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Istanbul, Turkey

Considered one of the world’s most beautiful cities, Istanbul is crisscrossed with sumptuous palaces, mosques and gardens where the sultans played; it’s also an energetic modern city of Greek, Armenian, Russian, Arab, religious and secular influences, where people from around the world still come to make their fortunes.

Students will practice working as foreign correspondents, and have their work published in a digital magazine, and a book. We also offer several professional internships.

Our team will be based at Bahçeşehir University, one of Turkey’s top universities, and home to Turkey’s leading journalism school. The campus is stunningly located on the shores of the European Bosphorus, in the heart of Istanbul, and near all urban bus and ferry transport. Students stay in single and twin rooms in a comfortable university dorm a five-minute walk from campus.

You’ll report, write, blog and shoot video about Istanbul’s culture, neighborhoods, politics, life, people and arts, and have your best work published in a digital magazine, and a print-on-demand anthology. You can earn three credits you can transfer back to your home campus.

Check out the website students produced in 2011 at istanbulstories.net.

Check out the book students created in 2011.

 

Academic Credit

Students earn three credits in international reporting from our partner university, San Francisco State University, and its School of Extended Learning, by signing up for the following course:

JOUR 677 International Reporting (3 credits)
All students enroll in a 3-credit course in International Reporting. This consists of Monday through Thursday morning classes in Turkish language and culture, international reporting, and visual journalism, followed by afternoon reporting assignments conducted with student interpreters, and supervised by award-winning journalism faculty.

University Credit Transfer

Students may sign up for three credits from our partner university, San Francisco State University, and its School of Extended Learning. Credits are transferable, and may be accepted for journalism elective credit by your college or university.

Schedule

Students will learn, write and report from Monday through Thursday. Except for the first weekend, devoted to orientation, Friday, Saturday and Sunday will be free for local exploration and travel.

Course Syllabus

This is a sample syllabus for Jour 667, which will be updated for 2012.

Internships

Graduating seniors, graduate students and working journalists are eligible to apply for our internship program in foreign correspondence ieiMedia interns have worked at Istanbul’s English language daily, the Hurriyet Daily News, and Worldpress.com, the respected former World Press Review, filing bylined articles under the supervision of ieiMedia faculty. Here are some of their publications from 2011.

In 2012, internships are available at:

Worldpress.org (A respected New York-based web magazine covering global affairs)
The Hurriyet Daily News (Istanbul’s main English-language daily)
Istanbul Eats (The acclaimed foodie blog and book about under-the-radar Istanbul eating)
Time Out Istanbul (English) (Report on cultural affairs for this powerful international brand)

We’d also be happy to talk with you about supervising an independent project that would qualify for graduate credit at your school.

The University

Bahçeşehir University, one of Turkey’s top universities, is located in Istanbul’s attractive, centrally-located Beşiktaş neighborhood, on the shores of the European Bosphorus. The language of instruction is English. The compact cosmopolitan campus draws students from around Turkey, and the world. We’ll have use of a fully-equipped multimedia lab.

The Food

Istanbul’s varied cuisine ranges from elegant dishes developed for the sultans, such as smoky lamb stew over creamy eggplant, chicken with walnut sauce, and honey pastries, to the plentiful addictive street food, such as spinach or cheese-stuffed pancakes, ravioli-like mantı and of course doner kebab, the ubiquitous revolving spits of meat cut with big knives, meant to look like the swords of the janissaries, the Muslim sultan’s Christian soldiers. A campus cafeteria serves three daily meals, and cafes and restaurants are plentiful both on campus and nearby.

Travel Opportunities

Students will have three-day weekends (Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays) free to explore the city, or to travel within Turkey. Istanbul is full of fascinating neighborhoods, clubs and shopping venues. The elegant island of Buyukada, an hour’s boat ride away, is one popular weekend destination. Students have also enjoyed visiting the historic ruins of Ephesus, near Izmir (ancient Smyrna); the Cappadocia region, with underground caves where early Christians hid from persecution; and Ankara, the capital. Those who want to tour extensively should plan travel time before or after the program.

Students

The program is open to up to 19 English-speaking college students and recent graduates, from any school. Students have joined us from universities around the country: New York University, American University, San Francisco State University, the University of Colorado, Iowa State University, James Madison University, Louisiana State University, Ryerson University, UCLA, University of Maryland, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Temple University, Arizona State University, Gonzaga University, the University of Arizona, the University of Montana, Loyola College, San Jose State University, Humboldt State University, San Diego State University, Rice University, the University of Nevada-Reno, Nanyang Technological University, the University of British Columbia and Baylor University. We’ve also hosted students from Japan, the United Kingdom, Puerto Rico, Thailand and Trinidad.

