Bilkent University, or Bilkent, is the first private university of Turkey, located in Ankara, with the fundamental aim of creating a center of excellence in higher education and research. The name "Bilkent" exemplifies this aim, since it is an acronym of "bilim kenti": Turkish for "city of science".
Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture: Communication and Design, Fine Arts, Graphic Design, Interior Architecture and Environmental Design, Landscape Architecture and Urban Design, Architecture
Faculty of Business Administration: Management
Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences: Economics, International Relations, Global and International Affairs, Political Science, Psychology
Faculty of Education: Computer and Instructional Technology Teacher Education, English Teacher Education
Faculty of Engineering: Computer Engineering, Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering
Faculty of Humanities and Letters: American Culture and Literature, Archaeology and History of Art, English Language and Literature, Philosophy, Translation and Interpretation
Faculty of Law: Law
Faculty of Music and Performing Arts: Music, Performing Arts
Faculty of Science: Chemistry, Mathematics, Molecular Biology and Genetics, Physics
School of Applied Languages: Account Information Systems, Banking and Finance
School of Applied Technology and Management: Business Information Management, Computer Technology and Information Systems, Tourism and Hotel Management
Vocational School of Computer Technology and Office Management: Accounting, Bureau Management and Secretarial Training, Commerce and Administration, Computer Technology and Programming
Vocational School of Tourism and Hotel Services: Tourism and Hotel Management
In addition, the School of English Language offers a vocational degree in English and Translation Studies for students registered in this two-year program.
The graduate programs include:
Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience (MSc, PhD)
Psychology (MSc, PhD)
Physics (MS, PhD)
Molecular Biology and Genetics (MS, PhD)
Mathematics (MS, PhD)
Materials Science and Nanotechnology (MS, PhD)
Education
Management in Education (MA)
Curriculum and Instruction (MA, MS, PhD)
Teaching English as a Foreign Language (MA)
Chemistry (MS, PhD)
Electrical and Electronics Engineering (MS, PhD)
Computer Engineering (MS, PhD)
Industrial Engineering (MS, PhD)
Mechanical Engineering (MS, PhD)
Business Administration (MBA, MS, PhD)
Economics (MA, PhD)
Law (LLM, PhD)
(Dual Masters in Applied Economics, Finance and Operations Research - joint with Tilburg University)
International Relations (MA, PhD)
(Master of International Affairs and Public Policy)
Political Science (PhD)
Archaeology (MA)
History (MA, PhD)
Turkish Literature (MA, PhD)
Art, Design and Architecture (PhD)
Painting and Printmaking (MFA)
Graphic Design (MFA)
Interior Architecture and Environmental Design (MFA)
Media and Visual Studies (MFA)
Media and Design (MFA)
Design and Architecture (PhD)
Music (MM, PhD)
The university campus is located off the main highway to Eskişehir about 12 km. (10 miles) west of the center of Ankara, and covers an area of more than 5000 acres. University consists of three campuses all next to each other. East campus has English preparation schools, some dormitories, CTIS, THM departments and middle campus has lodgings and FMPA, and the rest (also the biggest campus) is Main campus.
The university library has a variable collection of books with annual acquisitions valued at over 3 million U.S. dollars. Today, Bilkent University Library is the largest university library of Turkey, and it is the only university library to take place at the Top 10 libraries ranking of Turkey.
In addition to books, the collection includes periodical subscriptions, microforms, CD-ROMS, access to numerous online databases and electronic journals, DVD videos and audio/video cassettes. Music scores and sound recordings are available in the music rooms. Various open private collections and an exhibition hall also take place in the library.
Bilkent University Library is opening its doors to the students and faculty of the other universities. The computer automation system (BLISS) made for the use of Bilkent University Library is now being used by many other Turkish university libraries, again by permission of Bilkent University.
Sports and recreation
Students can participate in many sports courses and be trained by university staff, mostly for free. The university presents many individuals and teams in different sports in varsity competitions.
The two most famous sport teams of the university are Bilkent Goats and Bilkent Judges, the ultimate team and the football team, respectively.
Societies and leisure activities
Bilkent University claims to be a leader in music and performing arts in Turkey. The university also sponsors frequent lectures, art exhibitions, and literary evenings throughout the academic year.
The board, and the departmental members of the Bilkent Student Union are annually chosen among the students by the entire registered students of that academic year. Student Union is the main sponsor and the organizer of the Mayfest, the traditional Bilkent University summer festival. Mayfest is held at the first week of May each year and is famous with the huge number of activities goes on all day long, as well as the open-air concerts where the most popular Turkish pop and rock bands and singers take stage every night throughout the festival.
The student clubs organize regular activities every day in the campus, mostly open to everyone. All students are allowed to join, or participate in the events and activities of any club they wish to.
