Job Discussion Forums

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

Has anyone done an Ma at Bogazici (in TESOL) or know of anyone who has. I'm thinkinking of continuing mine there after the summer.
Any comments would be appreciated

yaramaz · Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2004 4:56 am Post subject:

Did you find out anything? Since I was thinking of getting mine, someone here suggested I check them out. Are they yabanci friendly?

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

no I didn't. I've been away for a couple of days, so I haven,t done anything about work,flat or study. I did update my CV this morning. So I guess I should do something with it-after I leave the internet cafe.

yaramaz · Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2004 12:58 pm Post subject:

dmb, they call it an MA in English Language Education and it takes 2 years and costs 775 Euro per year (the Turks pay under 200 million...)

http://www.boun.edu.tr/graduate/social_sciences_and_humanities/english_language_education.html

Head of Department: Ayse Akyel

Professor: Ayse Akyel, Cem Alptekin

Assistant Professor: Yasemin Bayyurt, Belma Haznedar

Instructor: Dr. Judy Monthie Doyum

The objective of the graduate programs in English Language Education (Ingiliz Dili Egitimi Lisansustu Programi) is to equip the students with advanced and specialized knowledge in the field and to help them acquire skills for research. A well-balanced emphasis on theory and application is maintained throughout the programs. It is hoped that graduates of the M.A. program will engage in teaching or research activities and develop adequate motivation for more advanced graduate work in the field, while those with a Ph.D. degree will choose to pursue academic careers at the universities. Both M.A and Ph.D. programs are carried out in accordance with the regulations of the Institute of Social Sciences.

MASTER OF ARTS PROGRAM

Students with a B.A. degree in English Language Education are normally eligible for admission to the M.A. program. However, students who have an undergraduate degree in English Language and Literature, Linguistics, Foreign Language Education or a related field as well as a Teaching Certificate or at least one-year experience in English Language Education may also be admitted. The M.A. program in English Language Education is a two-year program consisting of 24 credits of course work, followed by an M.A. thesis, its oral defense and a demonstration of the student's knowledge of the field as a whole. The successful completion of the program leads to the Master of Arts Degree in English Language Education (Ingiliz Dili Egitimi Yuksek Lisans Diplomasi).

M.A. PROGRAM IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION

First Semester Second Semester
FLED 511 Theory of Sec. Lang. Acquisition 3
FLED 502 Research Methods 3
FLED 541 Princip. of For. Lang. Testing 3
FLED 522 Analy. of Cur. Meth. in Eng. Lang. Ed. 3
-- -- Elective 3
FLED 579 Graduate Seminar non-credit
-- -- Elective 3
FLED 580/ 589 Special Topics in English Language Education 3
-- -- Elective 3

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

Cheers for that Yaramaz. I read this before and the idea of two years of study sounds a bit daunting.( A bit like getting a job)

lucy k · Joined: 06 May 2003 Posts: 82 Location: istanbul, turkey

The MA takes two years, but finishing the thesis will most likely make it longer. I was an exchange student in that program for one semester, so I know quite a few MA students there. It's taken them a while to get approval for their thesis (plural: thesi? thesises?). They had to revise and change things quite a bit. Also, as an American, it was a different educational environment than I was used to. They are more exam-based, and there seemed to be only one right answer for everything, whereas in my program in the States, everyones' opinions were considered and discussed. Also, watch out for professor Cem, he makes it widely known that he fails at least 60% of his students every semester. It's things like this that make the program last longer.

From what I could tell, their program is more rigorous than most TESOL-type MA programs in the States. My program could have easily been finished in 1.5 years, for example. However, I paid alot more than 775 Euros a year, and it required living in the States to do it!

lucy k · Joined: 06 May 2003 Posts: 82 Location: istanbul, turkey

I just want to add my personal disclaimer.... I didn't mean to sound too negative about the MA at Bogazici. I do think it is a good program, and it's small, which is nice! Those were just a few of my observations based only on the classes I took!

yaramaz · Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2004 12:27 pm Post subject:

Ms Lucy, no worries about the negativity-- I was already aware of your experience there (I believe you skipped most of the classes that term? Very Happy

). Basically, I dont have the funds for a distance program, and I'm not ready to go home for 2 years yet-- I'm actually semi-accepted into an MA program back in Canada. When I finished my BA, the school asked me to continue... but I wasnt in the mood for more work at that point. We'll see after this year how I feel.

ghost · Joined: 30 Jan 2003 Posts: 1693 Location: Saudi Arabia

Bogazici has a good name in Turkey (the 'Harvard' of the Ottoman Empire). However, the problem with doing an MA in a place like Turkey is that the market value of the degree diminishes away from Turkey.

For example, if you decide to leave Turkey to teach in Japan or other countries, your new host country might look at a graduate degree from Turkey as having less worth than a degree earned in a conventional Anglo country (Britain, U.S.A., Australia).

That is something to think about.

It is true that the program at Bogazici (and Middle Eastern Tech. in Ankara) is more rigorous than most similar programs in North America, or Britain, but the sad thing is that this will not be recognized in most places.

One knows of people who have Graduate Degrees (up to Doctoral level) from countries like the Philippines and Jamaica, and unfortunately, when they move to other countries in their job searches, these candidates are penalized because of the origin of the country where their higher degrees were earned.

There are now many 'online degrees' that one can earn from different Anglo countries. When the degree is finally delivered there is no difference in the appearance of the coveted diploma. They are expensive, but you can work at your own pace and still hold a full time job.

Check out: gradschools.com

Albulbul · Joined: 08 Feb 2003 Posts: 364

If the price is less than 800 Euros then this is a bargain. And doing a "real" MA as opposed to a Distance one has some advantages.

However the point about employers outsdie Turkey not taking this seriously is alas correct.

In the end everyone has to make up their own mind. If I were working in Istanbul and if I were 20 years younger I would do it.