Boğaziçi University is a public research university in Istanbul, Turkey. Its main campus in Bebek is located just west of the Bosphorus, from which the institution takes its name. It is historically linked to Robert College, the first American college founded outside the United States.
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History
Robert College was founded in Bebek in 1863 by Christopher Robert, an American philanthropist, and Cyrus Hamlin, a Congregational missionary. In 1869, the first campus (now the Boğaziçi South Campus) was built on the ridge near Rumelihisarı with permission from Sultan Abdülaziz.
According to a college catalogue compiled for the 1878–1879 academic year, "the object of the College is to give to its students, without distinction of race or religion, a thorough education equal in all respects to that obtained at a first-class American college and based upon the same general principles."
After Cyrus Hamlin, the college was administered by George Washburn (1877–1903) and Caleb Gates (1903–1932). Established as an institution of higher learning independent of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM), though with a significant number of missionaries among its faculty in its earlier years, the college adopted an entirely secular and non-denominational educational model in 1923 in compliance with the new republican principles of Turkey.
Before 1971, Robert College, had junior high school, high school, and university sections under the names Robert Academy, Robert College, and Robert College Yüksek Kısım. In 1971, the Bebek campus and academic staff of Robert College were decided to be turned over to the Republic of Turkey to be transformed into a public university named Boğaziçi University, the renamed continuation of Robert College's university section (i.e. Robert College Yüksek Kısım). The rest of Robert College moved into the Arnavutköy campus of the American College for Girls; despite continuing to call itself a college, it became merely a high school.
On 10 September 1971, as part of this transformation, Robert College bequeathed its Bebek campus—today's Boğaziçi South Campus—comprising 118 acres, along with its buildings, library, laboratories, facilities, personnel, and students, to the Turkish government. Boğaziçi University was subsequently established as a Turkish public university. Since then, the university has gradually evolved from a small liberal arts college into a research university.
Governance
The rector serves as the university's chief officer, presiding over both the University Senate and the University Executive Council. The Senate is the principal academic body and is responsible for decisions on curriculum, research policy, and academic standards; it is composed of vice rectors, deans, directors of institutes and schools, and members elected by the faculties. The University Executive Council oversees administrative and budgetary matters and comprises the deans and members elected by the Senate. Each faculty, school, and institute also maintains its own executive council and academic board.
At its inception in 1971, Boğaziçi University inherited a culture of participatory governance from Robert College. The first rector, Aptullah Kuran, was appointed by the Ministry of National Education, but faculty councils met regularly and played a significant role in institutional decision-making. Deans were elected by their faculties.
Rector selection
Following the 1980 Turkish coup d'état, the newly established Council of Higher Education assumed the authority to appoint rectors at all Turkish universities, including Boğaziçi. In 1992, as part of the post-coup political normalization, Boğaziçi's faculty proposed an advisory election system. Under this model, faculty members voted for rector candidates, and the three receiving the most votes were forwarded to the Council of Higher Education, which selected one name — typically the top vote-getter — for formal appointment by the President of Turkey. Boğaziçi faculty also developed an informal convention whereby candidates who had not received the highest vote would withdraw from consideration if selected over the leading candidate. This system remained in place until 2016.
In 2016, the President departed from the advisory election outcome and appointed Mehmed Özkan, the deputy of the former elected rector, rather than the candidate who had received the majority of the faculty vote. Özkan subsequently received a vote of confidence from the faculty. On 2 January 2021, President Erdoğan appointed Melih Bulu as rector without holding a faculty advisory vote, exercising the authority granted to the presidency by the Council of Higher Education Law. The appointment prompted protests by faculty, students, and alumni, during which more than 150 students were detained by police. The protests received international media coverage, and over a thousand academics, including Noam Chomsky, David Harvey, and Judith Butler, signed a statement of support for the university community.
Bulu was dismissed on 15 July 2021, and Naci İnci was appointed as his successor. According to reports by Bianet and Diken, the administration under the government-appointed rectors initiated disciplinary investigations against faculty members and restricted some student club activities.
