Bilkent University

Bilkent University
İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent Üniversitesi
Motto	Veritas
Motto in English	Truth
Established	1984
Type	Private
President	Prof. Dr. Abdullah Atalar
Provost	Prof. Dr. Metin Heper
Academic staff	1,000
Students	13,000
Location	Ankara, Turkey
Campus	Urban, 5,000 acres (20 km2)
Newspaper	Bilkent News
Colors	Royal blue and crimson
Website	www.bilkent.edu

İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University, commonly referred to as Bilkent University or Bilkent, is the first private, nonprofit university in Turkey with the fundamental aim of creating a center of excellence in higher education and research. The name "Bilkent" exemplifies this aim, since it is an acronym of "bilim kenti": Turkish for "city of science".

Bilkent University is among the 201th to 225th best universities in the world and 1st in Turkey according to Times Higher Education World University Rankings of the world's top universities for 2011/2012.

History

Bilkent University was founded on October 20, 1984 by Prof. Dr. İhsan Doğramacı, through the joint resolution of İhsan Doğramacı Education Foundation, İhsan Doğramacı Science and Research Foundation and İhsan Doğramacı Health Foundation. The establishment of this private university was later approved by an act of Parliament. The aim was to create a center of excellence in higher education and research.

It had long been an objective of the founder to establish a private university distinguished by its high quality education and research. The founder, himself an academician by profession, had earlier contributed to the establishment of numerous public institutions of higher learning and served as rector of Ankara University, chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Middle East Technical University and founder and first rector of Hacettepe University.

Preparations for Bilkent University had begun as early as 1967, with the purchase of a large tract of land to the west of Ankara. In the late 1970s and early 1980s the above mentioned foundations undertook construction, on the future site of Bilkent, of the buildings which now house administrative offices, the Faculty of Engineering, and the library. Construction of residences for academic staff, cafeterias, student dormitories, the Student Union building and various academic buildings followed in rapid succession.

Currently there are about 12,000 students in nine faculties, two four-year professional schools and three two-year vocational schools. Among them are foreign students from different countries. With funds from the endowments provided by the founder, the university each year awards full scholarships to over 2,500 students of high academic achievement.

From the outset, the design of the university structure provided for student union representatives to be voting members of the administrative committees of various schools, as well as of the University Senate. Beginning in the second year of instruction, the practice of student evaluation of courses and instructors, at the time not a common practice in Turkey, was instituted.

To promote the enrichment of teaching and research programs, Bilkent University entered into collaborative projects and exchange programs with many universities abroad. Bilkent has student exchange agreements with the University of California system, Georgia Institute of Technology, Maryland University, Washington University, Michigan University in the USA; McGill and Montreal Universities in Canada; Tilburg and Amsterdam Universities in the Netherlands; Pforzheim and Konstanz Universities in Germany; Roma and Bacconi Universities in Italy; Southern Denmark University in Denmark; Essex University in England; Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Lille and Clarmont University in France; Waikato University in New Zealand. The complete list of partner Universities can be found at www.bilkent.edu.tr. The university also has a communications office at the Empire State Building in New York City, equipped with interactive video conferencing capabilities. A number of courses are delivered through this office via satellite connection.

The Career Center, another service established at the incentive of Bilkent's founder early in the University's development, helps final-year students to acquire the skills necessary to apply successfully for a job. The Center arranges interviews between representatives of major corporations and students seeking employment.

Each year, more than 1,500,000 high-school graduates take the national examination to enter the state and private universities in Turkey. Bilkent gets many of the very best of these students. For example, in the 2008 examination, 34 of the top 100 scorers chose Bilkent.

The faculty is from around 40 different countries. Most of them were working in prominent universities in North America and Europe when they received offers from Bilkent University. According to ISI Citation Indexes, Bilkent continues to be first in Turkey in number of published papers per faculty member and ranks high internationally.

Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture

Faculties, Departments and Schools

Undergraduate Programs

The bachelor's degree is awarded to students who successfully complete an eight-semester course of study (approximately 120 credit units, although the weight varies in different departments).

Students must fulfill all the degree requirements determined by their department; at graduation their cumulative grade point average must be 2.00 or higher on a scale of 4.00 (stands for circa 65% in Bilkent's grading scale).

