Master in Action Research and Transformation (mART)

Why Master in Action Research and Transformation?

The world has been going through a great change and transformation process where companies and institutions face game-changing challenges. Opportunities such as the internet and social media that facilitate communication and cooperation, artificial intelligence technologies, virtual reality, traveling in space, and threats such as climate change, food crises, and pandemics push individuals and organizations to find agile and innovative solutions. These changes and transformations require a more holistic, participatory, egalitarian, sustainable collaboration, and knowledge generation approach.

mART aims to train leaders who can effectively manage the change and transformation processes that will inevitably be faced in the upcoming period. As a core competency, the program aims to assist leaders in developing their ability to co-generate knowledge, make decisions, do business and find solutions, create a common interest formula, develop a cooperation advantage, establish and manage teams, and establish and manage decentralized and co-managed structures.

mART, whose mission is defined as 'Contributing to social and institutional transformation by feeding from different disciplines', aims to meet the increasing number of transformational needs in the business world by considering action research as a transformation management tool. These transformations need new knowledge and a new type of leadership. These leaders need to construct change tools and mechanisms, along with producing vision, meaning and purpose. AR approaches and methods respond to this need.

Within the framework of the program, participants will create and conduct an action research project on organizational development/transformation in their home company or in another company and will write an article about the project. The project will be carried out in an integrated manner with all courses. This will enable participants to gain hands-on experience in solving real organizational challenges.

The program will enable participants to develop collaborations with institutions and academics working on AR on an international platform to provide a global perspective.

Program's Target Group

The program is designed for top-middle level managers and their substitutes working at private companies, public institutions, SMEs, and NGOs and holding at least a bachelor's degree. The courses will be held in the evenings and on weekends, suitable for working managers.

Program Objectives

• Train change management leaders who can adopt, implement, and design new management tools in a period of increasing uncertainty and decreasing predictability in Turkey and in the world,
• Ensure that participants gain hands-on experience solving real organizational challenges,
• Enhance the capacity of participants to support and improve the knowledge management dimension of transformation projects conducted in Turkey and abroad through engaging action research to manage them,
• Develop collaboration with international institutions, academics and practitioners of action research through real or immersive experiences for meaningful interaction with ongoing global projects.

Curriculum

mART, which defines its mission as "contributing to social and institutional transformation by drawing on different disciplines," aims to meet the increasing transformational needs in the business world by taking AR as a transformation management tool. mART is a 12-month non-thesis master's program taught in English and the classes are generally held on weekday evenings from 18:30-22:00 and on Saturdays during the day.

mART courses are conducted in collaboration with Sabancı University faculty members, senior executives such as Ömer Aras from QNB Finansbank, Hasan Süel from Vodafone, consultancy firms such as Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and ACM Agile, and international actors and partners such as Erasmus University. The program adopts a pedagogy that requires participants to actively engage in live project cases.

Required Courses

Elective Courses

Overseas Study Trip*

As part of Sabancı University’s Master in Action Research and Transformation (mART) Program, the Norway Overseas Study Trip represents a long-standing international learning component developed in collaboration with leading Norwegian institutions, including the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Over the years, the format has evolved to reflect emerging transformation themes and institutional partners. While some cohorts have worked primarily with municipal transformation cases in Trondheim, others have engaged with corporate leaders, global firms, and executive education institutions, exploring topics such as leadership development, sustainability, digital transformation, and large-scale organizational change.

Each year’s program is designed around real, contemporary transformation challenges, ensuring that the learning experience remains dynamic and context-driven. Participants conduct fieldwork, take part in workshops and executive dialogues, and present their analyses and strategic recommendations to senior leaders . While institutional partners and focal cases may differ across cohorts, the core methodology remains consistent: action research in practice — integrating inquiry, reflection, collaboration, and intervention design. This continuity within variation enables mART participants to gain both a stable methodological foundation and exposure to diverse transformation ecosystems across sectors and years.

* The Overseas Study Trip is a voluntary trip, and the pricing is not included in the program fee.

Application Process

Applications for the 2026 - 2027 Academic Year of the Master in Action Research and Transformation Program are now open!

Applying to the mART program

Applicants to the mART Program should have a bachelor’s degree and a minimum 7 years of managerial experience.

The application process begins by completing the online application form, which is available below. Following this, all short-listed candidates are expected to attend a personal interview on campus. Further information about the application requirements can be found below. We strongly encourage all applicants to visit our campus, if possible, to attend classes and meet current students. Our classes take place at Sabancı University's Altunizade Digital Campus on weekday evenings and Saturdays.

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