Istanbul University

Istanbul University — latest news, discussion & facts — IJR

History

The origins of Istanbul University date back to 1453, when it was founded by Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II as a school of philosophy, medicine, law, mathematics and letters. The University of Constantinople, established in 425 CE by the Eastern Roman emperor Theodosius II as the Pandidacterium, later became known as the Phanar Greek Orthodox College after the Fall of Constantinople in 1453. Immediately after the conquest of the city, Sultan Mehmet II assigned Molla Mehmet Zeyrek Efendi to convert the Pantokrator Monastery into a madrasah and appointed him as the first rector. Madrasah education continued to be given here until new educational buildings were built around the Fatih Mosque. Later, upon completion of the construction of the buildings, students and teachers moved to these new buildings. In the early stages, Istanbul University also functioned as a medrese, an Islamic theological school. Famous astronomer Ali Qushji took part in the establishment of higher education in the city and taught mathematics at the madrasah. This madrasa is regarded as the precursor to the Darülfünûn, a technical institute or university (lit. "House of Natural Sciences"), which evolved into Istanbul University in 1933. Education in various sciences and fields, including medicine, mathematics, astronomy, cartography, geography, history, philosophy, religion, literature, philology, and law, became available and, until the 19th century, played a key role in educating the ruling cadres of Ottoman society. However, when the medreses were no longer able to meet the needs of the time, a restructuring process began, leading to the establishment of Darülfünûn, the core of Istanbul University.

An institution of higher education named the Darülfünûn-u Osmanî (lit. "the Ottoman Polytechnic Institute") was created in 1863, but suppressed in 1871. Its first rector was Hasan Tahsini, regarded as one of the most important Ottoman scholars of the 19th century. In 1874 the Darülfünûn-u Sultanî (lit. "the Royal College of Natural Sciences", French: Université Impériale Ottoman) began offering law classes in French, but was closed in 1881.

The Imperial College of Sciences, later known as Darülfünûn-u Şahâne, was reestablished in 1900 with departments in theology, arts, mathematics, science, and philology. In 1924, the faculties of law, medicine, arts and sciences were established in İstanbul Darülfünûnu, as the university was now called. Islamic theology was added in 1925, but in 1933 the university was reorganized without the latter.

The first modern applied physics courses were offered at the Darülfünûn on 31 December 1863, marking the beginning of a new era. On 20 February 1870, the school was renamed Darülfünûn-u Osmanî (lit. "the Ottoman House of Multiple Sciences") and reorganized to meet the needs of modern sciences and technologies. Starting in 1874, some classes in literature, law, and applied sciences were held at the Lycée de Galatasaray, continuing regularly until 1881. On 1 September 1900, the school was renamed and reorganized as Darülfünûn-u Şahâne (lit. "the Royal Polytechnic Institute"), offering courses in mathematics, literature, and theology. On 20 April 1912, the school was renamed İstanbul Darülfünûnu, with an expanded course offering and a modernized curriculum. The School of Medicine, Law, Applied Sciences, Literature, and Theology were established.

On 21 April 1924, the Republic of Turkey recognized İstanbul Darülfünûnu as a state institution. On 7 October 1925, its administrative autonomy was established, and the schools, which had been part of the old medrese system, became modern faculties. The Darülfünûn then consisted of five faculties: medicine, law, letters, theology, and science. The professors were granted academic freedom as outlined in Article 2 of Law 493. On 1 August 1933, İstanbul Darülfünûnu was reorganized as İstanbul Üniversitesi (lit. "Istanbul University") following the educational reforms of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Classes officially began on 1 November 1933.

Before World War II, many German scientists, particularly those from fields such as medicine, natural sciences, and humanities, were forced to flee Germany due to pressure on anti-Nazi scholars and artists, many of whom were Jewish. A significant number of these emigrants found refuge at Istanbul University, where they contributed to the growth of academic programs and research, enhancing the university's intellectual environment and fostering scientific efforts in Turkey.

Campus

The university comprises seventeen faculties spread across five campuses. The main campus being on Beyazıt Square, which was originally built by Constantine the Great as the Forum Tauri and was later enlarged by Theodosius the Great as the Forum of Theodosius during the Roman period. Some Roman and Byzantine ruins are still visible on the grounds.

