She graduated from Boğaziçi University Department of Sociology and Political Science and International Relations. She got an MA in European Union Studies at Leiden University (Netherland), where she went with a Jean Monnet scholarship funded by the European Union. She received her second MA degree from Boğaziçi University Department of Political Science and International Relations. She received her PhD in sociology from The Graduate Center City University of New York CUNY (USA), with her doctoral study examining the ethnic and religious affiliation and gender roles of immigrants of Turkish origin living in the United States. Her research interests include migration, belonging, the city, gender, social memory and media.