Bilkent University
Bilkent University (In Turkish: Bilkent Üniversitesi) was founded on October 20, 1984 by İhsan Doğramacı through the resolution of the foundations which had earlier been established by him. 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. The name ``Bilkent exemplifies the founder's aim, since it is an acronym of ``bilim kenti, Turkish for ``city of science and knowledge.
Bilkent University
| Name | Bilkent Üniversitesi |
|---|---|
| Motto | Veritas |
| Established | 20 October 1985 |
| School type | Private University |
| Rector | Prof.Dr.Ali Doğramacı |
| Location | Ankara, Turkey |
| Member of | EUA |
| Students | 10000 |
| Mascot | N/A |
| Website | www.bilkent.edu.tr |
History
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.
In October 1986 Bilkent University admitted its first students. That year there were 386 undergraduate and graduate students. Currently there are over 10,000 students in nine faculties, two four-year professional schools, two two-year vocational schools and the School of English Language plus six graduate schools (called institutes). Among them are foreign students from 72 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 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, Purdue, Johns Hopkins, University of Maine, University of Texas at Austin, University of Missouri, Bowling Green State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Carthage College, Franklin and Marshall College in the US; University of Laval and McGill University in Canada; and Tel-Aviv University in Israel. Bilkent is a member of NIBES (Network of International Business and Economic Schools) and exchange programs are established with Pforzheim University in Germany and the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Clarmont and the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Lille of France. The university also has a communications office at 600 Madison Avenue in New York City, equipped with interactive video conferencing capabilities. A number of courses are delivered through this office via satellite connection.
To meet the expanding needs of the university, construction has continued throughout the years since the admission of the first students. New buildings and facilities include two gymnasiums; the Faculties of Humanities and Letters, Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences, Art, Design and Architecture, Science, the Computer Center, and Music and Performing Arts; a Concert Hall for the Bilkent Academic Symphony Orchestra; a secondary school, a preschool and nursery; new dining facilities; two health centers and a pharmacy; and the East Campus which has additional classroom space, catering facilities, and student and faculty housing.
The faculty is comprised of an academic staff from 43 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.
The university also has a communications office at 600 Madison Avenue in New York City, equipped with interactive video conferencing capabilities. A number of courses are delivered through this office via satellite connection.
Faculties 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).
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.
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
- Faculty of Business Administration
- Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences
- Faculty of Education
- Faculty of Engineering
- Faculty of Humanities and Letters
- Faculty of Law
- Faculty of Music and Performing Arts
- Faculty of Science
- School of Applied Languages
- School of Tourism and Hotel Management
- Vocational School of Computer Technology and Office Management
- Vocational School of Tourism and Hotel Services
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. or B.S., or an M.A. or M.S., or an equivalent degree from an accredited university are eligible to commence studies in the master or doctoral programs, respectively.
The graduate programs are administrated through:
- Graduate School of Business Administration
- Institute of Economics and Social Sciences
- Graduate School of Education
- Institute of Engineering and Science
- Institute of Fine Arts
- Institute of Music and Performing Arts
Each institute coordinates the curricula for its respective departments. Information on the graduate programs are provided in this catalog under the headings of the related departments.
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 53 state and 23 private universities in Turkey. Bilkent gets many of the very best of these students. For example, in the 2003 examination, 33 of the top 100 scorers chose Bilkent.
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 a large proportion of the top 100 scorers in the Turkish National University Entrance Examination choose to study at Bilkent. International students come from countries such as Australia, Bulgaria, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Japan, Jordan, Tunisia, UK, USA, Russian Federation and Ukraine.
The faculty is composed of a motivated and dynamic academic staff from over 40 different countries. In terms of publications per faculty, Bilkent ranks first in Turkey, and ranks high internationally. Bilkent University hires academic and administrative staff and admits students regardless of gender, race, color, national or ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to staff and students at the university.
A high proportion of Bilkent graduate students receive some form of financial support from the University. Graduate students who have completed their studies at Bilkent go on to find excellent jobs in Turkey and around the world, at prominent universities, research institutes and international organizations.
Campus
Library
The University library has a rich collection of books with annual acquisitions valued at over 3 million U.S. dollars. In addition to books, the collection includes periodical subscriptions, microforms, CD-ROMS, access to numerous online databases and electronic journals and audio/video cassettes. Music scores and sound recordings (CDs, cassettes and records) are also available in the music listening rooms.
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.
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.
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 at reasonable rates.
Sports and Recreation
The sports programs, activities and facilities of the university are expanding constantly to keep pace with the growing needs of the large student body. The facilities 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 the following sports courses: tennis, table tennis, squash, badminton, basketball, volleyball, aerobic/step, fitness/conditioning, fencing, kick boxing, taekwondo, tai chi, yoga, kung fu (wing chun), Turkish folk dancing, ballroom dancing and ice skating. Furthermore, students who enjoy competition may play on University teams in the following sports: American football, basketball, volleyball, football, tennis, badminton, squash, bowling, chess, bridge, fencing, step, Turkish folk dancing, boxing and taekwondo. To provide the environment and programs through which the Bilkent University community can participate in and attain a healthy lifestyle. By participating in quality health, physical education, sports and fitness programs the students enrich their campus lives and develop to their fullest individual capacity.
Sport Facilities
- Aerobic
- Aikido
- Badminton
- Ballroom and Latin Dancings
- Baseball - Softball
- Capoeira
- Cricket
- Fencing
- Fitness / Strength Training
- Ice Skating
- Squash
- Table Tennis
- Taekwondo
- Turkish Folk Dancing
- Volleyball
- Wing-Tsun
- Tennis
Societies and Leisure Activities
Bilkent University is a leader in music and performing arts in Turkey. Bilkent Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is Turkey’s first and only academic philharmonic orchestra. It performs regularly at the University Concert Hall and gives concerts in other parts of Turkey and abroad. Young actors studying at the Performing Arts Department have regularly scheduled performances. Student clubs organize regular movie showings every week. The University also sponsors frequent lectures, art exhibitions, and literary evenings
Organizations and Institutions Associated with the University
Centers
- Bilkent University Center for European Union Affairs
- Ahmed Adnan Saygun Center for Music Research and Education
- Bilkent Center for Advanced Studies (BICAS)
- 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
- Communications and Spectrum Management Research Center (ISYAM)
- Genetics and Biotechnology Research and Development Center (BILGEN)
- Center for Research in Transitional Societies (CRTS)
- Center for Turkish Literature
- Nanotechnology Research Center
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
See also
External Links
- Bilkent University
- Sunsite-Bilkent
- Bilkent Web in USA
- Radio Bilkent
- Bilkent Symphony Orchestra
- What's on around Bilkent
- Bilkent News
- Bilkent's Turkish Literature Magazine
- Sport Center
- Bilkent Library
- Health Center
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