Istanbul Şehir University () was a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

located in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. It was established in 2008 by the ''Bilim ve Sanat Vakfı'' (''BiSaV'' or ''BSV'', ). The university started its education in the academic year of 2010–11 at its campus in Altunizade,

Üsküdar Üsküdar () is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 35 km2, and its population is 524,452 (2022). It is a large and densely populated district on the Anatolian (Asian) shore of the Bosphorus. It is border ...

, following a ceremony held on October 5, 2010 that was attended by then President

Abdullah Gül Abdullah Gül (; ; born 29 October 1950) is a Turkish politician who served as the 11th president of Turkey from 2007 to 2014. He previously served for four months as Prime Minister of Turkey, Prime Minister from 2002 to 2003, and concurrently s ...

, Prime Minister

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...

and

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

Ahmet Davutoğlu Ahmet Davutoğlu (; born 26 February 1959) is a Turkish academic, politician and former diplomat who served as the List of Prime Ministers of Turkey, 26th Prime Minister of Turkey and Leader of the Justice and Development Party (Turkey), Justice ...

. The university was closed down on June 30, 2020, after it faced financial difficulties stemming from a legal land dispute, which in turn was fueled by a bitter political feud. With Presidential Decree No. 2708, issued on June 30, 2020, the official authorization of Istanbul Şehir University was revoked. Following this decision, the university's campus and students were transferred to

Marmara University Marmara University (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Marmara Üniversitesi'') is a Public university, public research university in Istanbul, Turkey. The university, named after the Sea of Marmara, was founded as a university in 1982. However, its ...

Organisation

The university had six faculties, three graduate institutes, a vocational school, four research centers, and a language school, organized as follows: *College of Humanities and Social Sciences: ''Political Science and International Relations (in English), Political Science and International Relations (in Turkish), Sociology (in English), Psychology (in English), Psychology (in Turkish), History (in English), Turkish Language and Literature (mainly in Turkish, but few courses are in English), Philosophy (in English)'' *College of Engineering and Natural Sciences: ''Computer Science & Engineering (in English)'', ''Electrical Engineering (in English)'', ''Industrial Engineering (in English)'', ''Industrial Engineering (in Turkish)'' *School of Management and Administrative Sciences: ''Management (in English)'', ''International Trade and Management (in English)'', ''Entrepreneurship (in Turkish)'', ''Management Information Systems (in Turkish)'', ''Economics (in English)'' *College of Communications: ''Cinema and Television (in English)'', ''Cinema and Television (in Turkish)'', ''Public Relations (in Turkish)'' *School of Law (mainly in Turkish, but few courses are in English) *School of Islamic Studies (in Turkish, English, and Arabic) *Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences: ''Cultural Studies (in English)'', ''Political Science and International Relations (in English)'', ''Modern Turkish Studies (in English)'', ''History (in English)'', ''Sociology (in English)'', ''Public Law (in Turkish)'', ''Private Law (in Turkish)'', ''Clinical Psychology (in Turkish)'', ''Urban Studies (in Turkish)'', ''Cinema and Television (in Turkish)'' *Graduate School of Business: ''Business Non-Thesis Graduate Program (in Turkish)'', ''Executive MBA (in Turkish)'', ''Executive MBA (in English)'' *Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences: ''Electronics and Computer Engineering (in English)'', ''Industrial and Systems Engineering (in English)'', ''Cybersecurity Engineering (in Turkish)'', ''Data Science (in English)'' *Vocational High School (in Turkish): ''School of Justice'', ''Computer Programming'', ''Child Development'', ''Photography and Videography'', ''Graphic Design'' *Research Centers: ''Center for Urban Studies'', ''Center for Higher Education Studies'', ''Center for Modern Turkish Studies'', ''Technology Transfer Office'' *School of Languages: ''Sehir English Preparatory Program (SEPP)'', ''Turkish for International Students'', ''the School also offers language courses in: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Greek, Latin, Persian, Russian, Spanish, Ottoman Turkish''

Campus

Istanbul Şehir University operated three campuses in Altunizade,

— referred to as the West Campus, East Campus, and South Campus. During the 2017–2018 academic year, the university relocated to its main campus in Dragos,

Kartal Kartal () is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 38 km2, and its population is 483,418 (2022). It is located on the Asian side of the city, on the coast of the Marmara Sea between Maltepe and Pendik. De ...

. The move had been delayed for an extended period due to environmental concerns surrounding the construction of the new campus. The Dragos campus featured a range of facilities designed to support academic and student life, including on-campus dormitories, a library, a soccer field, a student center with dining options, and a large outdoor recreational area. These amenities aimed to create a comprehensive environment for education and community activities.

Financial crisis and closure

In November 2019, the university faced financial trouble and was unable to pay the salaries of faculty members and the scholarships of students despite its revenue of millions of dollars. The reason was a freeze on its assets imposed by a court order, after a year-long trial, on request for an arrestment of funds by the state-owned

Halkbank Halkbank () is a Turkish bank, first incorporated in 1933 as a Public bank, state-owned bank. After growing throughout much of the twentieth century, it began absorbing smaller-sized state banks around the turn of the millennium. Halkbank is now ...

, which had concerns regarding the pay back of a US$70 million credit. A real estate, which belonged to the state-owned monopoly company

Tekel Tekel A.Ş. ( Turkish, literally ''single-hand'' or ''monopoly'' and generally capitalised as TEKEL) was a Turkish tobacco and alcoholic beverages company. It was nationalised in 1925 from a parastatal (government owned/controlled) company, the ...

, was transferred free of charge to the university as campus ground, and became subject of security for a credit from the Halkbank. The real estate lost its security status when the

Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...

ruled at the last instance in favor of the Chamber of Architects branch of the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB) overturning the court's decision in the case. It was claimed by university representatives that the measure was of a political rather than technical nature due to the political fallout between Erdoğan and

, the latter being a co-founder of the university. By mid December 2019, the Council of Higher Education (YÖK) ruled for a temporary handover of Istanbul Şehir University to

, which was the "guarantor university" of the former. It was stated that the university was unable to continue its educational activities due to its financial situation. The operation license for education of the university was then suspended. With the Presidential decree no. 2708 issued on June 30, 2020, the official authorization of Istanbul Şehir University was revoked. The Council of Higher Education (YÖK), after a general meeting on June 30, 2020, later announced that the students of Istanbul Şehir University were to be transferred to Marmara University.

References

External links

Istanbul Şehir University
(in Turkish)
Istanbul Şehir University
(in English) {{DEFAULTSORT:Istanbul Sehir University Universities and colleges established in 2008 Universities and colleges in Istanbul Private universities and colleges in Turkey Kartal Üsküdar 2008 establishments in Turkey 2020 disestablishments in Turkey Defunct universities and colleges in Turkey Marmara University