Frequently Asked Questions

To which department should the petition regarding student processes be submitted?

• Petitions written about student processes should be submitted to the department secretariat for submission to the School of Graduate Studies.

Is attendance compulsory?

• Attendance to lectures, practices, seminars, mid-term and final exams is compulsory—the relevant instructor records class attendance. Students who do not attend 30% of the courses and semester studies without a valid excuse are considered unsuccessful with a grade of IA. Students whose course attendance is below the specified ratios are deemed unsuccessful.

Can I take courses from a different program or a different university?

• Students who want to take courses from another university as a special student must obtain approval from the head of the department in which they are enrolled. The exemption procedures of the grades and credits of the successful courses are carried out by the relevant department head and the validity of these courses in the graduate programs of the University is subject to the approval of the Graduate School Administrative Board.

What is a seminar course? Does it count towards the average?

• The seminar course consists of a written report prepared by graduate students based on the examination and analysis of a scientific subject, presented and evaluated orally. The seminar course is for thesis study, which must be taken in the semester in which the master's and doctorate courses with the thesis will end. The grade evaluation of the seminar course is made by the faculty member conducting the course. The student is evaluated as successful/unsuccessful, and the course grade is not included in the average. There is no single course exam for courses such as graduation project, seminar, and thesis.

What should students do if they cannot take the final exam(s) due to an excuse?

• Students who cannot attend the final exam(s) due to illness or any other excuse must submit the relevant reports or documents within five working days after the exam date at the latest. The administrative board decides on final exam excuse petitions.

How can exam grades be appealed?

• Students who think that the exam or letter grade contains a material error can apply to the course instructor for an objection within three working days of the announcement of the results. The relevant instructor will finalize the objection within three business days.

Can another course be taken instead of a failed course?

Another elective course can be taken instead of the elective course. In case of failure in a compulsory course, the same course must be retaken.

How to apply for a support scholarship?

• Before the start of the fall and spring semesters, students who meet the conditions specified in the information e-mail sent to them by the Scholarship Commission must submit the application documents and petition to the secretariat of the department of the program they are studying.

How to apply for a scholarship upgrade?

• The Graduate School evaluates the scholarship status of all students at the end of each academic semester according to the success conditions in the Directive for Graduate Scholarship. After this evaluation, students who are candidates for scholarship upgrade are notified to the head of the department. The Head of Department proposes to the Graduate School if a student who is proposed to be upgraded depending on the scholarship budget. The Administrative Board of the Graduate School examines the proposals and decides to increase the scholarship for those they find appropriate.

What are the scholarship opportunities at the university? How are they determined?

• There are many scholarship opportunities, including cash scholarships and full exemption from tuition fees. Scholarship status is determined per the relevant articles of the Graduate Scholarship Directive.

Does the university offer dormitory and food scholarships?

• There are no dormitory and food scholarships.

What are the types of assistant scholarships?

• Embark on your academic journey with one of three exciting types of graduate assistantships. Teaching assistantships assist in delivering university courses and support faculty members and students.
• A research assistant supports and assists researchers in conducting academic research. Sometimes, they also help faculty members in teaching departmental courses.
• Teaching fellow is an assistantship for the Coordinator of Common Courses assignment. The student works with the relevant academicians in the common courses of the university.
• For research assistantship, https://apply.ihu.edu.tr/en/research-assistantship
• For teaching assistantships, https://apply.ihu.edu.tr/en/teaching-fellowship

When can I apply for transfer?

• Transfer applications can be made on the dates specified in the application and registration calendar of the relevant academic year.

What are the requirements for transfer?

• The application requirements for graduate programs determined for the relevant academic year are also valid for transfer applications.

Is the pre-transfer period of the transfer student included in the program to which they transfer?

• The administrative board determines how much of the transfer student's time spent in the previous program will be counted towards their time in the program they transfer to.

When should a thesis advisor be appointed? How does the advisor appointment process work?

• When the student enrolls in the program, the department head is appointed as the academic advisor. The department's head recommends the thesis advisor to the graduate school until the end of the first semester at the latest.

How can you change my thesis advisor?

• After the student completes the Thesis/Project Advisor/Topic Change Form and gets the signatures, they submit it to the department secretariat for submission to the graduate school.

How to choose a second (co-) thesis advisor?

• The student may choose a faculty member working in the same field as the thesis topic as the second (co-) thesis advisor. The student must fill out the Thesis/Project Advisor/Subject Change Form and submit it to the department secretariat for submission to the graduate school.

How many graduate students can a faculty member supervise at most?

• A faculty member can supervise a maximum of 14 graduate students, including master's and doctoral students with a thesis, simultaneously.

How many graduate students can a faculty member supervise for a graduation project?

• A faculty member can supervise a maximum of 16 graduate students simultaneously in non-thesis master's programs.

How to determine the thesis/project topic?

• To determine the thesis topic, the student must fill out the Thesis/Project Topic Notification Form and submit it to the department secretariat for submission to the graduate school.

By when should the thesis topic be determined?

• The thesis topic must be determined by the end of the second semester at the latest.

How can you change my thesis topic?

