Graduate Program in Carpet, Kilim and Traditional Textile Designs (Master's Degree)

The Graduate Program in Carpet, Kilim and Traditional Textile Designs offers a research-oriented academic environment focusing on traditional textile arts through the perspectives of cultural heritage, artistic research, and creative practice. The program aims to investigate, document, preserve, and transmit the historical, artistic, technical, and cultural knowledge embodied in carpets, kilims, and traditional textiles.

Traditional textiles represent more than material objects; they reflect the cultural identities, aesthetic values, social practices, and collective memory of the communities that produced them. The program therefore approaches carpets, kilims, and historical textiles both as significant forms of cultural heritage and as sources for contemporary artistic and design research.

Through master's-level education, students combine theoretical studies, field research, documentation, traditional production knowledge, and creative design practice. They are encouraged to investigate historical textile traditions while developing contemporary interpretations based on motifs, patterns, colours, materials, and weaving techniques.

Program History
The academic foundations of the program are rooted in the development of Traditional Turkish Arts within the Faculty of Fine Arts at Akdeniz University. The establishment of Carpet, Kilim and Traditional Textile Designs as a major art field, together with other areas of Traditional Turkish Arts, was approved in 1993. Its academic structure subsequently developed through faculty appointments and the expansion of education and research in traditional textile arts.

Graduate studies in the field are currently conducted within the Graduate School of Fine Arts. The program offers master's-level education and contributes to the scholarly investigation, documentation, preservation, and contemporary interpretation of traditional weaving culture.

Educational Philosophy and Objectives
The program regards cultural heritage preservation, scholarly research, and creative practice as interconnected processes. It aims to educate researchers and designers who possess advanced knowledge of traditional textile arts, employ appropriate research methods, conduct field studies, and interpret traditional design knowledge through contemporary perspectives.

Students investigate the materials, techniques, motifs, patterns, colours, and compositional characteristics of carpets, kilims, and traditional textiles while considering their historical and cultural contexts. Field research, visual and written documentation, and the study of traditional production techniques form important components of the educational process.

The program also encourages students to transform knowledge derived from traditional textile heritage into original contemporary designs. In this way, preservation is approached not only as safeguarding the past but also as sustaining cultural knowledge through research, interpretation, and creative practice.

Research Focus
* Carpet and Kilim Studies
* Traditional Textile and Weaving Studies
* Motif, Pattern and Composition Studies
* Traditional Weaving Techniques
* Textile History and Cultural Heritage
* Field Research and Documentation
* Natural Dyes and Traditional Colouring Techniques
* Preservation and Sustainability of Traditional Textiles
* Contemporary Interpretations of Traditional Patterns
* Interdisciplinary Textile and Design Research

Career Opportunities
Graduates may pursue careers as academics, researchers, designers, cultural heritage specialists, consultants, and project coordinators. They may work in universities, museums, ethnographic collections, research centres, cultural institutions, textile enterprises, carpet production companies, and independent design studios. Graduates may also contribute to research, documentation, and cultural heritage projects concerning traditional textiles, develop independent creative practices, or continue their education through advanced academic and artistic studies.

Academic Stuff
Prof. Mehmet Ali EROĞLU (Head of Dept.)
Assist. Prof. Dr. Mehmet SAĞ
Assist. Prof. Dr. Zülbiye SEVGİLİ POLAT