Most of our students are journalism or communications majors but those majoring in other subjects are welcome as well. Non-journalism majors should have a strong interest in reporting and some experience working for a college or professional publication. The program is open to English-speaking students from around the world.

Faculty

Our faculty come from leading universities and news organizations. In 2012 our faculty will include:

Program Director

Mary D’Ambrosio the founding editor of Big World Magazine, has taught journalism at New York University, Columbia University and the New School for Social Research. A writer specializing in international issues, she has reported from the U.K., Turkey, Italy and Latin America. She was an editor at Global Finance magazine in New York, a reporter for the Associated Press in Venezuela and a correspondent and book reviewer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Her work has also appeared in Islands, Working Woman, Newsday and the Miami Herald. She holds a B.S. in magazine journalism from Syracuse University, and an M.Sc. in economic history from the London School of Economics. If you have questions, please contact her at editor@bigworldmagazine.com

International Reporting Faculty

Suzy Hansen (Reporting) is a freelance writer who has lived in Istanbul for four years. She has written for The Atlantic, The New Republic, Bloomberg Businessweek, GQ, the New York Times, and many other publications. In 2007, she was the recipient of an Institute of Current World Affairs writing fellowship. Before moving to Istanbul, she was an editor at the New York Observer and Salon.

Kurt Lancaster (Multimedia/Video) is the author of DSLR Cinema: Crafting the Film Look with Video (Focal Press, 2011) and Video Journalism for the Web: A Practical Introduction to Documentary Storytelling (Routledge, 2012). He teaches digital filmmaking and multimedia journalism at Northern Arizona University’s School of Communication. His documentary work has appeared at national and international film festivals, as well as in the Pulitzer Prize winning paper, The Christian Science Monitor, where he formerly worked as a consultant training print reporters to shoot video. Kurt earned his PhD in performance studies from New York University.

Scot Tucker (Photojournalism) is a photographer and picture editor in San Francisco. He is the co-founder of SFBay.ca, a local news aggregation website covering news throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. He has been a lecturer in the journalism department at San Francisco State University, teaching photojournalism and multimedia, since 2005. He has worked as a staff photographer and picture editor for The Associated Press, San Francisco Chronicle, Napa Valley Register, San Mateo County Times and the San Francisco Examiner. He received a B.A. in journalism, and a master’s degree in instructional technology, from San Francisco State University.

Accommodations

Students will live in attractive university dorms in single or twin rooms in Istanbul’s upscale Beşiktaş neighborhood, within easy reach of all program activities. Dorms are equipped with cooking facilities, high-speed Internet, TVs, dishwashers and washing machines, and are protected by 24-hour security. There’s a campus meal service, and many inexpensive cafes, restaurants and shops nearby.


Equipment

Students are expected to bring a laptop computer, and at least a consumer-quality digital camera. ieiMedia will provide access to several shared Canon Rebel digital SLRs, which function as both still and video cameras; to Kodak zi8 video cameras; and to shared microphones.

Turkish Instruction

Students will receive daily instruction in conversational Turkish. Classes cover the basics of meeting and greeting, interviewing, ordering food, shopping, counting, directions and grammar, and provide some insight into Turkey’s culture and way of life.

Interpreters

Bahçeşehir University students will act as your interpreters. Students say meeting and working with their Turkish colleagues is one of the most rewarding experiences of the program.

Program Cost

The cost is $4,995 plus airfare. The price includes housing, instruction, basic travel insurance, and some special programs and activities. It also includes the web magazine, and a handsome copy of our print-on-demand book.

Financial Aid

Be sure to check with your school’s financial aid office to see if assistance is available, and, if you are a Pell Grant recipient, to apply for a U.S. State Department-sponsored Gilman Scholarship, which provides awards of up to $8,000 for study abroad. Turkish is one of the state department’s “critical needs” languages, and in 2011 an Istanbul Project student received a full state department scholarship. The Turkish Coalition of America also offers scholarship awards. Here’s a summary of financial aid options.

Application Process

Students must fill out the online application and submit a letter of recommendation from a professor or employer and college transcripts, along with a $500 deposit. Deposits will be refunded only if a student is not accepted into the program.

More Information

Download this printable fact sheet. More questions? Please contact Program Director Prof. Mary D’Ambrosio, at mdambrosio@ieimedia.com, or 212-920-5625.

For more information, fill out our contact form.