The Times Higher Education World University Rankings ranked Bilkent University as follows:
The same organization listed Bilkent among Best 100 Universities Under the Age of 50 Years as follows:
THE powered by Thomson Reuters ranked Bilkent in the category BRICS & Emerging Economies as follows:
Bilkent University is particularly noted for the quality of its Faculty of Engineering. The Times Higher Education World University Rankings rank Bilkent among the top 100 universities for Engineering and Technology, which makes it the only university in Turkey to make it to the top 100 in a subject list, as follows:
The Faculty of Business Administration of Bilkent University was the first business school in Turkey to be accredited by AACSB; less than 5% of the business schools around the world have received this accreditation. The business school has been ranked by Eduniversal among the best business schools of the Eurasia region for international influence.
According to the QS - Top Universities Rankings of 2012 and 2013 the university lies on 151-200th rank in terms of "Economics & Econometrics".
Gürer Aykal - Faculty of Music, conductor
Suna Kan - Faculty of Music, violinist
Gülsin Onay - Faculty of Music, pianist
Canberk Güzel - Faculty of Engineering, Department of Industrial Engineering, writer
Fazıl Say - Faculty of Music, pianist
Talat Sait Halman (deceased in 2014)- Dean of the School of Humanities and Letters, first Minister of Culture of Turkey
Stanford J. Shaw (deceased in 2006) - Faculty of History
Halil İnalcık - Faculty of History
Norman Stone - Faculty of International Relations, and History
Hikmet Sami Türk - Faculty of Law, former Minister of Justice of Turkey
İlber Ortaylı - Faculty of Law
Ergun Özbudun - Faculty of Law, leader of the academic council which is building a new Turkish constitution.
Sami Selçuk - Faculty of Law, former Head Judge of the Supreme Court of Turkey
Metin Heper - Faculty of Political Sciences
Emre Özgen - Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences, Founder and Chair of Psychology Department, Vice President of the Turkish Psychological Association
Salim Çıracı - Faculty of Science, Founder of UNAM
Hilmi Volkan Demir - Faculty of Science, Department of Physics, and Faculty of Engineering, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Director of UNAM
Alexander Shumovsky (deceased in 2007) - Faculty of Science, Department of Physics
Ali Sinan Sertöz - Faculty of Science, Department of Mathematics
Umut Aydin - Faculty of Engineering, Department of Industrial Engineering
Abdullah Atalar - Faculty of Engineering, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering
Orhan Aytür - Faculty of Engineering, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering
Necmi Bıyıklı - Department of Material Science and Nanotechnology
Erdal Arikan - Founder of Polar Codes, Faculty of Engineering, Department in Electrical and Electronics Engineering
Levent Onural - Faculty of Engineering, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering
Hayrettin Köymen - Faculty of Engineering, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering
Mustafa Akgül - School of Applied Technology and Management, Department of Computer Technology and Information Systems
Başak Köklükaya - Actress
Binnur Kaya - Actress
Demir Demirkan - Rock musician
Emrah Yucel - Graphic designer and president of the Turkish Film Festival
Erdem Başçı - Governor of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey
Gizem Girişmen - Disabled female archer. Won gold medal at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in the category of individual recurve W1/W2
Gizem Memiç - Former Miss Turkey titleholder who represented Turkey both in Miss Universe and Miss World beauty pageants in 2010.
Hakan Fidan - Turkish soldier, teacher, diplomat and the Head of National Intelligence Organization (Turkey)
Haluk Akakçe - Painter and audiovisual artist
Hande Dalkılıç - Pianist
Ibrahim Sirkeci - Professor of Transnational Studies and Marketing at Regent's University London
Kaan Tangöze - Rock musician as known from Duman
Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu - Politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey
Nasuh Mahruki - Mountaineer, first Turk to climb Mt. Everest and the founder of search and rescue team, AKUT
Orkut Büyükkökten - a Turkish employee of Google who developed the social networking service called Orkut
Şahan Gökbakar - Comedian
Tamer Karadağlı - Actor
Tarkan Gözübüyük - Musician as known from Pentagram, Producer
Vuslat Doğan Sabancı - Chairwoman of Hürriyet
Yasemin Mori - Musician
Yiğit Bulut - Journalist and a senior advisor to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Organizations and institutions associated with the university
Centers
National Research Center for Magnetic Resonance (UMRAM)
Bilkent University Center for European Union Affairs
Ahmed Adnan Saygun Center for Music Research and Education
Bilkent Center for Advanced Studies (BICAS)
Center for Mind, Language & Culture
Center for Brain Research
Center for Environmental Sciences
Center for International Economics
Center for Russian Studies
Center for Studies in Society and Politics
Center for Turkish Language and Speech Processing
Center for Turkish Politics and History
Center for Research in Transitional Societies (CRTS)
Center for Turkish Literature
Communications and Spectrum Management Research Center (ISYAM)
Genetics and Biotechnology Research and Development Center (BILGEN)
Halil Inalcik Center of Ottoman Studies
Nanotechnology Research Center (NANOTAM)
National Nanotechnology Research Center (UNAM)
Bilkent University Computational Electromagnetics Research Center (BiLCEM)
Institutes
Institute of Economic and Social Sciences
Institute of Engineering and Science
Institute of Fine Arts
Institute of Music and Performing Arts
Institute of World Systems, Economies and Strategic Research
Institute of Materials Science and Nanotechnology
