Ottoman and Turkish Studies encompasses training in the history, cultures, languages, and arts of the Ottoman Empire and the Turkish Republic. The breadth of the program may be seen in the large cohort of faculty, including historians and linguists whose expertise spans the entire history of the Empire and modern Turkey. Students are encouraged to engage comparative studies across time periods and geographical and cultural lines, and to examine neighboring empires and peoples. Additionally the program places great emphasis on the philological education of all students, requiring that they be able to read Ottoman literature in the original, and encouraging students to work on texts and take them as the basis for studies.
The program requires advanced level competency in Modern Turkish and Ottoman Turkish, in addition to the second Islamic language. Possible major fields of study are: Ottoman and Modern Turkish History, Ottoman Language and Literature, Modern Turkish Language, Turkic Linguistics. The second Middle Eastern language may be Persian, Arabic, Uzbek, Hebrew, or Armenian.