Doctoral (PhD) Programs

Opening a Phd program

ARTICLE 30 –(1) The institute in which the doctorate program will be opened and how it will be conducted is determined by the decision of the relevant department / department board, the recommendation of the head of the department / department, the decision of the institute board of directors and the approval of the Senate and opened with the approval of the Council of Higher Education.

 

Aim and scope of Phd program

ARTICLE 31 –(1) The aim of a Ph.D. program is to equip students with the skills of doing independent research, interpreting scientific phenomena with broad and in-depth analysis and determining the necessary steps that will lead to new syntheses.

(2) The authentic thesis to be prepared following doctoral work must bear qualities introducing innovation to science by generating new knowledge, developing a new method of scientific research and applying this, .developing a new application of a well-known method and applying this

(3) The Phd program requires a total of twenty-one credits for students admitted with a master's degree with thesis and a minimum of 240 credits, a seminar, proficiency exam, thesis proposal and thesis study, not less than 60 ECTS for a one-year academic year. It consists of ECTS credits. For students admitted with a bachelor's degree, it consists of a total of at least 300 ECTS credits, including 14 courses with at least forty-two credits, a seminar, qualifying exam, thesis proposal and thesis work.

(4) In Phd programs, a maximum of two courses for students who have been admitted with a master's degree and a maximum of four courses for students who have been accepted with a bachelor's degree can be selected from the courses offered in other higher education institutions with the recommendation of the head of the institute department / department with approval of the institute board of directors.

(5) Thesis study is non-credit and assessed as successful or unsuccessful.

(6) A student cannot take more than 12 national credits in a semester..

(7) Phd programs cannot be opened as evening education.

(8)Provided that a PhD student takes courses from an undergraduate program, the courses taken are not equivalent towards the course load and doctoral credits.

(9) The Phddoctorate program can be organized as a national and international integrated doctoral program. The methods and principles of the implementation of this type of program are determined by YÖK upon the recommendation of the Senate..

 

The duration of a Ph.D. program

ARTICLE 32 –For students who are admitted with a master's degree with thesis, excluding the time spent in scientific preparation, the Phd program is eight semesters, regardless of whether they enroll for each semester, starting from the semester in which the courses related to the program they are enrolled in, and the maximum completion period is twelve semesters; Ten semesters for those admitted with a bachelor's degree and the maximum completion period is fourteen semesters..

(2) The maximum period of successfully completing the credit courses required for the doctorate program is four semesters for those who are accepted with a master's degree with thesis and six semesters for those who are accepted with a bachelor's degree. Students who fail to complete their credit courses successfully within this period or who cannot achieve the minimum GPA required by the University are dismissed from the relevant program..

(3) A student who successfully completes his credit courses and seminar, who is successful in The doctoral comprehensive examination and whose thesis proposal is accepted, but cannot complete his thesis study until the end of twelve or fourteen semesters stated in the first paragraph, is dismissed from the institute.

(4) Students who have applied to a Phd program with a bachelor's degree, who cannot complete their credit courses and / or thesis within the maximum duration, and those who fail in their doctoral thesis, are awarded a master's diploma without thesis upon their request, provided that they have fulfilled the credit load, project and other similar requirements for the non-thesis master's degree and is dismissed.

(5) The periods of the students who have been suspended from the university are counted in the education period.

Ph.D. thesis supervisor

ARTICLE 33 –(1) The head of the relevant department / department recommends a thesis advisor for each student to the relevant institute by the end of the first semester at the latest, taking into account the preference of the student. The thesis advisor is finalized with the approval of the institute board of directors. Until a consultant is appointed, the consultancy duty is carried out by the head of the department / department. The thesis advisor must be appointed by the end of the first term at the latest..

(2The thesis advisor is selected from among the faculty members. If there are no faculty members with the specified qualifications, a faculty member from another higher education institution can be selected as a consultant by the relevant institute board of directors within the framework of the principles determined by the Senate. Except for the departments of dentistry, pharmacy, medicine and veterinary faculties, the selected faculty member must have directed at least one master's thesis successfully completed.

(3) The thesis advisor works on course selection, seminar and thesis topic determination, thesis project proposal, term project, thesis study interim report, thesis proposal defense, thesis monitoring committee, proficiency, thesis defense examination, exhibition, project and similar subjects.

(4) Field of Specialization course and thesis consultancy starts on the date of appointment by the institute board of directors and continues until the graduation of the student. Specialization field course and thesis consultancy continue during the summer break. Each student is obliged to take the specialized field course..

(5) In cases where the nature of the thesis study requires more than one thesis advisor, a second thesis advisor may be appointed. The second thesis supervisor is recommended to the relevant institute through the head of the department / department, taking into account the reasoned recommendation of the thesis supervisor and the decision of the relevant department / department board, and it is finalized with the decision of the institute board of directors. The second thesis supervisor may also be from non-University staff members who have at least a doctorate degree.