The building stands on the site of the Old Palace, the first palace built by the Ottoman Turks in Istanbul. Following the establishment of the Republic in 1923, the Ministry of War, like other ministries, relocated to Ankara, and the building was handed over to Darülfünun, the first and only university of the Ottoman Empire.

The current main building, designed by French architect Bourgerois, was completed in 1865-1866. In 1879, it began serving as the Ottoman Empire's Ministry of War. The Blue Hall and Pink Hall, located on the building's second floor, are adorned in an orientalist decorative style, featuring ceiling and wall ornamentations that reflect the overall aesthetic of the structure. The room currently used as the Rector's Office was originally the office of the Minister of War during the Ottoman Empire. The office also contains the desk of Enver Pasha, who served as the Minister of War from 1914 to 1918. The "Kılıçlık Hall," which is used for academic meetings today, was originally the venue for sword-donning ceremonies for officers within the Ministry of War during the Ottoman Empire. Before holding meetings in the Kılıçlık Hall, officers would use the area on the right side of the hall to place their swords, hang their coats, and perform ablutions.

The building, which was damaged in an earthquake in 1894, was restored by Italian architect Raimondo D'Aronco. In 1950, it was again restored by Ekrem Hakkı Ayverdi. The Rectorate Building has undergone several renovations over the years, with the most recent restoration, including façade and marble cleaning, taking place in 1998. The main gate was depicted on the reverse of the Turkish 500 lira banknotes of 1971–1984.

The building housing the Rare Books Library, designed by Kemaleddin Bey in 1913, is home to a collection of approximately 93,000 volumes, including printed and manuscript books, journals, newspapers, maps, plans, and notes in Turkish, Arabic, Persian, Greek and Latin. The collection also includes 911 albums known as the Abdülhamid II Collection, which contain 36,585 photographs. Additionally, the library holds the collections of prominent figures in Turkish politics and intellectual history, such as Zakirbaşı Hüseyin Halis Efendi, Hasan Rıza Pasha, Grand Vizier İbrahim Hakkı Pasha, Sheikh-ul-Islam Pirizade Mehmet Sahip Molla, and İbnülemin Mahmut Kemal İnal. In 1925, the collection of the Yıldız Palace Library was transferred to the Rare Books Library.

International perspective and rankings

Istanbul University Graduate School of Business (Turkish: İstanbul Üniversitesi İşletme İktisadı Enstitüsü) was founded in 1954 with the collaboration of Harvard Business School and the Ford Foundation. Istanbul University Graduate School of Business also has a Beta Gamma Sigma honor society, which is the only honor business society in public universities in Turkey. Istanbul University School of Business is the only AACSB-accredited business school among the public universities in Turkey. Istanbul University Law School conducts a joint bachelor of laws (LL.B.) program in partnership with the University of Hamburg. This program enables students to study in both Turkey and Germany, covering multiple legal systems with coursework focused on both domestic and international law.

Istanbul University has established various collaboration and exchange agreements with universities around the world. These include partnerships with Yale University Wright Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Arizona in the United States; the University of Seoul, Dongguk University, and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in South Korea; and Qatar University in Qatar. In Japan, the university has agreements with Ryukoku University, Tokyo University of Marine Sciences and Technology, Kindai University, and Tsurumi University. Istanbul University also collaborates with Tilburg University in the Netherlands, as well as Technische Universität Berlin, RWTH Aachen University, University of Cologne, Ruhr University Bochum, and LMU Munich in Germany. Additional partnerships include Essex University in the United Kingdom and the University of Western Ontario in Canada.

Istanbul University maintains extensive Erasmus Programme student and faculty mobility agreements with numerous institutions across Europe, facilitating academic mobility and collaboration. In Germany, the university partners with Free University of Berlin, Humboldt University of Berlin, Goethe University Frankfurt, University of Freiburg, University of Hamburg, Heidelberg University, University of Mainz, University of Marburg, University of Mannheim, LMU Munich, and University of Tübingen. In Austria, partnerships include University of Graz, University of Innsbruck, and University of Vienna. The university also has agreements with several Belgian institutions, including University of Antwerpen, Gent University, KU Leuven, and University of Liège, as well as University of Copenhagen in Denmark. In France, Istanbul University collaborates with Bordeaux Montaigne University, University of Caen Normandy, Lumière University Lyon 2, Aix-Marseille University, University of Orléans, Paris Nanterre University, Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales, and University of Strasbourg.