The undergraduate programs are organized in departments within nine faculties, two schools and two vocational schools offering two-year programs. These faculties and schools are as follows:

• Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture: Communication and Design, Fine Arts, Graphic Design, Interior Architecture and Environmental Design, Landscape Architecture and Urban Design

• Bilkent Faculty of Business Administration: Management

Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering

• Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences: Economics, International Relations, Global and International Affairs, Political Science, Psychology

• Faculty of Education: Computer and Instructional Technology Teacher Education, English Teacher Education

• Faculty of Engineering: Computer Engineering, Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering

• Faculty of Humanities and Letters: American Culture and Literature, Archaeology and History of Art, English Language and Literature, Philosophy

• Bilkent Faculty of Law: Law

• Faculty of Music and Performing Arts: Music, Performing Arts

• Faculty of Science: Chemistry, Mathematics, Molecular Biology and Genetics, Physics

Faculty of Science

• School of Applied Languages: Account Information Systems, Banking and Finance, Translation and Interpretation

• School of Applied Technology and Management: Business Information Systems, Computer Technology Information Systems

• Vocational School of Computer Technology and Office Management: Accounting ,Bureau Management and Secretarial Training, Commerce and Administration, Computer Technology and Programming

• Vocational School of Tourism and Hotel Services: Tourism and Hotel Management

In addition, the School of English Language offers a vocational degree in English and Translation Studies for students registered in this two-year program. Study at the vocational schools leads to an Associate of Arts or Associate of Science vocational degree.

Graduate Programs

Students who have obtained either a B.A., B.S. or L.L.B., and an M.A., M.S., M.B.A. or L.L.M, or an equivalent degree from an accredited university are eligible to commence studies in the master or doctoral programs.

The graduate programs include:

• Physics (M.S., Ph.D.)
• Molecular Biology and Genetics (M.S., Ph.D.)
• Mathematics (M.S., Ph.D.)
• Materials Science and Nanotechnology (M.S., Ph.D.)
• Chemistry (M.S., Ph.D.)
• Electrical and Electronics Engineering (M.S., Ph.D.)
• Computer Engineering (M.S., Ph.D.)
• Industrial Engineering (M.S., Ph.D.)
• Mechanical Engineering (M.S., Ph.D.)
• Business Administration (M.B.A., M.S., Ph.D.)
• Economics (M.A., Ph.D.)
• Law (L.L.M., Ph.D.)
  • (Dual Masters in Applied Economics, Finance and Operations Research - joint with Tilburg University)
• International Relations (M.A., Ph.D.)
  • (Master of International Affairs and Public Policy)
• Political Science (Ph.D.)
• Archaeology and History of Art (M.A.)
• History (M.A., Ph.D.)
• Turkish Literature (M.A., Ph.D.)
• Education
  • Management in Education (M.A.)
  • Teacher Education (M.A.)
  • Teaching English as a Foreign Language (M.A.)
• Art, Design and Architecture (Ph.D.)
  • Painting and Printmaking (M.F.A)
  • Graphic Design (M.F.A.)
  • Interior Architecture and Environmental Design (M.F.A.)
  • Media and Visual Studies (M.F.A.)
• Music (M.M, D.M.A./Proficiency in Art)

Admission

The Career Development and Placement Center, another service established at the incentive of Bilkent's founder early in the University's development, helps final-year students to acquire the skills necessary to apply successfully for a job. The Center arranges interviews between representatives of major corporations and students seeking employment.

Each year, more than 1,600,000 high-school graduates take the national examination to enter the 94 state and 36 private universities in Turkey and 5 universities in Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

The University has more than 10,000 students and a teaching staff of 1000. Bilkent attracts students of the highest caliber nationally and from abroad. Every year, the largest proportion of top scorers in the Turkish National University Entrance Examination choose to study at Bilkent. International students come from more than 70 different countries.

Proficiency in English language for non-native speakers is also a must in admission, since all departments (except for the Turkish Language and Literature department) use English as the main language of education by 100% weight. Minimum score of 213 from TOEFL, or success in the university's own English proficiency exam is obligatory to register the Associate, Bachelor, Master, or Doctorate level courses.

The faculty is composed of an academic staff from over 40 different countries. In terms of publications per faculty, Bilkent ranks first in Turkey, and ranks high internationally.^{[citation needed]}

A high proportion of Bilkent graduate students receive some form of financial support from the University.

