Established in 1982 as a department of Public Administration, the department began to offer an undergraduate degree in 1983, a Master of Arts degree in 1986, and a PhD degree in 1989. The Department changed its name to “The Department of Political Science and Public Administration” in 2006, and currently includes five departments of undergraduate and graduate study concentrations: Political and Social Sciences, Administrative Sciences, Local Government and Politics, Public Policy, and Legal Studies. In addition, the Social Sciences Institute offers four Master of Arts and two Doctoral (PhD) programs in two areas: Political Science and Public Administration.

Academic language in the undergraduate program is English. The program includes 89 courses 61 of which are elective. The first two years of the program are primarily devoted to introductory courses in social sciences and legal studies as well as to non-elective introductory courses in Political Science and Public Administration. Junior and senior students take elective courses based on their interest in the different concentrations of study offered at the Department. Departmental program and career coordinators provide effective guidance to our majors.

As part of Erasmus+ program, our Department has agreements with more than 30 universities in Europe. In addition, our department has exchange agreements for students and academics with more than 10 well-respected universities outside Europe. Departmental student societies include “Political Science and Public Administration Society” and “Society for Political Theory”, which operate under the Hacettepe University Directorate for Health, Sports, and Culture.