OSI Pre-Academic Summer School: Additional Information

Schedule

The academic program runs for 3.5 weeks, from Monday through Friday. All participants take an academic writing class and a social science class and should be prepared to spend up to 4 hours daily in the classroom, with additional time each day spent on research and writing. Instructors are available daily for consultations and assistance with assignments. Required and optional workshops on relevant topics will be interspersed over the course of the month.

A typical full day of classes is as follows:

Academic writing class, 9:30 - 11:30
Student/teacher consultations, 11:30 - 12:30
Lunch, 12:30 - 13:00
Student/teacher consultations, 13:00 - 14:00
Social science class, 14:00 - 15:30

Assignments

Most participants will complete a research paper as their principle assignment for the program. The goal of the assignment is to strengthen writing skills through the completion of an essay on a subject related to the participants’ Summer School social science class. Papers will be graded by both academic writing and social science instructors. In addition to the research paper, coursework will include reading texts for content; researching in libraries and online; citing texts and creating bibliographies; presenting orally and submitting written assignments according to the expectations and structure of universities in the U.S., Canada and the European university of destination.

Pre-Departure Orientation

During the last week of the program, scholars will take part in a Pre-Departure Orientation in which OSI staff and alumni will provide information specific to each NSP scholarship program. Sessions will focus on the details of each participant’s fellowship, including visa and arrival issues, host institutions, and the culture of the host country.

Events

Cultural events, social outings and organized tours will be scheduled throughout the month and on weekends.

Location

Istanbul Bilgi University was founded as a private, nonprofit institution within the Turkish system of higher education on June 7, 1996. The aim was to introduce a fresh outlook to education and an approach that promotes tolerance and respect for a diversity of individuals with different beliefs and ways of thinking.

With three campuses in the Dolapdere, Kustepe, and Silahtaraða-Eyüp districts, Bilgi University is a city university. The Summer School will be held on the Dolapdere campus, which is very close to the city center area, Taksim.

All Summer School participants have free access to all Bilgi computer terminals at Bilgi campus and in the dorms and free access to the library. Bilgi Library offers an impressive collection of books, periodicals, e-books, e-journals, academic Internet resources, musical scores, and other printed material.

Accommodation, Meals & Flights

All Summer School participants will be housed in the Bilgi University residence hall in Karakoy, located at the mouth of the Golden Horn in the center of the city and will receive a meal card to cover university food, along with a stipend for all other meals and incidental expenses.

All flights to and from the scholar's home country to Istanbul will be arranged by OSI and local country Scholarship Coordinators.

Sample Elective Courses

Economic Globalization
Survey of Political Concepts and Ideologies
Social Movements and Civil Society
Comparative Capitalisms: Convergence and Divergence of Political-Economic Systems
The Politics of Global Energy Security
Empire and Decolonization
Introduction to Human Rights
Globalization and Development

Courses Required for Specified Students

Introduction to Human Rights: Required of All Essex University Fellows
Introduction to Study, Living & Social Work in the U.S.: Required of All Social Work Master's Fellows
Introduction to U.S. Law and Legal English: Required of All Palestinian Rule of Law Fellows
Curriculum Development: Required of All Faculty Development Fellows