OUR STRENGTHS
The Institute for Sufi Studies has the distinction of being the first academic institution specifically in the field of Sufism in our country and in the world to provide postgraduate education.
The programs within the Institute are structured to provide education in the field of Sufism to individuals from all disciplines who are interested, to carry out studies in the field of Sufism, and to provide professionals with the opportunity to deepen their knowledge by taking advantage of the opportunities of the field of Sufism, regardless of the undergraduate infrastructure.
The Scientific Preparation Program consisting of language courses and Basic Islamic Sciences is applied for those who do not have a background in theology and religious sciences.
Master's Programs include language courses within the scope of the curriculum for the learning and development of the research languages of the field. Text analysis studies are carried out according to the field students will study.
Graduate students of the Institute are generally consisted of professionals with a very high educational background profile, especially proficient in western languages, mature in work and life experience, with an average age of close to 40, and those who know what they want. Since these students focus on self-development rather than the diploma they will obtain at the end of the program, the quality and intellectual level of the courses are very high.
The Institute attracts the attention of many researchers, graduate students and academicians internationally with its fields of interest and methods. It receives applications in this direction every year.
The Institute has the capacity to invite guest lecturers from abroad, to open English courses and to organize international programs and summer schools every year due to its capacity and network of relations.
The Institute has the capacity to provide external stakeholder support in organizing international events. With the opportunities offered by this capacity, students and academicians of other universities are provided with ready-to-use environments where they can benefit scientifically.
The Institute is supported by scientists who have a world-wide authority in the field, and these individuals have agreed to give free lectures at our Institute at certain times of the year.
The Institute provides information to the public through the Continuing Education Programs organized every year, varying between 4-13 weeks. It enables people at all levels and with different educational backgrounds to meet Sufism with different areas of interest, from religious sciences to psychology and cinema.
The Institute is sensitive in the fields of Sufi music and Classical Islamic Arts and organizes professional activities on these subjects. It contributes significantly to the art environment that the university should have.
The Institute is developing its capacity to disseminate Continuing Education Programs through distance education.
The Institute is a part of Üsküdar University, which aims not only to provide students with a profession, but also to raise good people. Üsküdar University offers a humane and peaceful working atmosphere that adopts interdisciplinary studies, aims to use the opportunities offered by technology and science to the fullest, encourages scientific studies, focuses on increasing the quality of education and research, values people and uses its resources to reach the public.
Increasing scientific interest in the field of Sufism all over the world,
Discovering that different disciplines can benefit from the possibilities of thinking and understanding offered by the field of Sufism
According to the results of the Self-Evaluation, the student and academic-administrative staff satisfaction scores average 3.85 out of 4.
OUR WEAKNESSES
There is not yet a doctoral program in the Department of Sufi Culture and Literature.
Since the Master's Program opened is the first in the field, it is not well known.
Due to the nature of the field, it requires a background in research languages and the curriculum becomes heavier because it requires a language infrastructure since the students enrolled in the program have a low level of Ottoman Turkish, Arabic and Persian language skills.
Since most of the students are working in a job, the time they devote to research is not enough and it causes the completion of the thesis to be prolonged.
Due to the fact that the language of instruction is Turkish, sufficient opportunities are not offered to faculty members from abroad who want to work and/or teach at our Institute.
Education and research demand of students applying to our Institute from abroad cannot be met.
The number of full-time faculty members is low. This situation creates a problem especially in terms of supplying the Thesis Advisor and the time allocated to the student.
In Türkiye, the number of experts in the field of Sufism and other fields (literature, history, psychology, etc.) related to Sufism is quite low.
Sufficient amount of time cannot be allocated to Scientific Project activities.
The number of scientific publications is not sufficient.
Administrative staff is insufficient depending on o the administrative burden of the Institute due to the fact that it organizes continuing education programs and many events in addition to graduate programs.
OPPORTUNITIES
Our University and Institute's becoming one of the prestigious universities of Istanbul thanks to its educational quality and location and its increasing recognition.
Developing joint international postgraduate programs in order to evaluate the demands of international students, and ensuring the evaluation of the project opportunities for this.
Using the resources provided by the state for the employment of researchers and academicians who apply to our institute from abroad
Organizing the institute's international relations network and the international interest of the field of Sufism to carry out joint projects in a way that other universities in Türkiye can also benefit from.
THREATS
Prejudices that cause Sufi Culture and Literature Department Programs opened within the Institute not to be adequately understood and adopted in academic environments related to the field of Sufism.
The distanced attitude of academics working in the fields of Religious Sciences against interdisciplinary studies, especially in Türkiye
The unscientific belief that those who do not have a theology undergraduate education cannot do postgraduate education and research on Sufi-related subjects
Prejudices towards the field of Sufism, opposing views at the level of aggression, efforts to produce a shallow and material understanding of Islam isolated from Sufism all over the world, Islamophobia, false perception of Islam reflected by radical religious terrorist organizations
IMPROVEMENT MEASURES
Implementation of applications that will contribute to the publication production processes of students in all graduate programs within the Institute.
Increasing the number of teaching staff.
Increasing the number of administrative staff.
Carrying out plans and applications to increase the research performance and number of scientific publications, especially of academic staff.
Increasing incentives for Thesis Advisory and Term Project Advisory
