Undergraduate Minor Programs

The minor in Conflict Analysis and Resolution program equips the students with tools to understand and peacefully transform conflicts at various levels. The program introduces the students to different levels of conflict and the ways to address them, providing theoretical knowledge and practical skills about conflicts that will prepare interested students for specializing in the study of conflicts in different social science disciplines.

The minor in Decision and Behavior aims to provide students with analytical and normative tools to understand and evaluate individual and collective behaviors as well as decisions.

The highly interdisciplinary program covers several fields of study including social sciences, humanities, engineering, and management. Also, the courses offered in this minor program include training and discussions on the applications of theories to real-world problems.

Gender continues to be a key category of analysis in the social sciences and humanities, and a central concept in national and international public debates. This program aims to introduce the students to the major issues and approaches in gender and women’s studies, and to equip them with critical skills to analyze the gendered aspects of everyday life, science, politics, economy, culture, and society by combining the analytical tools of disciplines such as anthropology, cultural studies, history, literary studies, media studies, political science, philosophy, sociology, and visual studies.

This program is designed for students who want to acquire a strong background in philosophy and develop their critical thinking skills. The program introduces students to the history of philosophy and contemporary philosophical debates, and equips them with the skills of interpretation and critical reasoning necessary for taking part in these debates. The program offers a sound formation that will prepare interested students for graduate study in philosophy and in humanities and social sciences.

The honors minor program in Art Theory and Criticism merges diverse aspects of visual studies into a unique curriculum, providing the students with an understanding of the major intellectual trends and debates in the visual arts, including art history, theory, criticism, and museum studies. This comprises a study of the new philosophies of vision that have emerged over the past decades and affected our ways of seeing and the new technologies and media that have redefined lifestyles and social relations. A significant aspect of the program is its critical approach. New methods and theories drawn from a variety of disciplines provide students with an intellectually challenging and stimulating venue where they can develop analytical skills to explore the visual arts and their intellectual and theoretical underpinnings. The broad scope of this innovative program ranging from art history and theory to criticism and curatorship, includes an interactive study experience in Istanbul\'s art exhibitions, in particular the Sakıp Sabancı Museum, offering our students a unique opportunity to test their theoretical knowledge.

The minor program in Society, Culture, and Politics equips students with theoretical and methodological tools to understand and interpret current social, cultural, and political dynamics and forces at both local and global scales for a sustainable planetary future. The minor program introduces students to different social situations and developments as well as the ways these are framed and used in various forms of socio-cultural, political, and economic analysis. By completing the program students will be able to identify social issues and problems and gain the skills and knowledge necessary to become critical actors and decision-makers in divergent organizations and in a complex society.

The International Studies minor program equips students with the knowledge and skills to understand and analyze international politics as well as the complex economic, cultural and political transformations that are taking place at the global level. The minor program introduces to students the fundamental topics in international relations and economy and offers a wide range of topics of interests such as foreign policy, international business, international finance, globalization, international law, climate change, human rights, migration among others. By completing the program, students will be able to understand the political, societal, economic factors driving international and global challenges and gain the necessary skills and background to operate in a complex world and pursue careers that address international and global challenges and governance.