• After the student completes the Thesis/Project Advisor/Topic Change Form and gets the signatures, they submit it to the department secretariat for submission to the graduate school.

In which semester should the doctoral qualifying exam be taken at the latest?

• Students with a GPA of at least 3.00 must take the qualifying exam until the end of the fifth semester if accepted with a master's degree and until the end of the seventh semester at the latest if they are accepted with a bachelor's degree.

Are there both written and oral exams in the doctoral qualifying exam?

• The qualifying exam has two parts: written and oral. The student who is successful in the written exam then takes the oral exam.

What are the requirements to be considered successful in the qualifying exam?

• The exam jury evaluates the student's success in the written and oral exams and decides by absolute majority whether the student is successful or unsuccessful. The head of the department reports this decision to the graduate school within three days following the qualifying exam.

What should be done in case of failure in the qualifying exam? How many times can the qualifying exam be taken?

• The student who fails the qualifying exam takes it again in the next semester from the department(s) in which they failed. The student who fails the second exam is dismissed from the doctoral program. The student can take the qualifying exam twice in total.

When should the thesis monitoring committee be formed and who should be on the committee?

• For the student who is successful in the qualifying exam, a thesis monitoring committee is formed with the approval of the institute board of directors within one month. The thesis monitoring committee consists of three faculty members; in addition to the thesis advisor, one member is from within and outside the relevant program. If available, the second thesis advisor may also attend the committee meetings. The members of the thesis monitoring committee can be changed in the following semesters with the approval of the graduate school administrative board.

When is the PhD thesis proposal exam?

• Upon completing the qualifying exam, the student defends their thesis proposal, including the purpose, method, and work plan of the research to be conducted, to the thesis monitoring committee orally within six months at the latest. The student submits a written report on the thesis proposal to the committee members at least fifteen days before the oral defense.

What happens if you do not attend the thesis proposal defense?

• If the student fails to attend the thesis proposal defense, they are deemed unsuccessful. If the student fails to attend the second thesis proposal defense or is deemed unsuccessful, the student is dismissed from the University

How does the process proceed if the thesis proposal is rejected?

• A student whose thesis proposal is rejected has the right to choose a new advisor and/or thesis topic. In this case, a new thesis monitoring committee may 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 thesis advisor and/or thesis topic is retaken to the thesis proposal defense within six months.

Which steps should be followed if the thesis proposal defense is successful?

• For the student whose thesis proposal is accepted, the thesis monitoring committee meets at least twice a year, once in January-June and once in July-December. The student submits a written report to the committee members at least one month before the meeting date summarizing the work carried out so far and the work plan for the next semester. The committee determines whether the student's thesis work is successful or unsuccessful. Students who fail twice in a row or three times intermittently are dismissed from the University.

How to submit the PhD thesis monitoring committee interim report?

• The student submits a written report to the committee members at least one month before the meeting date, summarizing the work carried out and the work plan for the next semester. The thesis monitoring committee sends interim reports of the thesis monitoring meetings to the graduate school through the department's secretariat within three days of each meeting.

How many thesis monitoring meetings must a student attend before graduatin?

• At least three thesis monitoring meetings must be organized for graduation. Students who fail twice in a row or three times intermittently are dismissed from the University.

How to start the thesis defense process?

• The student must submit the Thesis Defense Application Form, the thesis PDF file, and the similarity report taken from this file to the department secretariat for submission to the graduate school at least one month before the defense date determined by the student and the thesis advisor.

How is the thesis defense jury formed?

• The master's thesis jury: It is appointed with the recommendation of the thesis advisor and the head of the department and the approval of the graduate school administrative board. The jury consists of three or five faculty members, one of whom is the student's thesis advisor and at least one of whom is from outside the University. The second thesis advisor cannot be a jury member in three-person juries. Doctoral thesis jury: It is appointed with the recommendation of the thesis advisor and the head of the department and the approval of the graduate school administrative board. The jury is comprised of five faculty members, three of whom are from the student's thesis monitoring committee and at least two of whom are from outside the University. The second thesis advisor can take part in the jury without the right to vote.

Are there any publication or presentation requirements for a student to graduate? If yes, what are these requirements?

• Prior to the thesis defense:
• Master's students must make a presentation related to their graduate studies at a scientific meeting organized by the University or outside the University or to have an article accepted for publication in a refereed journal.
• Doctoral students must make a presentation about their graduate work at a scientific meeting organized by the University or outside the University or have an article accepted for publication in a refereed journal. In addition to this, they must present at least one article produced using the name of the University, published/accepted or revised and resubmitted for publication in journals scanned by Web of Science, or published/accepted for publication in a journal scanned in international field indexes accepted by the administrative board of the relevant graduate school together with their thesis.

How is a thesis defense conducted?

• The jury members convene within one month from the date the thesis is submitted to them for the student's thesis defense. The thesis defense consists of presenting the thesis work, followed by a question and answer session. Thesis defense: It is held in an open environment that is open to the audience's participation, consisting of academic staff, graduate students, and experts in the field.

How does the jury make its decision in the thesis defense?

• The thesis jury makes its decision on the thesis by simple majority.

