Boğaziçi University

Boğaziçi University

Boğaziçi Üniversitesi
Former names	Robert College (1863–1971)
Type	Public
Established	1863
Rector	Mehmet Naci İnci
Academic staff	915
Administrative staff	811
Students	16,706
Undergraduates	9,786
Postgraduates	3,773
Doctoral students	1,076
Location	Istanbul , Turkey
Campus	7 campuses: total 1,816 square kilometres (448,743 acres)
Language	English Turkish
Colours	Light blue and dark blue
Affiliations	EUA IAU UNIMED Utrecht Network McDonnell International Scholars Academy NeurotechEU
Website	boun.edu.tr

Boğaziçi University (Turkish: Boğaziçi Üniversitesi), also known as Bosphorus University, is a major research university in Istanbul, Turkey. Its main campus is located on the European side of the Bosphorus strait. It has six faculties and two schools offering undergraduate degrees, and six institutes offering graduate degrees. Traditionally, the language of instruction is English.

Founded in 1863, as Robert College, it was the first American higher education institution founded outside the United States. Though under Turkish administration today, the university still maintains strong ties to the American educational system.

Boğaziçi University consistently ranks as Turkey's top university and has the greatest number of applicants via the Turkish university entrance examinations, making it the most selective university in Turkey.

History

In 1863, Robert College was founded in Bebek by Christopher Robert, a wealthy American philanthropist, and Cyrus Hamlin, a Congregational missionary devoted to education. Six years after its foundation, the first campus (the current-day Boğaziçi South Campus) was built on the ridge near Rumeli Hisarı (the Rumelian Castle) with the permission of Sultan Abdulaziz.

According to a college catalogue compiled for the 1878–1879 academic year, "the object of the College is to give to its students, without distinction of race or religion, a thorough education equal in all respects to that obtained at a first-class American college and based upon the same general principles."

After Cyrus Hamlin, the college was administered by George Washburn (1877–1903) and Caleb Gates (1903–1932). The college, which was established as an institution of higher learning independent of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) yet holding a significant number of missionaries among its faculty in its earlier years, adopted an entirely secular and non-denominational educational model in 1923 in compliance with the new republican principles of Turkey.

Before 1971, Robert College, had junior high school, high school, and university sections under the names Robert Academy, Robert College, and Robert College Yüksek ('Yüksek" meaning "high" in Turkish). In 1971, the Bebek campus and academic staff of Robert College were turned over to the Republic of Turkey to be transformed into a public university named Boğaziçi University, the renamed continuation of Robert College's university section (i.e. Robert College Yüksek). The rest of Robert College moved into the Arnavutköy campus of the American College for Girls; despite continuing to call itself a college it became merely a high school."

In the fall of 1971, Boğaziçi University started its first academic year with former faculty and students of Robert College Yüksek as well as a new cohort of freshman students. Aptullah Kuran, the former vice-president of Robert College Yüksek, was the founding rector of the university. Since then, the university has gradually transformed from a small liberal arts college into a major research university.

In early 2021, the university received a lot of media attention, after the Turkish government appointed a new rector, a post traditionally filled after a democratic election within the university. Students protested against the curtailment of academic freedom. More than 150 students were detained. The new rector dismissed the earlier faculty deans to appoint himself or candidates from outside the university to their positions.

Campus

Boğaziçi University operates on seven campuses in Istanbul. Four of these campuses (South Campus, North Campus, Hisar Campus, and Uçaksavar Campus) are within walking distance to each other on a hill above the affluent district of Bebek on the European side of Istanbul, overlooking the Bosphorus (hence the name).

The South Campus is considered to be the most popular Boğaziçi University Campus. It houses various historic buildings of Robert College, including Hamlin, Washburn, Theodorus, Dodge, Albert Long and Anderson Halls as well as the Kennedy Lodge, named after John F. Kennedy, and currently serving as a welcoming facility for visiting professors and staff.

The North Campus is home to Aptullah Kuran Library, which contains more than 740,000 printed books, 800,000 e-books, 55,000 e-journals as well as an extensive collection of Braille books, and a collection of rare books and manuscripts.

The Kandilli Campus is on the opposite side of the Bosphorus in Çengelköy, and hosts the historic Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute (KOERI).

The Kilyos Sarıtepe campus, located on the Black Sea coast, is home to a private beach. It is the first self-sufficient university campus in the world, meeting all of its electricity demands from its own wind power plant.

