The International Relations Department, housed within the Faculty of Political Science at Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University (AYBÜ), is an academic unit focused on cultivating highly qualified professionals to meet Turkey’s growing need for experts in international relations and foreign policy. The department aims to educate individuals who can understand rapidly changing global dynamics, are proficient in the requirements of the modern era, and are capable of effectively serving in both public and private sectors. The curriculum is carefully designed to develop students into individuals who can participate in decision-making processes, think analytically, possess specialization potential, closely follow global developments, and comprehend contemporary issues affecting both their country and humanity as a whole.
The primary goal of the department is to provide students with a comprehensive knowledge of international relations, teach the historical development, functioning, and legal framework of the international system, and cultivate the ability to evaluate events and phenomena from a critical perspective. Within this framework, Turkey’s position in the international system and its foreign policy hold a central place in the program. A distinctive feature of AYBÜ’s International Relations Department is that the medium of instruction is English. Upon completion of the four-year undergraduate program (excluding the preparatory year), students are awarded a Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations from the Faculty of Political Science at AYBÜ. The department also offers graduate-level programs, including thesis and non-thesis master’s and doctoral studies. Graduates of the program have a wide range of career opportunities.
They may work in ministries with foreign affairs and European Union units, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; in international organizations such as the United Nations, World Bank, and European Union; in universities and strategic research centers; in public and private banks; in multinational or local companies; as well as in professional organizations with public institution status.
The department comprises four main academic divisions:
International Politics
International Law
International Economic Integration
Political History
Through this comprehensive academic structure, students gain a strong theoretical foundation and multifaceted training, becoming competent professionals with high representational abilities, broad general knowledge, and proficiency in at least one foreign language.