How is the process carried out for a student who receives a resubmission in the thesis defense?

• The master's student whose thesis is decided to be resubmitted defends the corrected thesis again in front of the same jury within three months at the latest, and the doctoral student defends the corrected thesis again in front of the same jury within six months at the latest. If they are unsuccessful at the end of this defense, they are dismissed from the University.

What is the procedure if the thesis defense is unsuccessful?

• Students who fail the thesis defense are dismissed from the University.

What is a similarity report and how to get one?

• The similarity report showing the thesis's similarity rate with other sources is taken by the student's thesis advisor on the final version of the thesis to be defended.

What are the maximum values for the similarity ratio?

• The similarity rate should be a maximum of 20% for graduate theses and 25% for graduation projects, and the matching rate with a single source should be a maximum of 2%.

When can the student make a thesis defense?

• After completing the courses in the curriculum and meeting the required grade point average requirement, the student can enter the thesis defense on the dates specified in the Academic Calendar.

Is it necessary to make an appointment for a thesis writing guide check?

• No, the student does not need to make an appointment for the writing guide check. It is enough for the successful student in the thesis defense to send the final version they want to get the printing approval to thesischeck@ihu.edu.tr for the writing guide control. Within one month, you should submit the graduation form and the printed copies of your thesis.

What are the steps that students should follow for thesis submission and graduation?

• Students who are successful in the thesis defense must follow the process steps on the graduate school website to submit their thesis.

When should the student submit the printed copies of the thesis to the Graduate School at the latest?

• Submitting printed copies of the thesis to the graduate school within one month of the thesis defense date is obligatory.

How long can the thesis submission deadline be extended?

• Upon request, the thesis submission period may be extended for a maximum of one more month upon the decision of the Graduate School Executive Board.

What is an ORCID number and how to get one?

• Graduate students with thesis and all academicians must obtain an Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID) number, and previous publications must match the ORCID number due to the necessity of using a freely available international author identification number, in the infrastructure of the YÖK Open Science and Open Access System to ensure standardization of data.
• There are two options for obtaining an ORCID number:
• 1) When completing the Thesis Data Entry Form, click the "Get ORCID number" option and follow the steps.
• 2) The steps in the ORCID Web link (https://orcid.org/register) should be followed. At which stage should the student who has received the Ethics Committee approval submit this document? It is sufficient for the student to attach the Ethics Committee Approval document to the APPENDIX(S) section of the thesis.

Is there a GPA requirement for graduation?

• A GPA of 3.00 is required for doctorate and master's programs with a thesis and 2.50 for master's programs without a thesis.

When is the student's graduation process completed?

• Graduation and diploma procedures of the student whose graduation decision is taken by the Institute Board of Directors are carried out by the Student Affairs Department through the Student Information System (OBS), Higher Education Council Information System (YÖKSİS).

In which cases is a student dismissed from the University?

• In the following cases, the student is dismissed from the University:
• a) The student makes a written request to the school of graduate studies that they want to be dismissed voluntarily,
• b) Being sentenced to dismissal according to the provisions of the Student Disciplinary Regulations of Higher Education Institutions,
• c) Failure to complete the credited courses and seminar course in the curriculum at the end of four semesters in the master's program with a thesis and three semesters in the master's program without a thesis, or failure to fulfill the graduation conditions/criteria stipulated by the University within this period,
• ç) Failure in the thesis study or failure to enter the thesis defense in the master's program with thesis,
• d) Students who do not complete the doctoral program in a maximum of four semesters for those admitted with a master's degree with thesis and a maximum of six semesters for those admitted with a bachelor's degree or who fail to achieve the minimum GPA required by the University,
• f) Failure to complete the thesis study until the end of twelve semesters for those who are accepted with a master's degree or fourteen semesters for those who are accepted with a bachelor's degree, who complete the credited courses in doctoral programs, are successful in the proficiency exam and whose thesis proposal is accepted,
• g) Rejection of the thesis proposal twice in the doctoral program,
• ğ) Failing the thesis monitoring meetings twice in a row or three times intermittently in the doctoral program,
• h) Failure to achieve the required language proficiency in the foreign language preparatory program with a maximum duration of two years.

How many installments are there for the program fee payment?

• For detailed information, you can visit the Department of Administrative and Financial Affairs web page.

Until when can I to apply for a registration freeze (leave of absence)? How many semesters are students allowed to take a leave of absence?

• The leave request must be made by the last working day of the fourth week following the start of classes. Leave applications made after this period are only accepted for compulsory cases. Students who want to take a leave of absence due to a valid excuse apply to the relevant Graduate School with a petition containing the reasons and documents within fifteen working days at the latest from the occurrence of the excuse. With the administrative board's decision, the student is allowed to interrupt their education for one or two semesters. In mandatory cases, the administrative board may extend this period to three semesters.

Can a graduate of a non-thesis master's program apply to a doctoral program?

• Graduates of non-thesis master's programs cannot apply to doctoral programs. However, per the regulation published in the Official Gazette dated February 6, 2013, and numbered 28551, students enrolled in or graduated from non-thesis master's programs can apply to doctoral programs.

Can you enroll in different graduate programs at the same time?