Istanbul University
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Istanbul University
Largest and oldest public university in Turkey.
Founded in 1900 and reorganized in its present form in 1933, Istanbul University comprises the faculties of letters, science, law, economics, forestry, pharmacy, dentistry, political science, business administration, veterinary science, engineering, and two faculties of medicine, as well as schools of fish-eries, journalism, paralegal studies, and tobacco specialist education. With 3,500 teaching staff and 60,000 students (46 percent female) in 2002, it is Turkey's biggest university.
Istanbul University sometimes claims descent from the complex of eight madrasa colleges (religious schools) endowed by Mehmet II soon after the conquest of Constantinople (now Istanbul) in 1453. However, a university in the European sense was first proposed in the era of Tanzimat, the Ottoman Empire's reform period in the 1860s. After some abortive attempts, the university was launched in 1900, incorporating newly established faculties and colleges founded in the previous two decades. After the establishment of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, the staff as well as the programs of Istanbul University were suspected in Ankara, the new capital, of resistance to republican reform. Finally, in 1933 a complete overhaul of the academic programs and a purge of the staff brought it in line with republican thinking. This era of reestablishment was facilitated by the influx of large numbers of German and other European scholars, many of them Jewish, fleeing Nazi intimidation or persecution. The refugee scholars were especially active in the fields of law and economics, but other programs, including Islamic studies, benefited from a substantial European presence.
In spite of the government's attempts to promote Ankara University during the 1950s, Istanbul University remained the country's biggest and most prestigious academic establishment. Its academic staff and students were in the forefront of political protests in the late 1950s and during the 1970s. Its legal experts were influential in the preparation of the 1961 constitution, promulgated after the 1960 military coup. Its economists have been champions of Turkish membership in the European Union since the mid-1980s.
Bibliography
Higher Education in Turkey. UNESCO, European Centre for Higher Education. December 1990.
The World of Learning, 2000. Available at http://www.worldoflearning.com.
— I. METIN KUNT
UPDATED BY ERIC HOOGLUND
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Istanbul University
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Istanbul University
| Istanbul University | |
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| İstanbul Üniversitesi | |
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| Motto | "Leadership in Higher Education for Centuries" |
| Established | 30 May 1453 As university; 1874 and 1933[1] |
| Type | Public University |
| Rector | Prof. Dr. Yunus Söylet |
| Admin. staff | 6,000 |
| Undergraduates | 76,000 |
| Postgraduates | 12,000 |
| Location | Istanbul, Turkey |
| Campus | Beyazıt, Vezneciler, Avcılar Bahçeköy, Çapa, Cerrahpaşa, Kadıköy |
| Founder | Fatih Sultan Mehmed (1453) Abdülmecid I (1846) Abdülaziz I (1870) Abdülhamid II (1900) Mehmed Reşat (1912) M. Kemal Atatürk (1933) |
| Colors | Yellow |
| Affiliations | Coimbra Group EUA UNIMED |
| Website | istanbul.edu.tr |
Istanbul University (Turkish: İstanbul Üniversitesi) is a prominent Turkish university located in Istanbul. The main campus is adjacent to Beyazıt Square.
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History
The precursor of Istanbul University was the University of Constantinople, sometimes known as the University of the palace hall of Magnaura. In the Roman-Byzantine Empire it was founded in 425 under the name of Pandidakterion. The original school was founded in 425 by Emperor Theodosius II with 31 chairs for law, philosophy, medicine, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music, rhetoric and other subjects, 15 to Latin and 16 to Greek. The university existed until the 15th century.
After the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople a madrasa, a religious school, was established.[1] An institution of higher education named the Darülfünun-i Osmani ('House of Sciences') was created in 1863, but suppressed in 1871.[1] Its first rector was Hasan Tahsini, regarded as one of the most important Ottoman scholars of the 19th century. In 1874 the Imperial University (Darülfünun-i Sultani) started to give lectures in law in French, but was closed in 1881.[1]
The Imperial University, now known as Darülfünun-i Shahane was refounded in 1900, with the departments of theology, arts, mathematics, science and philology.[1] In 1924, the faculties of law, medicine, arts and sciences were established in Istanbul University (Istanbul Darülfünunu), as the university was now called.[1] Islamic theology was added in 1925, but in 1933 the university was reorganized without the latter.[1]
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, which continued regularly until 1881. On 1 September 1900, the school was renamed and reorganized as the Darülfünûn-u Şahane ('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 Istanbul Darülfünûnu as a state school, and on 7 October 1925, the administrative autonomy of Istanbul Darülfünûnu was recognized while the "Schools" (within the old Medrese system) became modern "Faculties". On 1 August 1933, Istanbul Darülfünûnu was reorganized as Istanbul University (İstanbul Üniversitesi) following the educational reforms of Atatürk. Classes officially began on 1 November 1933.
Campus
The university has seventeen faculties on five campuses, the main campus being on Beyazıt Square in Istanbul, which was known as the Forum Tauri in the Roman period. It 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 campus with its landmark gate used to be the Ottoman ministry of war. Located on the grounds is the Beyazıt Tower, a 85 m (279 ft) tall fire-watch tower. The grounds before that was the location of the Eski Palace (Old Palace). Some Roman and Byzantine ruins are still visible on the grounds.
The main gate was depicted on the reverse of the Turkish 500 lira banknotes of 1971–1984.[2]
Rankings
In 2010, the Academic Ranking of World Universities ranked Istanbul University as the 401–500th best university worldwide, the only Turkish institution on the list.[3]
In 2010, University Ranking by Academic Performance (URAP) ranked Istanbul University 415th in the world and second university in Turkey.[4]
Notable alumni
- Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, President of Israel
- David Ben-Gurion, Prime Minister of Israel
- Moshe Sharett, Prime Minister of Israel
- Ahmet Hamdi Tanpinar
- Orhan Pamuk, Nobel Laureate in Literature
- İlhan Selçuk[5]
- Oben Özaydın
- Nihal Atsiz
- Orhan Okay
- Other
- Deniz Gezmiş – Political activist
- Okan Yalabık – Actor
- Özgür Çevik – Singer, Actor
See also
- Balkan Universities Network
- Famous Academicians and Persons of Istanbul University (German)
- List of modern universities in Europe (1801–1945)
References
- ^ a b c d e f g 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, ISBN 978-0-521-36107-1, p. 687
- ^ Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey. Banknote Museum: 6. Emission Group – Five Hundred Turkish Lira – I. Series & II. Series. – Retrieved 20 April 2009.
- ^ |Istanbul University. Arwu.org. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
- ^ "URAP – University Ranking by Academic Performance". http://www.urapcenter.org.
- ^ "Turkish journalist İlhan Selçuk died". National Turk. 2008-06-23. http://www.nationalturk.com/en/turkish-journalist-ilhan-selcuk-died-539647. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
Media related to Istanbul University at Wikimedia Commons
External links
- Istanbul University website (Turkish) (English)
- History of Istanbul University (Turkish)
- ISTANBUL UNIVERSITY CENTRE FOR RESEARCH AND PRACTICE IN HUMAN RIGHTS LAW
- Istanbul University Faculty of Business Administration
- Istanbul University Alumni Association of USA
- Istanbul Faculty of Medicine (Turkish)
- Istanbul University Medical Laboratory, Avcılar
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Coordinates: 41°00′46.93″N 28°57′49.95″E / 41.0130361°N 28.963875°E
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Gale Encyclopedia of the Mideast & N. Africa
Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa. Copyright © 2004 by The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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