STS @ ITU (2000-2006)

The first Master’s Degree program in “Science, Technology, and Society” was launched in 1999 under the Institute of Social Sciences at Istanbul Technical University (ITU) in Turkey. The program was jointly administered with the European Inter-University Association on Society, Science & Technology (ESST) Master of Arts Programme. Despite the program’s success, it was ultimately closed in 2006 following the departure of several faculty members.

In the first semester of the program, five compulsory courses were offered in order to develop a common educational foundation for students coming from different disciplinary backgrounds. The classes were taught in a modular structure with the same content shared across all ESST member universities. In the second term, students were then given the opportunity to select one of the twelve member universities in the joint program according to their area of specialization, and continue their thesis studies at the selected university. Students who successfully completed the ESST program were also awarded an ESST MA degree.