, image = Istanbul_University_logo.svg , image_size = 200px , latin_name = Universitas Istanbulensis , motto = tr, Tarihten Geleceğe Bilim Köprüsü , mottoeng = Science Bridge from Past to the Future , established = 1453
1846
1933 , type =

Public university A public university or public college is a university or college that is in owned by the state or receives significant public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private university. Whether a national universi ...

Research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are the most important sites at which knowledge production occurs, along with "intergenerational kn ...

, rector = Prof. Dr. Mahmut Ak , students = 69,411 , undergrad = 51,714 , postgrad = 16,669 , academic_staff = 4,101 , city =

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

, country =

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

, campus = Beyazıt Campus
Vezneciler Campus
Avcılar Campus
Çapa Campus
Kadıköy Campus , coor = , colors =

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...

Yellow Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In th ...

, affiliations =

Coimbra Group The Coimbra Group (CG) is an international association of 41 universities in Europe. It was established in 1985. It works for the benefit of its members by promoting "internationalization, academic collaboration, excellence in learning and resear ...

EUA
UNIMED , website = , free_label = Founder , free = Mehmed II Istanbul University ( tr, İstanbul Üniversitesi) is a prominent

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are the most important sites at which knowledge production occurs, along with "intergenerational kn ...

located in

. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks, it was reformed in 1846 as the first Ottoman higher education institution based on European traditions. The successor institution, which has been operating under its current name since 1933, is the first university in modern

. Some pre-1930 Western sources refer to it as the University of Constantinople, after the previous name of the city, while one in French referred to it as the Université de Stamboul ("Stamboul" the name for the historic inner city). At present, there are 69,411 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students studying in 33 academic units, including faculties, institutes, colleges, and vocational schools at 10 campuses. The main campus is adjacent to

Beyazıt Square Beyazıt Square ( tr, Beyazıt Meydanı) lies to the north of Ordu Caddesi in the district of Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey. Officially named ''Freedom Square'' (), it is more generally known as Beyazıt Square after the early Ottoman Bayezid II Mo ...

in Fatih, the capital district of the province, on the

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an side of the city. The entrance to some of the faculties such as Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Law require scoring among the top 1% of over 2 million applicants at the national university entrance examination every year. Besides being a member of the

, the University took first place in Turkey and is placed in top 500 worldwide according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities published in 2022. Moreover, Istanbul University is ranked in the top 25 at the QS Universities In Emerging Europe And Central Asia 2021 Ranking. In 2020, the university's AACSB accredited Business School was ranked 2nd in Turkey, according to Eduniversal. The Faculty of Transport and Logistics is accredited by the International Road and Transport Union. In addition, the Faculty of Natural Sciences represents Turkey in four major studies conducted by the European Organization for Nuclear Research. Istanbul University alumni include 2 Nobel laureates,

Aziz Sancar Aziz Sancar (born 8September 1946) is a Turkish molecular biologist specializing in DNA repair, cell cycle checkpoints, and circadian clock. In 2015, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry along with Tomas Lindahl and Paul L. Modrich for t ...

(in Chemistry) and Orhan Pamuk (in Literature), the longest-serving President of Israel Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, two Prime Ministers of Israel (

David Ben-Gurion David Ben-Gurion ( ; he, דָּוִד בֶּן-גּוּרִיּוֹן ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary national founder of the State of Israel and the first prime minister of Israel. Adopting the nam ...

and Moshe Sharett), President of Turkey Abdullah Gül, six Prime Ministers of Turkey ( Suat Hayri Ürgüplü,

Sadi Irmak Mahmut Sadi Irmak (May 15, 1904, Seydişehir – November 11, 1990, Istanbul) was a Turkish academic in physiology, politician and former Prime Minister of Turkey. Biography He was born in the town Seydişehir of Konya, Ottoman Empi ...

, Nihat Erim,

Refik Saydam İbrahim Refik Saydam (8 September 1881 – 8 July 1942) was a Turkish physician, politician and the fourth Prime Minister of Turkey, serving from 25 January 1939 until his death on 8 July 1942.Naim Talu, Yıldırım Akbulut), and the current Mayor of Istanbul Ekrem İmamoğlu.

History

Origins of Istanbul University go back to 1453, when it was founded by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II "as a school of philosophy, medicine, law and letters". There was also the University of Constantinople, which was founded in 425 and rebranded as Phanar Greek Orthodox College after the Fall of Constantinople. Istanbul University functioned as a '' Medrese'' (Islamic theological school) as well. This madrasa is regarded as the precursor to the ''Darülfünûn'', which evolved into Istanbul University in 1933.Rüegg, Walter: "European Universities and Similar Institutions in Existence between 1812 and the End of 1944: A Chronological List", in: Rüegg, Walter (ed.): '' A History of the University in Europe. Vol. 3: Universities in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries (1800–1945)'', Cambridge University Press, 2004, , p. 687 Education in a number of sciences and fields (such as

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...

cartography Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an i ...

