Sciences and Theology will be able to turn, in addition to studies in the discipline of Sufism, to interdisciplinary research topics in the field of Religious Studies, which is practiced particularly in America, European countries and Japan. In addition, many academics from different disciplines have set their sights on a second career because of the opportunities offered by the program content. Ten percent of the students enrolled in our current master's programs hold doctorates, most of whom are academics. Furthermore, a significant portion of the students are professionals who have already graduated from another master's program.
International students and academics working in the fields of Religious Sciences and Islamic studies also show great interest in the graduate studies conducted at our Institute. Although the language of these programs is Turkish, courses can be offered by faculty members invited from abroad, since our student profile has a particularly strong background in English. Likewise, our Institute's academic staff have the language background to teach international students in English and Arabic. The “International Graduate Summer School” organized by our Institute has attracted great interest in the international community. Through mutual interaction, not only students but also academics coming from abroad gain knowledge of Turkish Sufi sources, which are almost entirely unknown, especially in the West. Our country's manuscript libraries hold the world's richest collections in the field of Sufism. Many researchers who wish to come to our country from abroad for certain periods to conduct studies in the fields of Religious Sciences and Sufism apply to our Institute.
With our Institute's academic staff employed specifically for this field, the newly established Thought, History, and Literature of Islamic Civilization Doctorate Program will offer new interdisciplinary opportunities to produce internationally recognized scientific studies and projects originating from our country, within the academic climate in which Uskudar University, as a thematic university in the field of Behavioral Health and Sciences, brings together the fields of “Psychology, Philosophy, History, Health, Genetics and Engineering.”
What Is the Language of Instruction of the Thought, History, and Literature of Islamic Civilization Doctorate Program?
The language of instruction of the Thought, History, and Literature of Islamic Civilization Doctorate Program is Turkish. It is offered with language support in Ottoman Turkish, one of the research languages of the field, as well as in Arabic. Arabic instruction aims particularly to deepen students' command of classical texts. Persian is among the elective courses. Some of the courses in the elective category are taught in English.
Students may also optionally take one year of Arabic Preparatory Education. The Arabic Preparatory Education is carried out by ARÖMER within the framework of a special protocol developed by the Institute with the Arabic Teaching Application and Research Center (ARÖMER) of 29 Mayıs University.
What Are the Career Fields of the Thought, History, and Literature of Islamic Civilization Doctorate Program?
The program offers opportunities for academic careers and professional development, directly or through interdisciplinary connections, especially for those coming from theoretical and applied fields such as theology, literature, history, psychology, psychiatry, sociology, social anthropology, educational sciences and social services.
What Courses Are Taken in the Thought, History, and Literature of Islamic Civilization Doctorate Program?
Students admitted to the Doctorate Program are required to take at least seven elective courses and one seminar course (62 ECTS in total) within two semesters, with a minimum of 30 ECTS each semester. Within this program, students must complete a total of 240 ECTS, including 7 courses, one seminar, the thesis proposal, 4 specialization field courses and the thesis, in accordance with the doctoral curriculum.
The elective course pool includes the following courses: The Concept of Being in Sufism, Sufism in Islamic Civilization, The Problem of Knowledge in Sufism, Classical Texts of Sufism, Fundamental Issues of Sufism, Manners and Principles (Âdab and Erkân) in Sufism, Theory and Method in Sufi Studies, Special Topics in Sufi Research, Classics of Sufi Literature, Sources of Sufi Turkish Literature, The Story in Sufi Literature, Divans in Sufi Turkish Literature, Prose Works in Sufi Turkish Literature, Masnavis in Sufi Turkish Literature, Methods and Problems of Teaching Sufism, The Sufi Exegesis (Tafsir) Tradition, Methodology in Sufi Research, Sufism and Music, Sufi Terminology, Ottoman Sufi Institutions, Ottoman-Era Masnavi Commentaries, The Commentary Tradition in the Ottoman Empire, Sources of Ottoman Sufi Thought, Ottoman/Turkish History of Sufism, Sufism in the Qur'an and Hadith Literature, Fusus al-Hikam and Sufi Thought, Analysis of Classical Persian Sufi Texts, Persian Sufi Sources, Persian Text Readings, Sufi Studies in the West, and Books of Ethics.
With the exception of graduates of the Sufi Culture and Literature Thesis Master's Program, graduates of a Faculty of Theology, and those who have graduated from any other thesis master's program and have also completed the Sufi Culture and Literature Non-Thesis Master's Program, students admitted to the program will attend the Scientific Preparation class of the Thought, History, and Literature of Islamic Civilization Doctorate Program. The program includes two semesters of Scientific Preparation. Those with the required language proficiency may be exempted from the Scientific Preparation language courses. The preparation basically consists of the courses Ottoman Turkish, Introduction to Arabic, Introduction to Fundamental Islamic Sciences, Sufi Thought and History of Sufism. In addition, the Scientific Research and Writing Techniques course, which includes Methodology of Religious Sciences, will be given to students within the Scientific Preparation Program. Within the program, students may optionally take one year of Arabic Preparatory Education before starting their thesis. The Arabic Preparatory Education is carried out by ARÖMER within the framework of a special protocol developed by the Institute with the Arabic Teaching Application and Research Center (ARÖMER) of 29 Mayıs University.
What Is the Scope and Duration of the Thought, History, and Literature of Islamic Civilization Doctorate Program?
The Thought, History, and Literature of Islamic Civilization Doctorate Program lasts eight semesters, excluding the time spent in scientific preparation, starting from the semester in which the courses of the program in which the student is enrolled are offered, regardless of whether the student registers for each semester; the maximum completion period is twelve semesters. To complete the doctorate program within the specified minimum period, the student must succeed in at least two thesis monitoring committee interim meetings held six months apart after the acceptance of the thesis proposal.
Is Attendance Compulsory in the Thought, History, and Literature of Islamic Civilization Doctorate Program?
Students enrolled in the Thought, History, and Literature of Islamic Civilization Doctorate Program are required to attend all courses. However, absences are permitted provided that they do not exceed 30% of theoretical or practical courses and that there is a justified and valid reason.
Who Can Apply to the Thought, History, and Literature of Islamic Civilization Doctorate Program?
Interested candidates from every discipline who hold a master's degree with thesis may apply to the Thought, History, and Literature of Islamic Civilization Doctorate Program. Candidates who completed their university education abroad are required to have YÖK equivalency.
With the exception of graduates of the Sufi Culture and Literature Thesis Master's Program, graduates of a Faculty of Theology, and those who have graduated from any other thesis master's program and have also completed the Sufi Culture and Literature Non-Thesis Master's Program, students admitted to the program will attend the Scientific Preparation class of the Thought, History, and Literature of Islamic Civilization Doctorate Program. The program includes two semesters of Scientific Preparation.
Candidates applying to the Doctorate Program must have obtained a score of at least 55 in any score type of ALES within the last five years. In addition, they must obtain a score of at least 55, in a language other than their native language, from the central foreign language exams accepted by the Council of Higher Education or from international foreign language exams whose equivalency is accepted, or an equivalent score from international foreign language exams whose equivalency is accepted by ÖSYM.
Candidates applying to the Doctorate Program will be subject to a subject-knowledge exam. The exam will consist of two stages: a written exam and an interview. Students will be admitted to the program in order of success.