Campuses and student life
Boğaziçi University operates across seven campuses in and around Istanbul, each serving distinct academic or residential functions.
The South Campus in Bebek is the oldest and most historically significant site, retaining several buildings from the Robert College era — among them Hamlin Hall, Theodorus Hall, Dodge Hall, Albert Long Hall, and Kennedy Lodge. It functions as the university's main academic and administrative hub. Washburn Hall houses the Faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences, Anderson Hall the Faculty of Science, Perkins Hall the Faculty of Engineering, and Sloane Hall the Psychology and Sociology departments. The Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence and the Natuk Birkan Building are also located here.
The North Campus is oriented toward science and engineering, accommodating the Faculty of Education, the Educational Technologies Building, the Computer Engineering building, and the Sciences and Engineering Building. It was previously home to the Aptullah Kuran Library.
The Uçaksavar Campus provides recreational and cultural facilities, including a stadium, gymnasium, the Lifelong Learning Center (BUYEM), and the Garanti Cultural Center.
The Hisar Campus hosts the Institute of Environmental Sciences alongside more than 20 classrooms, three amphitheaters, a cafeteria, an indoor pool, and a gym.
The Kilyos Sarıtepe Campus sits on the Black Sea coast and primarily serves as a residential site, with student dormitories and a private beach. It is notable for being the world's first energy self-sufficient university campus, generating all of its electricity from an on-site wind power plant.
The Anadolu Hisarı Campus accommodates the School of Foreign Languages Preparatory Unit, along with dining, sports, and dormitory facilities.
The Kandilli Campus is home to the Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute and the Institute of Biomedical Engineering.
Music and sports festivals
The Taşoda Music Festival, held every spring by university's Music Club, named after the club's studio on the South Campus.
Every May the Boğaziçi Sports Festival is held at the South Campus and other university venues. Usually, some 300 to 800 students from all over the world come to compete in various events.
Academics
All undergraduate and graduate instruction at Boğaziçi University is conducted in English, a tradition inherited from Robert College and maintained continuously since 1863. Incoming students who do not demonstrate sufficient English proficiency are required to complete the university's English Preparatory Program before beginning their degree studies.
International rankings
In the 2027 QS World University Rankings, Boğaziçi placed 345th globally while ranking 88th worldwide in the QS Employer Reputation indicator — one of only three Turkish universities in the global top 100 in that category, alongside Middle East Technical University (77th) and Istanbul Technical University (91st). In QS subject rankings, it placed 217th in Social Sciences & Management and 236th in Engineering & Technology. The 2026 Times Higher Education World University Rankings placed it in the 401–500 band.
Research
Boğaziçi hosts several dedicated research institutes, including the Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute, the Institute of Biomedical Engineering, the Institute of Environmental Sciences, and the Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence. It is a founding member of NeurotechEU, a European University alliance focused on neuroscience and technology. Boğaziçi is also one of nine Turkish universities to have endorsed the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers.
Organization
Faculties
Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences
Economics
Management
Political Science and International Relations
International Trade
Management Information Systems
Tourism Administration
Faculty of Education
Computer Education and Educational Technology
Educational Sciences
Foreign Language Education
Primary Education
Mathematics and Science Education
Faculty of Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Civil Engineering
Computer Engineering
Electrical and Electronics Engineering
Industrial Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
History
Linguistics
Philosophy
Psychology
Institutes
Atatürk Institute for Modern Turkish History
Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence
Institute for Graduate Studies in Science and Engineering
Institute for Graduate Studies in Social Sciences
Institute of Biomedical Engineering
Institute of Environmental Sciences
Institute of Film and Media Studies
Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute
Other Units
School of Foreign Languages
Advanced English Unit
English Preparatory Unit
Modern Languages Unit
Academic Units Under the Rectorate
Department of Physical Education and Sports
Department of Fine Arts
Turkish Language Courses Coordination Unit