Graduate School | Department of Special Education | Doctorate Degree (Ph.D)

Doctorate Degree Programme in Department of Special Education

There are three different doctoral programmes within the Department of Special Education. These doctoral programs are Programme in Education of the Mentally Disabled, Programme in Education of the Hearing Impaired, and Programme in Education of Gifted Children. The goals of these programs are to assist doctoral students to gain the skills of (a) doing research independently (b) interpreting scientific developments (c) contributing to scientific developments, and (d) being equipped with leadership skills to continue their careers. The majority of students who are enrolled to these programmes work at private special education centers or special education institutions affiliated to the Ministry of Education. A significant number of students of the programme work as research assistants at special education departments at universities.

In order to apply for the PhD Programme in the Department of Special Education, the candidates need to be graduates of BA or MA (with thesis) programmes and should have an average grade of minimum 3,00/4,00 (75/100). The candidates who apply with a BA degree should have obtained a minimum of 80 standard points, and those who apply with a MA degree should have obtained a minimum of 70 standard points (according to the type of scoring of the program they apply for) from the ALES examination (Entrance Examination for Academic Personnel and Postgraduate Education). The applicants are also required to have obtained minimum 60 points from the foreign language examinations administered by the Assessment, Selection and Placement Center (ÖSYM). The acceptance grade of the applicants are calculated by taking 50% of the ALES exam grade, 30% of the BA or MA average grade, 20% of the foreign language examination grade, and 20% of the interview score.

The PhD students who had obtained their BA or MA degrees from higher institutions other than the higher institution they apply for have to complete the Scientific Preparation Programme. The duration of this preparation program is maximum two academic semesters, and this period is not included in the duration of the master’s or doctoral programmes as described in the regulations. The students in the Scientific Preparation Programme have to take at least four scientific preparation courses or courses equal to 30 ECTS credits, and maximum eight courses or courses equal to 60 ECTS credits. The scientific preparation courses cannot replace the courses that are necessary to accomplish the postgraduate program. The students who are unable to finish the scientific preparation program successfully within two academic semesters can enroll to continue their education provided that they pay the tuition fees or the student contribution related to that semester. Under this circumstance, they continue to hold their studentship status without having the rights given to other students, except those related to attendance, participation to examinations and thesis preparation.