About the Department

The Department of Sociology at Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, was established in 2011 and has achieved significant progress within a relatively short period of time. Prof. Dr. Mustafa ORÇAN served as the founding Head of the Department and held this position until 2017. Subsequently, the department was chaired by Prof. Dr. Cevat ÖZYURT (2017–2020), Prof. Dr. Emrah AKBAŞ (2020–2022), and Prof. Dr. Ramazan YELKEN (2022–2025). As of October 2025, the Head of the Department has been Prof. Dr. Zafer ÇELİK.

The Department began offering undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programs in the 2012–2013 academic year. The current academic staff consists of 9 Professors, 4 Associate Professors, 4 Assistant Professors, 1 Lecturer, and 6 Research Assistants. Detailed information regarding the academic staff can be accessed via the “Academic Staff” tab on the department’s official website.

Affiliated with the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, the Department of Sociology aims to provide students with a comprehensive academic environment in which they can acquire theoretical and methodological knowledge and skills necessary to understand both local and global contexts, as well as to analyze a wide range of social issues and problems. Within this framework, the four-year undergraduate curriculum has been designed to enable students to conduct historical and comparative analyses of social phenomena. The program also places strong emphasis on research- and project-oriented practical studies, thereby encouraging students to make applied contributions to contemporary social issues.

The curriculum includes compulsory courses focusing on the fundamental concepts and problems of sociology, as well as on understanding and analyzing the dynamics of changing social structures, while also offering a wide range of elective courses based on students’ individual interests. In line with the needs of contemporary society, the program covers core subjects such as sociological theory, methodology, statistics, SPSS applications, urban sociology, rural sociology, sociology of knowledge, demography, political sociology, family sociology, and related fields. In addition, numerous elective courses allow students to specialize in areas such as industrial sociology, consumption, crime, health, disasters, body studies, communication, religion, social impact assessment, migration, and regional issues.

Throughout the four-year undergraduate program, the Department aims to equip students with the ability to think sociologically through critical and analytical perspectives, addressing social issues at both micro and macro levels. The Department also seeks to maintain a balanced emphasis on both theoretical knowledge and social research skills.

With this academic background, graduates of the Department earn the title of Sociologist. Sociologists are employed in public institutions, non-governmental organizations, international organizations, and the private sector. In recent years, particularly with the increasing prevalence of European Union–funded projects, the demand for well-qualified sociologists with strong language proficiency and solid sociological training has grown substantially. Moreover, the need for sociologists has been steadily increasing in newly established ministries, Development Agencies, and international organizations such as UNDP. In this context, graduates of the Department enjoy a broad range of employment opportunities, as outlined below.

Graduates of the Department of Sociology may find employment in institutions such as:

  • The Prime Ministry,

  • Ministry of Family and Social Services,

  • Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change,

  • Ministry of National Education,

  • Ministry of European Union Affairs,

  • Ministry of Development,

  • Ministry of Justice,

  • Ministry of Health,

  • Ministry of Interior,

  • Ministry of Culture and Tourism,

  • Regional Development Agencies,

  • TÜBİTAK, Council of Higher Education (YÖK), ULAKBİM,

  • Turkish Statistical Institute,

  • Turkish Employment Agency,

  • National Agency,

  • Turkish Patent and Trademark Office,

  • Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT),

  • General Directorate of Security,

  • Municipalities,

  • Non-Governmental Organizations,

  • Media organizations,

  • Advertising sector,

  • Research and consultancy firms,

  • Private-sector public relations departments,

  • Human resources departments,

  • Strategic planning units,

  • Social impact assessment units,

  • Project development and evaluation departments in public institutions, private sector, or NGOs,

  • Corporate customer relations units,

  • Community centers,

  • Social Assistance and Solidarity Foundations,

  • Prisons,

  • International organizations such as the UN, UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA, UNHCR, UN-HABITAT, UNESCO, UNRWA, ILO, IOM, World Bank, WFP, WHO, FAO, and similar institutions,

  • Institutions involved in EU-funded projects,

  • Publishing houses,

  • Banks.

Graduates may be employed in these and similar institutions as sociologists, experts, assistant experts, data analysts, researchers, evaluators, coordinators, consultants, and administrators. In addition, those who complete postgraduate education may pursue academic careers as faculty members at universities.

With an academic staff specialized in various subfields of sociology, the Department aims not only to fulfill its educational mission but also to contribute to the accumulation of sociological knowledge through research conducted at national and international levels.