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to ...

philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as ...

, law, etc.) became available, and, until the 19th century, they were instrumental in educating the ruling cadres of the Ottoman society. However, when the medreses were no longer able to meet the needs of the modern world, a restructuring process began, and as a result, the institutions of higher education called ''Darülfünûn'', the core of Istanbul University, was established. An institution of

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after compl ...

named the ''Darülfünûn-u Osmanî'' (دار الفنون عثماني) (Ottoman House of Sciences) was created in 1863, but suppressed in 1871. Its first rector was Hasan Tahsini, regarded as one of the most important Ottoman scholars of the 19th century. In 1874 the Imperial University (''Darülfünûn-u Sultanî'') (دار الفنون سلطاني) started classes in law in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, but was closed in 1881. The Imperial University, now known as ''Darülfünûn-u Şahâne'' (دار الفنون شهانه) was refounded in 1900, with the departments of theology, arts, mathematics, science and philology. In 1924, the faculties of law, medicine, arts and sciences were established in Istanbul University (''İstanbul Darülfünûnu''), as the university was now called. Islamic theology was added in 1925, but in 1933 the university was reorganized without the latter. BeyazıtMeydanı

The first modern Applied Physics courses were given at the ''Darülfünûn'' on 31 December 1863, which marked the beginning of a new period, and on 20 February 1870, the school was renamed as the ''Darülfünûn-u Osmanî'' (Ottoman House of Multiple Sciences) and reorganized to meet the needs of modern sciences and technologies. Starting from 1874, some classes of Literature, Law and Applied Sciences were given at the building of

Galatasaray High School Galatasaray High School ( tr, Galatasaray Lisesi, french: Lycée de Galatasaray), established in what was then Constantinople and is now Istanbul, in 1481, is the oldest high school in Turkey. It is also the second-oldest Turkish educational in ...

, which continued regularly until 1881. On 1 September 1900, the school was renamed and reorganized as the ''Darülfünûn-u Şahâne'' (Imperial House of Multiple Sciences) with courses on Mathematics, Literature and Theology. On 20 April 1912, the school was renamed as the ''İstanbul Darülfünûnu'' (Istanbul House of Multiple Sciences) while the number of courses were increased and the curricula were modernized with the establishment of the Schools of Medicine, Law, Applied Sciences (Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics), Literature and Theology. On 21 April 1924, the Republic of Turkey recognized the ''İstanbul Darülfünûnu'' as a state school, and on 7 October 1925, the administrative autonomy of ''İstanbul Darülfünûnu'' was recognized while the ''Schools'' (within the old Medrese system) became modern ''Faculties''. The ''Darülfünûnu'' counted with five faculties: medicine, law, letters, theology and science. The professors of the ''Darülfünûnu'' had academic freedom as mentioned in Article 2 of Law 493 On 1 August 1933, ''İstanbul Darülfünûnu'' was reorganized as ''İstanbul Üniversitesi'' (Istanbul University) following the educational reforms of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Classes officially began on 1 November 1933.

Campus

University Istanbul main building interior March 2008pano

The university has seventeen faculties on five campuses; the main campus being on

, which was originally built by

Constantine the Great Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterran ...

as the ''Forum Tauri'' and was later enlarged by

Theodosius the Great Theodosius I ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also called Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. During his reign, he succeeded in a crucial war against the Goths, as well as in two ...

as the '' Forum of Theodosius'' during the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

period. The main campus building with its landmark gate was previously used as the headquarters of the ''Harbiye Nezareti'' (Ministry of War) by the Ottoman government. Located on the grounds is the Beyazıt Tower, an tall fire-watch tower. The grounds were previously the location of the Ottoman era '' Eski Saray'' (Old Palace). Some

and

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

ruins are still visible on the grounds. The university has a teaching staff of 2,000 professors and associates and 4,000 assistants and younger staff. More than 60,000 undergraduate and 8,000 postgraduate students follow the courses offered by Istanbul University every year. The main gate was depicted on the reverse of the Turkish 500 lira banknotes of 1971–1984.