The Erasmus network extends to the Netherlands, with agreements with University of Amsterdam, University of Groningen, Leiden University, and Erasmus University Rotterdam, and to Ireland with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. In Spain, the university partners with University of Barcelona, Pompeu Fabra University, University of Granada, University of Salamanca, and University of Zaragoza, while in Sweden, it collaborates with Lund University and Uppsala University. Additionally, Istanbul University maintains Erasmus agreements with several Italian universities, including University of Bologna, University of Florence, University of Milano-Bicocca, University of Naples Federico II, University of Padua, and Sapienza University of Rome, as well as University of Luxembourg in Luxembourg, Eötvös Loránd University, Debrecen University, University of Pécs, and Szeged University in Hungary, University of Oslo in Norway, and University of Coimbra in Portugal.

The university actively participates in research and innovation programs supported by the European Commission and Horizon Europe, which provide funding for cutting-edge research across various fields. These partnerships enable Istanbul University to contribute to and benefit from large-scale research projects that foster scientific progress and innovation. Additionally, the university collaborates with NATO in research initiatives related to security, technology, and scientific advancement, benefiting from access to valuable resources and expertise in areas of mutual interest. Istanbul University is also an official member of the CMS Experiment at CERN, a collaboration that focuses on high-energy physics research and the study of fundamental particles.

Notable expatriate faculty

Fritz Arndt (1885–1969) – German chemist (1915–1918)

Erich Auerbach (1892–1957) – German philologist (1936–1947)

Alexander Rüstow (1885–1963) – German sociologist and economist (1933–1949)

Helmuth Theodor Bossert (1889–1961) – German philologist and art historian and archaeologist (1934–1959)

Max Clara (1899–1966) – German anatomist

Georges Dumézil (1898–1986) – French philologist, religion historian (1923–1931)

Erwin Finlay-Freundlich (1885–1964) – German astronomer (1933–1937)

Albert Gabriel (1883–1972) – French art historian (1926–1930)

Hilda Geiringer (1893–1973) – Austrian mathematician (1934–1938)

C. W. M. Hart (1905–1976) – Australian anthropologist (1959–1969)

C. H. E. Haspels (1894–1980) – Dutch archaeologist

Felix Haurowitz (1896–1987) – Czech medical doctor and biochemist (1939–1948)

Baymirza Hayit (1917–2006) – Uzbek historian and orientalist

Richard Honig 1890–1981) – German penologist (1934–1939)

Alfred Isaac (1888–1956) – German economist (1937–1950)

Günther Jacoby (1881–1969) – German theologian and philosopher (1915–1918)

Curt Kosswig (1903–1982) – German zoologist and geneticist (1937–1955)

Lotte Loewe (1900–Unknown) – German organic chemist (1934–1955)

Hans Marchand (1907–1978) – German linguist

Gerhard Kessler (1883–1963) – German social policy scholar

Richard von Mises (1883–1953) – Austrian mathematician

Fritz Neumark (1900–1991) – German economist (1934–1954)

Rudolph Nissen (1896–1981) – German surgeon (1933–1949)

William Prager (1904–1980) – German mathematician

Hans Reichenbach (1891–1953) – German philosopher (1938–1945)

Oskar Rescher (1884–1972) – German scholar in Arabic, Persian, and Turkish literature

Umberto Ricci (1879–1946) – Italian economist (1942–1945)

Hellmut Ritter (1892–1971) – German orientalist (1926–1949, 1956–1969)

Wilhelm Röpke (1899–1966) – German economist

Hans Oswald Rosenberg (1879–1940) – German astronomer (1938–1940)

Leo Spitzer (1887–1960) – Austrian Romanist and Hispanist, philologist (1925–1930)

Andreas Tietze (1914–2003) – Austrian scholar of Turkish lexicography and language (1938–1957)

Notable alumni

See also Istanbul University alumni and Darülfünun alumni for a detailed list.

