I have been working on subjects of legal value for 35 years of my career; however, it was Koç University Law School which has helped me understand the essence and soul of the Law and the concept of Justice, which I believe to be the foundation of everything. For that, I give my thanks to the Koç University Law Faculty, Dean Prof. Dr. Bertil Emrah Oder, all my professors, faculty members and young lawyers I have been working together with.

I would recommend the LLM Programme of Koç University Law School to anyone who wants to improve themselves, regardless of their age and level. The LLM Programme has made me realize, again, in the autumn of my life, that learning is a pleasure and inspired my academic studies, made me contemplate on the Rule of Law, which is an institution necessary for the well-being of my country.

I would never imagine that reading the US Constitution or keeping up with modern Turkish Constitutional Court or Court of Administration judgements would be this exciting.

When I take a look at the education I received at Koc University Law School for the past four years, I undoubtedly believe that I have received the best legal education in Türkiye. The impressions I got from friends enrolled at other distinguished law schools in Istanbul and across Türkiye convinced me that Koc University Law School stood out among its peers, especially in the following areas: (i) various opportunities allowing close cooperation between students and professors who are all distinguished figures in their areas of study, and especially the work-study program; (ii) official ties with institutions and law faculties aboard; (iii) many opportunities for completing a double major and/or minor program; and finally (iv) the intensive curriculum, which aims to acquaint students not only with Turkish but also with English legal terminology.

During the summer of my freshman year, in order to avail myself of the many opportunities provided at institutions abroad, I was granted a scholarship from Koc University Law School to attend a summer school in Lisbon organized by Law Schools Global League – an association of global scale and prestige, of which our Law Faculty is a member. For the past two and a half years I have been assisting Associate Professor of International Law, Dr. Basak Cali as part of the work-study program as a student research assistant. Apart from this, owing to the close cooperation between our Law Faculty and Oxford University Press, I am involved in the Oxford Human Rights Law Reporters scheme as a reporter and work as part of a team analyzing communications handed down by the United Nations Human Rights Treaty Bodies. In addition, thanks to the University’s liberal policy, I pursue a minor program in international relations.

Following my undergraduate degree, starting in August 2016, I will be pursuing an LL.M. at Harvard Law School as a Fulbrighter.

I believe that the University’s academic environment enabling close student-teacher contact and the numerous opportunities provided by the Law Faculty have all contributed greatly to my intellectual and academic development and I therefore encourage everyone wishing to study law in Türkiye to sincerely consider Koc University a serious option.

The LLM program in Koç University has been the most thought-provoking personal and professional experience I ever had. I chose to apply here for an LLM in Public Law because of wide-reaching reputation. Koç University was the ideal institution for my postgraduate studies because it constantly adapts its academic approach. Moreover, the Law School has an excellent research center for public international law (Global Center for Public Law), a multicultural community, and flexible curricula to encourage engagement in extracurricular academic activities. During my LLM program I conducted research for my thesis project with Associate Professor Başak Çalı who provided an excellent guidance throughout this long writing process. The Law School offers a curriculum thought by distinguished faculty members from whom I had the chance to take classes (Professor Bertil Emrah Oder, Assistant Professor Murat Önok, Assistant Professor Zeynep Ayata, Assistant Professor Burak Oder, and Professor Billur Yaltı) and from visiting professors WTO Appellate Body Member Peter Van den Bossche and London barrister Can Yeğinsu, etc. The program is extremely challenging because of its distinguished faculty and academic environment. Yet, it is an enriching experience especially professionally because the Law School professors challenge the students with the presence of visiting professors for all the LLM classes such as Professor in European Criminal Law at Utrecht University School of Law, Dr. John Vervaele, Associate Professor at University of Oslo Faculty of Law, Malcolm Langford, and Associate Professor in International Human Rights Law at the University of Oxford Dr Nazila Ghanea, to foster interaction between their students and foreign professors, etc.

The Law School opportunities are generous. As my focus during the LLM studies was international human rights law, I had the chance to develop my knowledge by participating to a number of significant activities: United Nations Certificate Program, UN Study visit, ESIL Research Forum, and International Students Symposium on Law and Global Issues, and weekly seminars held by the distinguished scholars and visiting professors. Overall, the program has far exceeded my expectations because it equipped me with academic skills, such as legal reasoning, research skills, writing skills, communications skills and developed me, as an individual.

The most important advantage of graduating from Koc University Law School is the question, inquire and criticism-based law education system rather than the memorization-based one. In addition to this, the curriculum of the Law School including the courses in the comparative and international areas of law, besides Turkish law oriented courses provides the privilege to its graduates. Within this scope, as a result of all the knowledge that I gained in my law education, I had the possibility to specialize in any areas of law.

After graduating from Koc University Law School, I had registered to Private Law LL.M. program with thesis to deepen my knowledge. Currently I continue the LL.M. program which provides numerous courses in the comparative and interdisciplinary areas of law.

Looking back to my undergraduate and graduate studies in Koç University Law School, I realize that I have made a choice that I am very content with. Both the university and the faculty are in top positions in their fields because of the national and international opportunities they provide. Just as an example, by participating in the 21st Willem C. Vis Commercial Arbitration Moot in Vienna and the 2nd Law Schools Global League Summer School I have learnt about many different perspectives on law and legal argumentation techniques.

After finishing my undergraduate studies and starting to work as a research assistant in the faculty, I have seen the other side of the academic world and I once again know for certain that the faculty’s quality and the care given to the education and research are both incomparable. Moreover, the knowledge I have gained in the fields of legal English and general legal notion is invaluable. All in all, I am happy to be a part of Koç University Law School family.

Public Law LL.M. Programme at Koç University has provided me the opportunity to realize and improve my academic and practical legal skills. As ranking one of the top Law Schools in Türkiye, Koç University Law School offers a dynamic, student-friendly and international research environment. From the very beginning, I am impressed by the curriculum of the Public Law LL.M. programme as it covers contemporary legal issues which have global and domestic implications. Such a well-organized curriculum has enabled us to discuss and address multidimensional legal problems. I have gained comprehensive knowledge and research skills in international human rights law, international criminal law, comparative constitutional law and international labour law. Thanks to these research skills, I have been able to practice in the field of human rights law through working for several national and international civil society organizations. With great support and encouragement from the Law School, I would like to pursue an academic career in international human rights law. I am confident that the LL.M. degree from Koç University is already a remarkable step in my academic development.