Campus

Bilkent University Library

The University campus is located off the main highway to Eskişehir about 12 km. (10 miles) west of the center of Ankara, and covers an area of more than 5000 acres. University consists of three campuses all next to each other. East campus has English preparation schools, some dormitories, CTIS, THM departments and middle campus has lodgings and FMPA, and the rest (also the biggest campus) is Main campus.

Library

The University library has a rich collection of books with annual acquisitions valued at over 3 million U.S. dollars. Today, Bilkent University Library is the largest university library of Turkey, and it is the only university library to take place at the Top 10 libraries ranking of Turkey.

In addition to books, the collection includes periodical subscriptions, microforms, CD-ROMS, access to numerous online databases and electronic journals, DVD videos and audio/video cassettes. Music scores and sound recordings are available in the music rooms. Various open private collections and an exhibition hall also take place in the library.

Bilkent Computer Center(BCC) and Faculty of Law

Bilkent University Library is opening its doors to the students and faculty of the other universities. The computer automation system (BLISS) made for the use of Bilkent University Library is now being used by many other Turkish university libraries, again by permission of Bilkent University.

Computer Center

The Bilkent Computer Center (BCC) provides a variety of computing resources and services to meet the administrative, educational and research computing requirements in the university community. These services include providing computational equipment, their hardware and software maintenance, maintenance of software resources such as language compilers, utilities and application programs. Additionally, BCC develops in-house application software for the university itself including academic information systems, student information systems, library information system and others.

Sports and Recreation

Bilkent University sports center

The sports programs, activities and facilities of the university include three gymnasiums, three outdoor tennis courts, one indoor tennis court, several outdoor volleyball and basketball courts, two mini-football fields, several aerobic/step studios, fitness/conditioning room, several multi-purpose rooms, a regulation size grass football field on Main Campus and a 60m x 40m multi-purpose grass football field on East Campus. In addition, a new seven thousand square meter multi-purpose sports complex (with a large state of the art fitness center, basketball, volleyball and team handball courts, three squash courts, aerobic/step and program studios and an indoor running-walking track) on Main Campus was added to the current facilities in the Fall of 2001.

Students can participate in many sports courses and be trained by university staff, mostly for free. The university presents many individuals and teams in different sports in varsity competitions.

The two most famous sport teams of the university are Bilkent Goats and Bilkent Judges, the ultimate team and the football team, respectively.

Bilkent University health center

Health Services

Free emergency health services are provided for all students. There are two health centers on the campuses with physicians and nurses available 24 hours a day, including weekends. In addition to the full-time staff, specialists such as a dentist, optician, gynecologist and psychologist are available for consultation. Subscription to group health insurance plans are available for graduate students.

Societies and Leisure Activities

Bilkent University claims to be a leader in music and performing arts in Turkey. Bilkent Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is Turkey’s first and only academic symphony orchestra. It performs regularly at the University Concert Hall and gives concerts in various other cities and countries. Young actors studying at the Performing Arts Department have regularly scheduled performances. The University also sponsors frequent lectures, art exhibitions, and literary evenings throughout the academic year.

The board, and the departmental members of the Bilkent Student Union are annually chosen among the students by the entire registered students of that academic year. Student Union is the main sponsor and the organizer of the Mayfest, the traditional Bilkent University summer festival. Mayfest is held at the first week of May each year and is famous with the huge number of activities goes on all day long, as well as the open-air concerts where the most popular Turkish pop and rock bands and singers take stage every night throughout the festival.

Bilkent University dormitories

The student clubs organize regular activities every day in the campus, mostly open to everyone. All students are allowed to join, or participate in the events and activities of any club they wish to.

Housing

Accommodation is available on campus for many graduate students either in single occupancy dormitories or in shared apartments. All housing facilities are furnished and equipped with basic necessities such as major appliances, kitchenware and bedding. The dormitories houses nearly 4000 students.

