Elçin completed her Ph.D., about the state's responsibility for peremptory norms of International Law, in International Public Law at the Gazi University in Ankara. While writing the thesis she visited the Faculty of Law of the University of Bologna, Italy as a visiting researcher. She also took use of the Cambridge University Library and Squire Law Library's extensive resources, as well as the opportunity to attend seminars at the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law in Cambridge, England.
During her stay at the Centre, she will research on Refugee Law especially the issues of burden-sharing, temporary protection status, and the collective action and cooperation of the international community as a whole. She was awarded a grant by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) in 2021