INFORMATION OF THE ANKARA UNIVERSITY

Ankara University is a comprehensive public university located in the capital of the nation. Being the first higher education institute of the Republic, it has established a reputable image both within the country and in the international arena, with its vast experience for 55 years, its highly qualified academic staff and students, and its well established teaching, learning and research facilities.

Ankara University was founded by Atatürk himself in order to set foundation for his teachings and revolutions on which those would get stronger and spread wider, and for those principles that are the expressions of a modern society, science and enlightenment are hold dear and protected.

The first and most impressive performance of the young Republic in the field of higher education was to establish the following higher education institutions: School of Law, to train judiciary who were to realise the new order of law in the secular and democratic Republic (1925); Institute of Technology for Agriculture, to lead the modernisation of Turkish agriculture (1933); School of Language, History and Geography, to establish a bridge of language and culture between Turkey and the rest of the world and to conduct research on the rich culture of Anatolia (1935); and School of Political Science, which had been training top level public administrators under the name of School of Politics since 1859, and which was later on moved to Ankara in 1936 upon the directive of Atatürk. Ankara University should also mention the schools of which the preparation stage was started by Atatürk, yet the establishment postponed until the beginning of 1940's due to Second World War. Among those schools, were Schools of Medicine and Science.
Ankara University comprising Faculty of Law (1925), Faculty of Language, History and Geography (1935), Faculty of Science (1943), and Faculty of Medicine (1945) were established officially in 1946. The University acquired the Faculties of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine previously belonged to the Institute of Technology for Agriculture in 1948. School of Divinity was founded in 1949; Faculty of Political Sciences in 1950, then came the School of Pharmacy in 1960, and in 1963 School of Dentistry which later became a faculty in 1977, Faculty of Educational Sciences in 1965, and Faculty of Communication in 1965. Çankırı Faculty of Forestry and Health Education Faculties were opened to education in 1996.
Today Ankara University is a highly esteemed university with its 15 Faculties, 7 Graduate Schools, 12 schools, and 25 research centres. Ankara University has been the parent University for Several Universities which reached top quality education today.
At the University, language of teaching is Turkish. Ankara University have made available the foreign language preparatory schools. Attendance is compulsory at the foreign language programs of Faculty of Letters, Divinity, Medicine, Engineering and School of Physical Education and Sports.
Ankara University now also have preparatory schools, offering intensive foreign language courses in Agriculture, Communication, Veterinary Medicine, Law and Science Faculties.
Ankara University TOMER (Turkish Language Teaching, Research and Implementation Centre), with it's across the country branches, is providing language education to more than 20000 people in 20 different languages per year. These services are not only used by Turkish people but also by foreigners. Parallel with the western oriented social and economic policies that are in place in Turkey, the demand for foreign language courses from the business world is increasing.
Ankara University has recently started to work on European Commission General Education Programme (Socrates-ECTS) under the fields of both undergraduate- and postgraduate education. This programme will be finished and introduced to the current curriculum by the academic year of 2003-2004.

Ankara University has integrated to the European Commission 6th Framework Programme on Research, Technological Development and Demonstration (FP6). Within this framework, many Faculties in the Ankara University has involved in research projects in the fields of Food Hygiene, Public Health and Biotechnology.

Research studies have been intensified in Ankara University, and the Institute of Biotechnology, which supports postgraduate education and research projects, was founded.

Ankara University has started supply "Electronic Library Services" by the academic year of 2000-2001.

The internet network has been renewed in all Faculties of Ankara University.

Source: http://www.ankara.edu.tr