Rankings

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings ranked Bilkent University as follows:

Year	Turkey	In Asia	In the World
2010	1st	15th	112th

Notable Faculty Members

Main category: Bilkent University faculty

• Gürer Aykal - Faculty of Music, conductor
• Suna Kan - Faculty of Music, violinist
• Gülsin Onay - Faculty of Music, pianist
• Fazıl Say - Faculty of Music, pianist
• Talat Sait Halman - Dean of the School of Humanities and Letters, first Minister of Culture of Turkey
• Stanford J. Shaw (deceased in 2006) - Faculty of History
• Halil İnalcık - Faculty of History
• Norman Stone - Faculty of International Relations, and History
• Hikmet Sami Türk - Faculty of Law, former Minister of Justice of Turkey
• İlber Ortaylı - Faculty of Law
• Ergun Özbudun - Faculty of Law, leader of the academic council which is building a new Turkish constitution.
• Sami Selçuk - Faculty of Law, former Head Judge of the Supreme Court of Turkey
• Metin Heper - Faculty of Political Sciences
• Emre Özgen - Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences, Founder and Chair of Psychology Department, Vice President of the Turkish Psychological Association
• Salim Çıracı - Faculty of Science, Director of UNAM
• Alexander Shumovsky (deceased in 2007) - Faculty of Science, Department of Physics
• Metin Gürses - Faculty of Science, Department of Mathematics
• Ali Sinan Sertöz - Faculty of Science, Department of Mathematics
• Umut Aydin - Faculty of Engineering, Department of Industrial Engineering
• Abdullah Atalar - Faculty of Engineering, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering
• Ekmel Özbay - Faculty of Science, Department of Physics and Faculty of Engineering, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering
• Haldun Özaktaş - Faculty of Engineering, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering
• Hayrettin Köymen - Faculty of Engineering, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering

Notable alumni

Main category: Bilkent University alumni

• Başak Köklükaya - Actress
• Başak Şenova - Art Curator, founding member of NOMAD, an association working on digital art.
• Binnur Kaya - Actress
• Ceyhun Bozkurt - Professor, Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, University of Greenwich
• Demir Demirkan - Rock musician
• Emrah Yucel - Graphic designer and president of the Turkish Film Festival
• Nevşin Mengü - Anchor Woman
• Fadik Sevin Atasoy - Actress
• Gizem Girişmen - Disabled female archer. Won gold medal at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in the category of individual recurve W1/W2
• Haluk Akakçe - Painter and audiovisual artist
• Hande Dalkılıç - Pianist
• Jehan Barbur - Musician, composer
• Kaan Tangöze - Rock musician as known from Duman
• Nasuh Mahruki - Mountaineer, first Turk to climb Mt. Everest and the founder of search and rescue team, AKUT
• Orkut Büyükkökten - a Turkish employee of Google who developed the social networking service called Orkut
• Şahan Gökbakar - Comedian
• Tamer Karadağlı - Actor
• Tarkan Gözübüyük - Musician as known from Pentagram, Producer
• Yasemin Mori - Indie musician, freelance graphic artist
• Zeynep Koltuk - Actress
• Alper Atamtürk - Chancellor's Professor, Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, University of California, Berkeley
• Atila Abdülkadiroğlu - Professor of Economics, Duke University
• Ali Kemal ARKUN - Urban Designer and Landscape Architect The Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture, Department of Urban Design and Landscape Architecture

Organizations and Institutions Associated with the University

Centers

• National Research Center for Magnetic Resonance (UMRAM)
• Bilkent University Center for European Union Affairs
• Ahmed Adnan Saygun Center for Music Research and Education
• Bilkent Center for Advanced Studies (BICAS)
• Center for Mind, Language & Culture
• Center for Brain Research
• Center for Environmental Sciences
• Center for International Economics
• Center for Russian Studies
• Center for Studies in Society and Politics
• Center for Turkish Language and Speech Processing
• Center for Turkish Politics and History
• Center for Research in Transitional Societies (CRTS)
• Center for Turkish Literature
• Communications and Spectrum Management Research Center (ISYAM)
• Genetics and Biotechnology Research and Development Center (BILGEN)
• Halil Inalcik Center of Ottoman Studies
• Nanotechnology Research Center (NANOTAM)
• National Nanotechnology Research Center (UNAM)

Institutes

• Institute of Economic and Social Sciences
• Institute of Engineering and Science
• Institute of Fine Arts
• Institute of Music and Performing Arts
• Institute of World Systems, Economies and Strategic Research
• Institute of Materials Science and Nanotechnology

See also

• Education in Turkey
• List of concert halls
• List of universities in Turkey

External links

• Bilkent University
• Bilkent Kampus
• Bilkent University International Relations Academic Research Community