ABSTRACT
International relations students had a more privileged socio-economic profile until the 1990s in Turkey. There is no comprehensive study that reveals the profile of the students of international relations programs after the expansion in the higher education system in recent years. The aim of this quantitative study is to reveal the profile and expectations of students at post-massified international relations programs. We conducted a survey in order to understand the factors that direct the students to the field, the knowledge and skills acquired by the students during their education, and their post-graduation expectations. The data consists of a total of 1,086 students from 94 different universities from 76 cities. Research findings show that we are indeed faced with a more heterogeneous student profile in international relations programs. The findings show that factors such as foreign language learning and the desire to live and work abroad are effective in students’ preference for international relations departments. Although the desire to learn a foreign language is an effective reason for choosing a department, the level of foreign language proficiency among students remains low. Multiple Correspondence Analysis was conducted to reveal the relationships between the participants’ income, the types of high schools they have graduated from, the most important factor they stated in their preferences for choosing international relations, and their career goals. We recommend developing curricula and extracurricular opportunities that will enable students to have the knowledge and experience to compete in the national and international arena.