Investigating the External Impacts on Public Affairs Education in Türkiye: Getting a Ph.D. Degree Abroad

Abstract

Examining the developmental rotation of public affairs education in Türkiye cannot be adequately undertaken solely through a single policy lens within the framework of national higher education and administrative reform policies. Instead, a more nuanced approach entails delving into the discipline's specific structural and contextual evolution through external impacts. This study focuses on a special type of external impact: faculty members receiving their Ph.D. degrees abroad. The purpose of the study is to investigate the impact of obtaining a Ph.D. degree abroad on public affairs education in Türkiye and to reveal the enablers and barriers of this process by focusing on the experiences of those faculty members. Through the interviews conducted with 24 faculty members who received their Ph.D. degrees abroad and came back home, the findings suggest that such an external impact has the potential to be as effective as any other higher education policy. Yet, this process faces some internal barriers, tension points, and enabling factors. © 2025 TURKIYE ORTADOGU AMME IDARES IENSTITUSU. All rights reserved.