The Comparative Studies in History and Society (CSHS) MA program provides a comprehensive and advanced introduction to major methodological, thematic, and theoretical approaches to history, drawing on related disciplines and the broad faculty expertise at Koç University in the humanities and social sciences such as sociology, gender studies and political science. In particular, the program offers an integrated comparative historical approach that allows students to gain a broader and deeper understanding of historical processes in the Middle East, Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean basin, and East and South Asia from the early modern period to the present. While in their thesis, students could focus on a single geographical region, they are encouraged to engage with fields of scholarship beyond the spatio-temporal scope of their research projects.

The CSHS MA program is a two-year degree program with a thesis. Students take courses in the first year and conduct their research and complete a thesis in the second year. The students identify specific faculty whom they wish to collaborate with on mutually agreed upon research projects. Mirroring the methodological diversity of the program’s faculty, students could employ various research methods, including but not limited to archival research, digital humanities, and oral history.

The program will help serve the career needs of students in two ways. First, the program will prepare students who wish to continue to PhD programs in Türkiye and abroad. Second, it will train students who are interested in research and policy-related positions in governmental, non-governmental and international organizations in Türkiye and abroad.