Prof. Alev Erkilet, born in Ankara in 1962, completed her primary, secondary, and high school education at TED Ankara College. She graduated from the Department of Sociology at Hacettepe University in 1983. Prof. Erkilet completed her master's degree in 1985 and her Ph.D. in 1996 as a research assistant in the same department. From 1997 to 2000, she worked as an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology at Kırıkkale University. In 2006-2007, she conducted sociological research for the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality's Historical Peninsula Conservation-Oriented Urban Design Project. Since February 2012, she has served at various universities, including Kırklareli, Sakarya, Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim, and İstinye Universities. As of March 2020, she has been working in the Department of Sociology at Ibn Haldun University and is the dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Her publications cover a range of subjects, including modernization and Islamic movements in the Middle East, theories of social structure and change, and perspectives on poverty and urban segregation. Her books include:

1. "Ele Geçirilemeyen Toprak Kuzey Kafkasya" (The Unconquerable Land: North Caucasus)
2. "Eleştirellikten Uyuma, Toplumsal Yapı ve Değişme Kuramları" (From Critique to Accomodation: Theories of Social Structure and Change)
3. "Mazlum Doğu’nun Mağrur Çocukları" (The Proud Children of the Oppressed East)
4. "Kenti Dinlemek: Kültürel Miras, Kentsel Ayrışma ve Yoksulluğa Dair Yazılar" (Listening to the City: Writings on Cultural Heritage, Urban Segregation, and Poverty)
5. "İstanbul Halkının Dilencilik Olgusuna Bakış Açısı" (Perspectives of Istanbul's Public on the Phenomenon of Begging) (co-authored)
6. "Magnetsiz Şehirler: Türkiye’de Kentlerin Dönüşümü" (Cities Without Magnets: The Transformation of Cities in Turkey) (edited with Y. Çolak)
7. "Bir Müslüman İslamcılık, İslam Birliği ve Ümmet’e Nasıl Bakmalı" (How a Muslim Should View Islamism, Islamic Unity, and the Ummah)

Prof. Erkilet continues to work in the fields of social change, modernization, political sociology, social movements, urban sociology, and gender studies.