Prof. Dr. Ayseli Usluata
Chairwoman

Public Relations and Publicity Department Master's Program

The increasing significance of communication in each area of life requires public relations and publicity specialists to be trained in strategic communication and to assume more and more active roles in business, politics, public institutions, civil society organizations, the entertainment sector and sports. These developments make it obligatory for master's programs both to adapt themselves to wide ranging career options and to provide the kind of education required for an academic career. Therefore, the Public Relations and Publicity Department Master's Program aims to train professionally competent practitioners and researchers to be globally sensitive. To this end, our Program includes the courses like strategic communication, advanced communication theories, public relations, persuasion and perception, lobbying, rhetorics, creative writing and presentations, intercultural communication, crisis management, problem solving and political culture within a wide range of fields.

Our Master's Program assumes a complementary role in devising the career plans of the candidates who got their bachelor's degrees from other fields. The curriculum is organized both to help those who are not able to further their graduate studies achieve their targets and to prepare the others who want to acquire an academic career for their doctorate studies.

The key to the success of our Program is its education system, which combines theory and practice with pleasure and which focuses on intercultural communication, and its academic staff who have offered lectures abroad in various countries, who have a wide horizon and who enjoy teaching.

International double major

Our Department, which has adopted global strategic communication education as its principle and aims to train graduates capable of working at any levels in the international area, has made a double major degree agreement with University of Central Lancashire, United Kingdom. We have completed the procedures for the double major degree in the field of "Global Strategic Communication" with University of Central Lancashire, United Kingdom, which will help our students acquire international experience. We are proud of being the first department which offers graduate students the chance to obtain a double major degree in global strategic communication.

FOR WHOM?

Combining theory with practice, Our Master's Program welcomes those applicants who aim
. to know more about themselves through communication, 
. to develop their personal areas of interests, knowledge and skills and
. to prepare themselves for doctorate studies / to contribute more efficiently and consciously to the corporations they work for; and also those who want to conduct creative works and researches and produce projects in an environment where computers, internet and multimedia hardware is available.

Public Relations and Publicity Master's Program welcomes all applicants who have obtained their bachelor's degrees from any undergraduate programs of 4 years. However, it is necessary for those who have not got their bachelor's degrees from communication faculties to complete the Scientific Preparation Program. "Scientific Preparation Program" provides the applicants with the options necessary for their graduate education in public relations and publicity.

EDUCATION PROCESS

The students, who are about to complete the program, are expected to analyze problems in their corporations using social theory and research techniques in combination and to assume the leadership to this end. Our program helps students achieve their personal targets through selective courses. Via various selective courses graduate candidates, who are expected to work in various fields related to communication, are trained not only for positions at the elementary levels but also for their self-development in their areas of interest. And those who will work for an academic career prepare themselves for doctorate studies via theory based courses and their dissertations. As our classes are not crowded, we offer the students the chance for interactive education in each course and orient them towards conducting unique research opportunities to present their work.

CONDITIONS FOR ADMISSION TO THE PROGRAM

*Those applicants who got their bachelor's degrees from undergraduate programs of 4 years in Turkey or other programs abroad which have been accredited by YOK can be admitted to our Master's Program.

*The applicants are expected to have minimum 55 points in ALES (Academic Personnel and Graduate Education Exam) required by YOK (For foreign students, GRE (linguistic/equal weight) 950, written 3.5 or GMAT 550).

*Moreover, the applicants are expected to succeed in the Oral Scientific Exam. The students from other disciplines are required to attend the Scientific Preparation Program.

* The language of education in the Program is English. The candidates are required to have minimum 213 (computerized system) or 550 (written system) in TOEFL or 4.5 in TWE (Test of Written English) in the last two years. The students who have succeeded in the scientific exam but do not have sufficient English skills start the Master's Program after they complete the English Preparation Program.

Applications will be submitted to the Institute of Social Sciences.

Tel: (0216) 578 06 54 - 578 16 39 - 578 16 32
E-mail: sbeyukseklisans@yeditepe.edu.tr

Students and applicants are welcomed to contact the Public Relations and Publicity Department for their questions about the Program.

Tel: (0216) 578 06 46 - 578 08 35 - 578 08 36
E-mail: prpyeditepe@yeditepe.edu.tr

CURRICULUM

The students who are accepted to the Program but have come from other disciplines are expected to fulfill the requirements of the Scientific Preparation Program before they start the Master's Program. The students who will attend the Scientific Preparation Program must have minimum five courses.

Public Relations and Publicity Master's Program is composed of two programs, either thesis or non-thesis. In order to complete the program, the students are expected to two main and two elective courses of three credits each in two semesters. After completing a total of 24 credits, students start to work on their research projects to write their dissertations, which they complete in one year. Students complete the Non-thesis Master's Program by completing three extra courses in addition to the required courses in the Thesis Master's Program.

Our Department in the international arena

Our Department is a member of ECREA (European Communication Research and Education Agency).

Our department brings together students from two different continents in the same class:

Public Relations and Publicity Department has been offering the course called Intercultural Communication within a novel and international project, Global Class, in collaboration with USA University of Nebraska-Lincoln Faculty of Communication since fall 2005 semester. American and Turkish students have the opportunity to see and communicate each other via video-conferencing.

Our Department has taken the responsibility of publishing the Turkish edition of Global Media Journal, on the address http://globalmediajournaltr.yeditepe.edu.tr/ The journal acts as a "Global Network of Communication Scholars," which has proven itself in the world with its 15 different editions.

Our Deparment has hosted 2 international conferences.