(6) The thesis advisor is also in charge of the seminar from the date of appointment. The doctorate student has to give at least one seminar on the thesis topic. The subject of the seminar related to the thesis, proposed by the seminar supervisor, is notified to the relevant institute by the head of the department at the beginning of the second semester at the earliest. The place and time of the seminar will be announced by the relevant institute at least ten days in advance. The seminar work is open to listeners who are interested in the subject. The presented seminar is evaluated as successful or unsuccessful by a three-person jury determined by the head of the department / department by taking the opinion of the seminar supervisor. The result is notified to the related institute within five working days by the head of the department / department with a report together with a report of the seminar. In case of failure in the seminar, the principles applied in case of failure in other courses are taken into consideration. (7) Tez danışmanının izin, hastalık, yurt dışı seyahat ve benzeri nedenlerle mazeretinin olması halinde danışmanın mazereti ve süresinde onaylanması gereken belgeler anabilim/anasanat dalı başkanı tarafından onaylanır ve söz konusu belgeler, süresi içinde ilgili enstitüye teslim edilir.

(8)The thesis advisor of the doctoral student can be changed with the approval of the institute board of directors upon the decision of the department / department board and the reasoned recommendation of the department / department chair. In cases where there is an excuse such as long-term domestic / foreign assignment, leave, illness, change of institution that will prevent the thesis advisor from fulfilling his duty, the student advisor may change with the decision of the department / department board and the approval of the institute board of directors upon the justified suggestion of the head of the department / department. In case the advisor is changed due to compulsory reasons, the student must be successful in at least one thesis monitoring committee meeting under the supervision of the newly appointed advisor in order to enter the thesis defense exam. 

Proficiency Examination for Phd Students

ARTICLE 34 –(1) The aim of the proficiency exam is to test whether the student has in-depth knowledge of basic subjects and topics related to doctoral study. A student takes the proficiency exam at most twice a year.

(2) The student is taken to the proficiency exam after completing the seminars and the required credit courses in the maximum time. However, the student who is admitted with a master's degree must take the proficiency exam by the end of the fifth semester at the latest, and the student admitted with a bachelor's degree at the end of the seventh semester. Proficiency exams are held each semester between the end of the final exams and the starting dates of the following semester.

(3) Board of the doctoral proficiency consists of five members, primarily the head of the relevant department / department and the heads of the science / arts branch of that department. In case the number of science / art branches is more or less, the committee is formed by the board of the department / department.

(4) Proficiency exams are organized and conducted by a five-person doctoral qualification committee recommended by the institute head of the department / department and approved by the institute board of directors. The committee creates juries and presents them to the institute board of directors in order to prepare, apply and evaluate exams in different fields. The doctoral qualifying exam jury consists of five faculty members, at least two of whom are from outside the University, including the advisor. The relevant Graduate School Administrative Board decides whether the advisor has the right to vote. If the advisor does not have the right to vote, the jury consists of six faculty members. Proficiency exam meetings are held open to the participation of an audience consisting of academic staff, graduate students and experts in the field.

(5) The proficiency exam is held in two parts, written and oral. Students who are successful in the written exam are taken the oral exam. The doctoral proficiency exam jury evaluates the student's success in written and oral exams and decides by absolute majority whether the student is successful or unsuccessful. This decision is notified to the relevant institute within three working days following the proficiency exam by the head of the department / department with the approval of the doctoral proficiency committee.

(6) The student who fails the proficiency exam is taken to the exam again in the next semester for the department / departments he failed. The student who fails in this exam is dismissed from the doctoral program..

(7) The doctoral qualifying exam jury may request a student who passes the qualifying exam to take extra courses / courses, even if they have completed the course load, provided that they do not exceed one-third of the total credit amount. The student has to succeed in the courses determined by the decision of the relevant institute. 

Doctoral thesis advisory committee

ARTICLE 35 –(1) For the student who is successful in the proficiency exam, a thesis monitoring committee is formed within a month with the decision of the department / department board and the approval of the relevant institute board of directors.

(2) The thesis monitoring committee consists of three faculty members. In addition to the thesis advisor, the committee includes one member from within and outside of the relevant institute department / department. Care is paid to ensure that the areas of expertise of the members of the thesis monitoring committee are in line with the thesis subject and that faculty members of the relevant discipline take part in interdisciplinary thesis studies. In case of the second thesis advisor, the second thesis supervisor can attend the committee meetings without voting rights..

(3) In the periods after the establishment of the thesis monitoring committee, the members can be changed with the recommendation of the head of the institute department / department and the approval of the institute board of directors. 

Defense of the thesis proposal

ARICLE 36 –(1) The student who successfully succeeds the doctoral proficiency exam defends verbally in front of the thesis monitoring committee his thesis proposal, which includes the purpose, method and study plan of the research to be carried out within six months. The student distributes the thesis proposal form to the members of the committee at least fifteen days before the oral defense within the framework of the principles determined by the institute.

 (2) Thesis proposal defense can be made open to the audience.

(3) The thesis monitoring committee decides by absolute majority whether the thesis proposal submitted by the student will be accepted, corrected or rejected. This decision will be reported to the institute within the next three working days. In case of a correction decision, a period of one month is given. At the end of this period, the decision of acceptance or rejection by absolute majority is reported to the institute within three working days following the end of the process by the head of the institute department / department. The thesis proposal is approved by the institute board of directors.

