The Cultural Studies Program is committed to addressing the critical relations between culture, power, and history through multi-disciplinary engagement, innovative research, methodological openness, and critical pedagogical practice. Combining the strengths of the humanities and social sciences, the MA Program in Cultural Studies seeks to become a unique center of research and debate on culture and politics in Turkey and the world. It also aims to contribute to the ongoing critical self-reflection of the humanities and the social sciences through local and international initiatives. Particular areas of research include Memory and Cultural Heritage; Conflict, Violence and Trauma; Media, Law and Public Spheres; Nationalism and Transnationalism; and Gender and Sexuality.

The standing faculty includes specialists in Anthropology (Ayse Gul Altinay, Ayse Parla, Leyla Neyzi), History (Tulay Artan, Halil Berktay), Literature (Hulya Adak, Sibel Irzik, Annedith Schneider), Political Science (Nedim Nomer), Conflict Resolution (Betul Celik) and Sociology (Ahmet Oncu, Ayse Oncu), and the program regularly invites visiting scholars in these fields and in others, including Media Studies and Visual Studies.

The Cultural Studies Program at Sabancı is actively involved in European Union Socrates exchange programs, allowing for the exchange of both faculty and students. There are currently agreements with universities in Denmark, Germany, Holland, Norway and Sweden.

Current projects involving faculty members and students include the TUBITAK-TUBA-YOK Funded Research Project "Gender-based Violence: Analyzing the Problem and the Struggle Against It" and the EU 6th Framework funded EUROSPHERES Project.