Abdullah Gül – 11th President of Turkey (2007–2014)

David Ben-Gurion – Founder and first Prime Minister of Israel

Yitzhak Ben-Zvi – Longest-serving President of Israel (1952–1963)

Ferruh Bozbeyli – 10th Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey

Fuat Sirmen – Turkish legal expert and politician, Speaker of the Parliament (1961–1965)

Nihat Erim – Turkish Prime Minister (1971–1972)

Mehmed Džemaludin Čaušević, Grand Mufti for Bosnia and Herzegovina (1914-1930)

Refik Saydam – Prime Minister of Turkey (1939–1942)

Sadi Irmak – Prime Minister of Turkey (1974–1975)

Suad Hayri Ürgüplü – Prime Minister of Turkey (1965–1966)

Yıldırım Akbulut – Turkish Prime Minister (1989–1991)

Moshe Sharett – Prime Minister of Israel (1954–1955)

Cemil Çiçek – Former Turkish Minister of Justice and Speaker of the Parliament

Arif Demirer – Former Minister of Finance

Mehmet Ali Şahin – Former Minister of Justice and Deputy Prime Minister

Ali Tanrıyar – Former Minister of Interior

Coşkun Kırca – Former Minister of Foreign Affairs

Erkan Mumcu – Former Minister of Culture and Tourism

Hayati Yazıcı – Former Minister of Customs and Trade

İhsan Sabri Çağlayangil – Former Minister of Foreign Affairs

Kadir Topbaş – Former Mayor of Istanbul

Köksal Toptan – Former Speaker of the Parliament

Masud Sabri – Former Governor of Xinjiang Province, China

Meral Akşener – Leader of Good Party and former Minister of Interior

Murat Başesgioğlu – Former Minister of Labor and Social Security

Mustafa Bey Barmada – Former Governor General of Aleppo

Ramazan Özkepir — Current Turkish jurist

Naci Ağbal – Former Minister of Finance

Nimet Baş – Former Minister of National Education

Abdi İpekçi – Journalist and editor-in-chief of Milliyet

Ahmet Şık – Investigative journalist and author

Halit Kıvanç – Turkish journalist and sports broadcaster

Fatih Altaylı – Turkish columnist, TV host, and journalist

Hrant Dink – Armenian-Turkish journalist and editor

Metin Toker – Journalist and editor-in-charge of Akis

Murat Belge – Writer, journalist and academic

Nedim Şener – Investigative journalist and author

Uğur Dündar – Journalist and TV producer

Ahmet Mete Işıkara – Seismologist, advocate for earthquake preparedness

Alp Ikizler – Nephrologist, recognized for contributions to kidney disease research

Aykut Barka – Geologist specializing in fault lines in Turkey

Aziz Sancar – Nobel Laureate in Chemistry (2015)

Cavit Orhan Tütengil – Social scientist and columnist

Engin Arık – Physicist known for work on high-energy physics

Fuat Sezgin – Renowned historian of science, expert on Islamic Golden Age

Hulusi Behçet – Dermatologist, first to describe Behçet's disease

Nazım Terzioğlu – Mathematician known for contributions to algebra and analysis

Muzafer Sherif – Turkish-American Social psychologist known for social conformity theories

Nüzhet Gökdoğan – First female professor of astronomy in Turkey

Paris Pişmiş – Armenian-Turkish astrophysicist

Serdar Bulun – Medical doctor and scientist at Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine

Zeynel Mungan – Medical researcher at American Hospital Istanbul

Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar – Novelist, poet, and literary scholar and author of The Time Regulation Institute

Ali Kurumahmut – Legal expert in maritime law

Bahadır Kaleağası – International coordinator of TÜSİAD and author

Duygu Asena – Feminist writer and journalist

Mario Levi – Jewish-Turkish writer

Mıgırdiç Margosyan – Armenian-Turkish author

Nihal Atsız – Turkish author and poet

İlhan Selçuk – Journalist, author and editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet

Orhan Pamuk – Nobel Laureate in Literature (2006)

Reşat Nuri Güntekin – Novelist, author of Çalıkuşu

Attila İlhan – Poet and novelist

Onat Kutlar – Poet, writer, and co-founder of Turkish Cinema Archive

Orhan Veli – Turkish poet

Arif Mardin – Grammy-winning music producer

Bülent Ortaçgil – Turkish singer and songwriter

Candan Erçetin – Turkish singer and music educator

Ceza – Turkish rapper

Mercan Dede – Turkish Musician and DJ

Sadettin Kaynak – Classical Turkish music composer and performer

Sagopa Kajmer – Turkish rapper and hip-hop producer

Teoman – Turkish rock singer and songwriter

Burcu Esmersoy – Turkish model, TV personality and sports announcer

Istanbul University

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History

Campus

International perspective and rankings

Notable faculty

Notable expatriate faculty

Notable alumni

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