(4) The student who does not participate in the thesis proposal defense without a valid excuse is considered unsuccessful and the thesis proposal is rejected..

(5) The student whose thesis proposal is rejected has the right to choose a new supervisor and / or thesis topic. In this case, a new thesis monitoring committee can be appointed. The student who wants to continue the program with the same advisor is taken to the thesis proposal defense within three months, and the student who changes the advisor and thesis subject within six months. The student defends the new thesis proposal as stated in the first paragraph. The student whose thesis proposal is rejected in this defense is dismissed from the relevant program..

(6) For the student whose thesis proposal is accepted, the thesis monitoring committee meets twice a year, once between January-June and July-December. Head of department / department notifies the meeting date of the thesis monitoring committee to the relevant institute fifteen days before. At least one month before the meeting date, the student presents a written report to the members of the committee within the framework of the principles determined by the relevant institute. In this report, the summary of the work done so far and the work plan to be done in the next semester are stated. The student's thesis work is determined as successful or unsuccessful by the committee. A student who fails twice in a row or three times intermittently by the committee is dismissed from the relevant program. 

Finalization of a Doctoral thesis

Article 37 –(1) A student in a Phd program has to write her outcomes in accordance with the thesis writing guide determined by the relevant institute and defend her/his thesis orally in front of the jury.

(2) In order for the student to enter the thesis defense, it has to be stated that he / she has to be successful in at least three thesis monitoring committee reports and that he / she can take the thesis defense examination in the last thesis monitoring committee report.

 (3) Before the defense of the doctoral thesis and for the theses with corrections, the student completes the thesis and presents it to the advisor. Head of department sends seven paperback copies and digital copy of the thesis to the relevant institute together with the advisor's opinion that the thesis is defensible. The Institute takes the plagiarism software report for the thesis and sends it to the advisor and the jury members together with a copy of the thesis. If a real plagiarism is detected in the data in the report, the thesis is sent to the institute board of directors to be decided with its justification.

(4) Doctoral thesis defense date, place, time and jury are determined by the recommendation of the thesis supervisor and the head of the department and by the decision of the institute board of directors. The jury consists of five principal and two substitute faculty members, three of whom are on the student's thesis monitoring committee, and at least two of them are from outside the University, including the advisor. The relevant board of directors decides whether the consultant has the right to vote. If the advisor does not have the right to vote, the main jury consists of six faculty members. In addition, the second thesis advisor can take part in the jury without the right to vote.

(5) The jury members gather within one month at the latest from the date the thesis is submitted to them and take the student to the thesis defense. The thesis defense exam consists of the presentation of the thesis study and the following question and answer section. Thesis defense meetings are held open to the participation of lecturers, graduate students and audiences from the field.

(6) After the completion of the thesis exam, the jury makes the decision of acceptance, rejection or correction of the thesis by absolute majority, without the audience. Students whose thesis is accepted are considered successful. This decision is reported to the relevant institute within three days following the thesis exam by the head of the institute department / department. The student, whose thesis is rejected, is dismissed from the institute. The student whose thesis is decided to be corrected defends his thesis again in front of the same jury by making the necessary corrections within six months at the latest. The student who fails in this defense is dismissed from the institute..

(7) Substitute members are invited by the head of the relevant department / department to replace the main jury members who could not attend the defense exam due to excuse. Defense exam cannot be held with missing members and without a thesis advisor. For the exam that cannot be held on the announced day, the situation is determined with a report and reported to the relevant institute by the department / department and a new exam date is determined and a second exam is held within fifteen days. The institute board of directors decides the action to be taken on juries who cannot convene for the second time.

(8) If a student who has been accepted to the doctorate program with a bachelor's degree and fails in his doctoral thesis requests, he / she is dismissed from the institute by being awarded a master's degree without a thesis, provided that they fulfill the required credit load, project and other similar conditions. 

 

Phd Diplomas

ARTICLE 38 –(1) The student who completes the thesis study submits the requested number of copies of the thesis to his advisor. The advisor sends the copies of the thesis to the relevant institute through the head of the department / branch with the opinion that the thesis is written in terms of compliance with the spelling rules.

(2) The student who submits at least three copies of the bound and signed by the members of the jury to the relevant institute within one month from the date of entry to the thesis examination and is found in accordance with the thesis writing guide, provided that he / she is successful in the defense of the thesis and meets the other conditions, is entitled to receive a doctoral diploma. Doctoral student whose thesis is approved by the board of directors of the institute is given a temporary graduation certificate until the doctoral diploma or diploma is prepared. The institute board of directors can extend the delivery period for a maximum of one more month upon application. A student who does not fulfill these conditions cannot receive a temporary graduation certificate and / or diploma, cannot benefit from student rights and is dismissed from the institute if the maximum period expires.

(3) On the doctorate diploma, the name of the program in the institute department / department is approved by YÖK. The date of graduation is the date on which the signed copy of the thesis is submitted to the relevant institute by the exam jury commission

(4) Within three months from the delivery of the thesis, a copy of the doctoral thesis is sent to YÖK by the relevant institute electronically for scientific research and activities.