Istanbul University

Istanbul University has been the locomotive of Turkey’s Higher Education with its 15faculties, 12 institutes, 2 vocational schools, 2 Schools, 2 departments, 74 researchand application centres and 216 student clubs. There areover 300,000 students, 3,337 academics and 7,067 administrative staff. Thenumber of Istanbul University alumni is reaching almost 1 million. IstanbulUniversity is the only university in Turkey whose alumni have been awarded twoNobel Prizes. (The Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2015, Prof. Dr. Aziz Sancar andThe Nobel Prize in Literature, 2006, Orhan Pamuk) Istanbul University has 675 diploma programmes; 20 Associate degrees, 124 Bachelor’sdegrees, 329 Master’s degrees and 202 PhD degrees. Istanbul University has a great library collection consisting of approximately 1.5 millionbooks. The history of Istanbul University dates back to the conquest of Istanbul by Sultan MehmetII the Conqueror in 1453. The Sahn-ı Seman Madrasahs (Conqueror Madrasahs),established after the scientific meetings in Zeyrek a day after the conquest,constitute the first ring of this scientific journey. The madrasahs, wheretheological and environmental sciences were taught together, became centers ofattraction with the reconstruction of Istanbul and the invitation of foreignscholars by the Conqueror. Flourishing with the support of the sultans, themadrasahs reached proficient status as higher education institutions particularlyin the 16th and 17th centuries. They were transformed into Darülfünun by SultanAbdülmecid in 1846. The Darülfünun works carried out by Grand Vesir Sait Pashawho tried to keep abreast with the speed of the Industrial Revolution. Followingthe proclamation of the Republic, the young Republic of Turkey, in an effort toestablish educational system that is based on rationale and science, acknowledgedthe legal personality of Darülfünun and accepted the scientific andadministrative independence of the institution on October 7th, 1925. After thisdate, the higher education system tried to meet the needs of the new system interms of academics and materials. The infrastructure for a modern university wasset up with the support of foreign scholars invited to the country. With the 1933University Reform, conducted under the leadership of Atatürk, IstanbulDarülfünun was transformed into Istanbul University. Istanbul Universitystarted to accept students on November 18th, 1933, as the “first and only”university of the Republic of Turkey.