Rules Regarding Course Selection

Summary Selections from Principles Regarding Ph.D. Programs: Important rules to consider in order to successfully complete the Ph.D. program are summarized below.

Success in the Ph.D. Program (Reference: Article 26)

1) The maximum duration in the Ph.D. program is six years. Students who will receive a Ph.D. degree within this period are expected to complete the courses envisaged in their program within a maximum of four semesters (excluding scientific preparation period, and a maximum of six semesters for Ph.D. students admitted with an undergraduate degree) and with a CGPA of at least 3.00.

2) Students who successfully complete the course obligations of the Ph.D. program with a CGPA of at least 3.00 are eligible to take the proficiency exam. Otherwise, they repeat the courses in which they received F, CC, and CB grades until they meet this condition.

Ph.D. Proficiency Exam and Thesis Proposal Defense (Reference: Article 27)

1) Students who successfully complete their course obligations with a CGPA of at least 3.00 are eligible to take the proficiency exam.
2) The proficiency exam jury consists of five members, including the thesis advisor and one faculty member from outside the University.
3) The Ph.D. proficiency exam is held in two parts: written and oral. ... A student who fails the proficiency exam may be re-examined by registering for the proficiency term within the following semester. The student who fails this exam as well may be asked to retake courses with or without credit upon the recommendation of the relevant jury. Students who succeed in these courses can retake the proficiency exam.

4) In case of failing the proficiency exam a total of three times, the student is obliged to retake all courses of the program.

5) The student who successfully completes the courses and passes the proficiency exam registers for the Ph.D. thesis.

6) The student who passes the Ph.D. proficiency exam shall orally defend their thesis proposal, which includes the purpose, method, and work plan of their research, before the Thesis Monitoring Committee within six months at the latest. The thesis grade of a student who fails to present their proposal within the requested period shall be F. The student shall deliver a written report regarding the thesis proposal to the committee members at least fifteen days before the oral defense.

7) A student whose thesis proposal is rejected has the right to choose a new advisor and thesis topic. A new Thesis Monitoring Committee may be appointed for the student whose advisor or thesis topic changes. A student who wishes to continue the program with the same advisor can defend the thesis proposal again within three months, and a student who changes the advisor and thesis topic can defend it within six months. A student whose thesis proposal is rejected in this defense or who has not presented a thesis proposal within the given period is taken into the proficiency exam again.

8) If a student who successfully completes the proficiency exam does not register for the thesis within the following two academic semesters, they repeat the proficiency exam.

9) Students whose thesis proposal is accepted but who do not start their thesis studies within two academic semesters are asked to submit a new thesis proposal.

Ph.D. Thesis (Reference: Article 28)

1) Ph.D. students who pass the proficiency exam must successfully defend their thesis within the total six-year period, which is the completion period of the Ph.D. program. This period starts in the semester they first register for the Ph.D. program, and this period does not include the scientific preparation period.

2) For the student whose thesis proposal is accepted, the Thesis Monitoring Committee meets twice a year, once in each semester. At least one month before the meeting date, the student submits a written report containing a summary of their work up to that point and the work plan for the next period to the committee members.

3) An additional period of maximum four semesters can be granted to a student who has passed the course program, proficiency exam, and thesis proposal defense, but cannot prepare their thesis and take the thesis exam within the period specified in Law No. 2547, upon the recommendation of the relevant department and the approval of the relevant institute executive board.

4) If a student who has not been able to complete their thesis by the end of the maximum period and has received an additional period of up to four semesters fails to complete and successfully defend their thesis in this additional period, upon the recommendation of the relevant department and the decision of the relevant institute executive board, this student is granted ..., if necessary, a new thesis topic and an additional period of six semesters. If deemed necessary, with the decision of the relevant institute executive board, the thesis advisor may be changed, and they may be asked to take additional course(s) and retake the proficiency exam. As long as the student cannot successfully defend their thesis and graduate, this paragraph is repeated.

5) The student's thesis work is evaluated as successful or unsuccessful by the committee, and is reported by their advisor to the Registrar's Office as a TP or F grade at the end of the semester. A student who receives an F grade from the thesis work twice consecutively or three times intermittently, or who remains unregistered for two consecutive semesters, repeats the proficiency exam.

Thesis Defense (Reference: Article 29)

1) A student who completes their thesis work must write the obtained results in accordance with the formatting rules determined by the Senate and orally defend their thesis before a jury.

2) The Ph.D. thesis jury consists of five members, three of whom are faculty members taking part in the student's Thesis Monitoring Committee and at least one is a faculty member from another higher education institution.

3) The thesis exam consists of the presentation of the thesis work followed by a question-and-answer session. In the Ph.D. thesis, the candidate is required to;

a) Bring an innovation to science in the subject they researched,
b) Develop a new scientific method,
c) Apply a known method to a new field
It is mandatory to fulfill at least one of these conditions.

4) The thesis exam is open to everyone.

5) A new thesis topic can be given to a candidate whose thesis is rejected, upon the recommendation of the relevant department and the decision of the relevant institute executive board, and a new thesis advisor can be appointed if necessary. In addition, students in this situation may be asked to take new course(s) with the recommendation of their advisor and the decision of the relevant executive board.

6) A candidate who is given a correction decision regarding their thesis fulfills the requirements within a period not exceeding six months given by the jury and defends their thesis again before the same jury. A new thesis topic can be given to a candidate whose thesis is not accepted in this second defense, upon the recommendation of the relevant department and the decision of the relevant institute executive board. A new thesis advisor can be appointed if necessary. In addition, students in this situation may be asked to take new course(s) with the recommendation of their advisor and the decision of the relevant executive board. As long as the student cannot successfully defend their thesis and graduate, the procedure in the fourth paragraph of Article 28 of this Regulation is repeated.

7) A candidate who passes the thesis exam must submit three bound copies of their thesis, signed by all jury members, to the relevant institute at the latest thirty days after the thesis exam in order to be entitled to receive the Ph.D. degree.

8) A candidate who is successful in the thesis exam, fulfills the other requirements of the department if any, and whose thesis is found appropriate in terms of format, becomes entitled to receive a Ph.D. degree. Accordingly, the departmental requirements that must be fulfilled in order to graduate have been determined by the decision taken at the Department of Business Administration meeting dated May 9, 2011, and specified below. It is valid for candidates who passed the proficiency exam in or after the 2008 Fall semester.

a) The candidate must have made an academic publication, and the publication must have been accepted by a peer-reviewed journal.
b) The publication can be made about the thesis topic or another topic unrelated to the thesis topic.
c) The publication process must be monitored by the candidate's thesis advisor from the beginning of the program. Final checks before graduation must also be made by the thesis advisor.