In 2022, the Anadolu Hisarı Campus, which was previously under the administration of Marmara University, was transferred to Boğaziçi University.

Dormitories

The university has ten dormitories on its different campuses. Boğaziçi's First Men's and Women's Dorms are housed in some of the oldest buildings in the historic South Campus and offer students the chance to participated in the university's active social life.

There are also four dormitories on Boğaziçi's North Campus. The First and Second North Campus Dormitories were opened in 198, the former for female students, the latter for males. They have similar 1980s modernist architectural designs. The Third North Campus Dorm was opened for female students in 2010. The Fourth Dormitory of the North Campus has been in service since 2011, and mainly accepts graduate students.

The Kilyos Campus Dormitories are approximately one hour's drive away from Boğaziçi South and North campuses. The First Kilyos Dormitory serves female students while the Second Kilyos Dormitory is for males.

The Superdorm and Kandilli Dorms also provide accommodation to Boğaziçi University students. The Kandilli Dormitory for female students opened in 2017 on the Kandilli Campus. The waste water collected from the bathrooms at the Kandilli Dorm is reused in the toilet reservoirs after treatment.

International rankings

University rankings
Global – Overall
CWUR World	645 (2020–21)
CWTS World	1074 (2020)
QS World	651-700 (2021)
THE World	601–800 (2021)
USNWR Global	=197 (2021)
Regional – Overall
QS Emerging Europe and Central Asia	13 (2022)

Boğaziçi University ranks first in Turkey and 197th internationally according to U.S. News & World Report 2021 Best Global Universities Rankings, and shares the fifth rank among Turkish universities according to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings of 2021 (internationally: 601 – 800).

Music and sports festivals

Taşoda Music Festival is organized by Boğaziçi University Music Club every spring. It is the most important amateur music festival held in Turkey and takes its name from Music Club's studio at the South Campus.

Every May the Boğaziçi Sports Festival is held at the South Campus and other university venues. Usually, some 300 to 800 students from all over the world come to compete in various events.

Departments offering bachelor's degrees

Faculty of Arts and Sciences

• Chemistry
• History
• Linguistics
• Mathematics
• Molecular Biology and Genetics
• Philosophy
• Physics
• Psychology
• Sociology
• Translation and Interpreting studies
• Turkish language and literature
• Western languages and literature (This department was formerly named English Language and Literature. In 2008, the content and courses were rearranged and the name was changed as well.)

Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences

• Economics
• Management
• Political Science and International Relations

Faculty of Education

• Computer Education and Educational Technology
• Foreign Language Education
• Educational Sciences
• Primary Education
• Secondary School Science and Mathematics Education

Faculty of Engineering

• Chemical Engineering
• Civil Engineering
• Computer Engineering
• Electrical and Electronic Engineering
• Industrial Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering

Faculty of Managerial Sciences

• Management Information Systems
• International Trade
• Tourism Administration

School of Foreign Languages

• Advanced English
• English Preparatory Division
• Modern Languages Unit

Institutes offering graduate programs

Institute for Graduate Studies in Sciences and Engineering

Atatürk Institute for Modern Turkish History

• Modern Turkish History (M.A., PhD)

Institute of Biomedical Engineering

• Biomedical Engineering (M.S., PhD)

Institute of Environmental Sciences

Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute

Institute for Graduate Studies in Social Sciences

Other Units

Independent centers

Student clubs

Notable alumni

Notable faculty

Rectors

Current political events

The 1980 military coup gave the Turkish presidents the authority to appoint rector candidates who came second in the university rector elections, ensuring that the government has the ultimate control over higher educational institutions in the country. But Boğaziçi University during this process developed the tradition that once the rector elections are held within the campus, all of the candidates, except the front-runner, withdraw from candidacy to ensure the appointment of the democratically elected rector by the president. But in 2021 an external candidate Melih Bulu, who had direct ties to the ruling party was appointed rector of the university by the order of the President of Turkey. This decision has triggered huge protests among both students, faculty, and alumni. After a period of internal struggle, Melih Bulu who do not have strong academic ties with the university, was fired from the office by Erdoğan. Following this, Naci İnci, another government backed contender, is appointed to the office. Again, mass protests are held against this decision. Since the latter appointment, many prominent faculty members as well as administrative personnel of the university are removed from their positions.

See also

• Robert College
• List of universities in Turkey
• List of universities in Istanbul
• Boğaziçi Üniversitesi (Istanbul Metro)