Faculties

* Faculty of Medicine * Faculty of Law * Faculty of Literature * Faculty of Science * Faculty of Economics * Faculty of Pharmacy * Faculty of Dentistry * Faculty of Management * Faculty of Political Sciences * Faculty of Communication * Faculty of Aquatic Sciences * Faculty of Theology * Faculty of Transportation and Logistics * Faculty of Nursing * Faculty of Architecture * Faculty of Open and Distance Education

International perspective and rankings

Istanbul University School of Business is the only AACSB-Accredited Business School among the public universities in Turkey. In the

QS World University Rankings ''QS World University Rankings'' is an annual publication of university rankings by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). The QS system comprises three parts: the global overall ranking, the subject rankings (which name the world's top universities for th ...

2022, Istanbul University is ranked at 801–1000th globally. In the broad subject areas, it is ranked 293rd in "Life Sciences and Medicine", 342nd in "Arts and Humanities", and 401-450th in "Social Sciences and Management". In the specific subject areas, it is ranked at 251-300th in "Law and Legal Studies", 251-300th in "Modern Languages", 251-300th in "Agriculture & Forestry", 251-300th in "Pharmacy & Pharmacology", 301–350th in "Medicine", 401-450th in "Biological Sciences", 401-450th in "Business & Management Studies", 551-600th in "Computer Science and Information Systems", and 601-630th in "Chemistry". In the Academic Ranking of World Universities 2019, Istanbul University is ranked at 401–500th worldwide (1st in Turkey). It is also ranked at 251–300th in "Veterinary Sciences", 401–500th in "Clinical Medicine", 101–150th in "Dentistry & Oral Sciences", 201–300th in "Nursing", and 301–400th in "Medical Technology". In 2020, Times Higher Education ranked the university top 1000 in the world, 301–400th in "Clinical, pre-clinical and health", 401–500th in "Education", 501–600th in "Social Sciences", and 601–800th in "Life Sciences". The Best Global Universities Ranking 2021 of the '' U.S. News & World Report'' ranks Istanbul University 714th in the world, 225th in "Surgery", 243rd in "Clinical Medicine", 195th in "Endocrinology and Metabolism", 255th in "Neuroscience and Behavior", 383rd in "Molecular Biology and Genetics", 442nd in "Plant and Animal Science", 446th in "Biology and Biochemistry", and 593rd in "Physics". By CWTS Leiden Ranking 2019, Istanbul University is ranked 335th (overall), 196th in "Biomedical and Health Sciences", 374th in "Life and Earth Sciences", 669th in "Mathematics and Computer Science", 544th in "Physical Sciences and Engineering", and 570th in "Social Sciences and Humanities". By

Round University Ranking Round University Ranking (RUR Ranking) is a Moscow, Russia-based world university ranking, assessing effectiveness of 700 leading world universities based on 20 indicators distributed among 4 key dimension areas: teaching, research, international ...

2019, Istanbul University is ranked 529th in the world, 490th in "Humanities", 496th in "Life Sciences", 329th in "Medical Sciences", 556th in "Natural Sciences", 506th in "Social Sciences" and 600th in "Technical Sciences". IstanbulUniversityObservatory03

Notable faculty

Please see the page

Istanbul University faculty ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_in ...

Notable alumni

''See also'' Istanbul University alumni ''for a detailed list.'' ;Turkish Presidents * Abdullah Gül ;Foreign Presidents *

, Founder and the First Prime Minister of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

* Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, the Longest-Serving President of

;Speakers of the Turkish parliament * Ferruh Bozbeyli * Fuat Sirmen ;Turkish Prime Ministers ;Foreign Prime Ministers *

, Founder and the First Prime Minister of

* Moshe Sharett, Prime Minister of

;Turkish Ministers *

Cemil Çiçek Cemil Çiçek (; born 15 November 1946) is a Turkish politician who was the Speaker of the Parliament of Turkey between 4 July 2011 and 7 June 2015. Previously he was Minister of Justice from 2002 to 2007 and Deputy Prime Minister from 2007 to ...

Mehmet Ali Şahin Mehmet Ali Şahin (born 16 September 1950) is a Turkish politician. He was the Speaker of the Parliament of Turkey from 2009 to 2011. He was a member of the parliament for three terms from Istanbul Province and from Antalya Province of the ru ...

;Politicians * Ali Tanrıyar – Former Minister of Interior *

– Former Speaker of the Parliament * Coşkun Kırca – Former Minister of Foreign Affairs * Ekrem İmamoğlu – Current Mayor of Istanbul * Erkan Mumcu – Former Minister of Culture and Tourism / Minister of Education / Minister of Tourism * Ertuğrul Mat – Former Bursa deputy *

Hayati Yazıcı Hayati Yazıcı (b. 23 May 1952, Çayeli, Rize) is a Turkish lawyer and politician. He served as Turkey's Minister of Customs and Trade. Biography Hayati Yazıcı graduated in 1975 from the School of Law at Istanbul University. Starting of ...

– Former Minister of Customs and Trade * İhsan Sabri Çağlayangil – Former Minister of Foreign Affairs * Kadir Topbaş – Former Mayor of Istanbul *

Köksal Toptan Köksal Toptan (born 1943, in Rize) is a Turkish lawyer, politician and a member of the Justice and Development Party. He earlier served as government minister in three cabinets. He was the speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey be ...

– Former Speaker of the Parliament *

Masud Sabri Masud Sabri, also known as Masʿūd Ṣabrī ( ug, مەسئۇت سابرى, مسعود صبري; zh, s=麦斯武德·沙比尔, t=麥斯武德·沙比爾, p=Màisīwǔdé·Shābì'ěr; 1886–1952), was an ethnic Uyghur politician of the Republi ...

– Pharmacist and former Governor of Xinjiang province in China * Meral Akşener – Leader of Good Party * Murat Başesgioğlu – Former Minister of Labor and Social Security *

Mustafa Bey Barmada Mustafa Bey Barmada ( ar, مصطفى برمدا; 1883 – April 2, 1953) was a Syrian statesman, politician and judge; served as the Governor General of the State of Aleppo between 1923 and 1924 and headed the Judiciary of Syria between 1930s a ...

– Former Governor General of the State of Aleppo *

Naci Ağbal Naci Ağbal (, born 1 January 1968) is a Turkish politician and former civil servant from the Justice and Development Party (AKP) who served as the Minister of Finance between 2015 and 2018. He was a Member of Parliament for the electoral distri ...

– Former Minister of Finance * Nimet Bas – Former Minister of Education ;Journalists ;Scientists ;Writers ;Poets * Attila İlhan *

Onat Kutlar Onat Kutlar (25 January 1936 – 11 January 1995) was a prominent Turkish writer and poet, founder of the Turkish Sinematek and cofounder of the Istanbul International Film Festival. Biography Onat Kutlar was born in Alanya, Turkey, on 25 J ...

* Orhan Veli ;Musicians ;Other

Gallery

File:BeyazıtMeydanı2.jpg, Main Gate File:Istanbul UniversityFaculty of Science and Faculty of Literature Buildings2.jpg, Faculty of Literature File:İstanbulUniversityPharmacyFaculty.jpg, Faculty of Pharmacology File:Entrance to Istanbul University - Sultanahmet District - Istanbul - Turkey (5719887758).jpg, Beyazit Campus File:Istanbul University Faculty of Economics Library.jpg, Istanbul University Faculty of Economics Library. File:Istanbul university - 1453 - panoramio - nikola pu.jpg, Beyazit Campus File:Istanbul University Faculty of Political Sciences Gulhane.jpg, Faculty of Political Sciences Gulhane Building File:Istanbul Tip Fakultesi 03.jpg, Faculty of Medicine File:İstanbul Üniversitesi Fen Fakültesi - panoramio.jpg, Faculty of Science File:Gardens of Istanbul University - Sulimaniyeh Mosque at Rear - Suleymaniye District - Istanbul - Turkey (5726369205).jpg, Garden of Istanbul University -

Süleymaniye Mosque The Süleymaniye Mosque ( tr, Süleymaniye Camii, ) is an Ottoman imperial mosque located on the Third Hill of Istanbul, Turkey. The mosque was commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent and designed by the imperial architect Mimar Sinan. An ...

at Rear File:Süleymaniye Camii - İstanbul Üniversitesi - Aerial view.jpg,

- Istanbul University - Aerial view File:Istanbul University aerial view.png, Istanbul University aerial view with Golden Horn. File:İstanbul Üniversitesi.JPG, Main Entrance and Beyazit Tower File:Istanbul university 47.jpg, Courtyard of the Faculty of Literature File:Watchtower Istanbul University.jpg, Beyazit Tower in Main Campus File:Atatürk in Istanbul University Faculty of Law.jpg, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in Faculty of Law File:Beyazıt uni..JPG, Beyazit Campus File:İstanbul Üniversitesi Rıdvan Çelikel Arkeoloji Müzesi.jpg, Istanbul University Rıdvan Çelikel Archaeological Museum File:Ordu Cd - tram - P1030801.JPG, Main Library

References

External links

Istanbul University website

History of Istanbul University (Turkish)
{{Authority control 1874 establishments in the Ottoman Empire 1933 establishments in Turkey Ottoman architecture in Istanbul Universities established in the 20th century Fatih Avcılar, Istanbul 1453 establishments in the Ottoman Empire Educational institutions established in the 15th century