ISTANBUL UNIVERSITY

'Istanbul University' (Turkish: ''İstanbul Üniversitesi'') was founded as an institution of higher education named the ''Darülfünun'' (''House of Multiple Sciences'') on July 23, 1846; but the ''Medrese'' (''Theological School'') which was founded immediately after Mehmed II conquered Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1453 is regarded as the precursor to the Darülfünun which evolved into Istanbul University.^[1]

German historian Richard Honig believes that the history of the Medrese which first evolved into the Darülfünun and later became Istanbul University actually started on March 1, 1321, during the reign of Osman I in Bithynia, the cradle of the Ottoman State.^[2]
The first modern Applied Physics courses were given at the Darülfünun on December 31, 1863, which marked the beginning of a new period, and on February 20, 1870, the school was renamed as the ''Darülfünun-u Osmani'' (''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 Lisesi, which continued regularly until 1881. On September 1, 1900, the school was renamed and reorganized as the ''Darülfünun-u Şahane'' (''Imperial House of Multiple Sciences'') with courses on Mathematics, Literature and Theology. On April 20, 1912, the school was renamed as the ''İstanbul Darülfünunu'' (''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 April 21, 1924, the Republic of Turkey recognized the İstanbul Darülfünunu as a state school, and on October 7, 1925, the administrative autonomy of İstanbul Darülfünunu was recognized while the "Schools" (within the old Medrese system) became modern "Faculties". On August 1, 1933, İstanbul Darülfünunu was reorganized as ''İstanbul Üniversitesi'' (''Istanbul University'') following the educational reforms of Atatürk. Classes officially began on November 1, 1933, in "the first modern university" of the Republic of Turkey.
The university currently 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.
Its graduates have frequently been the main source of academic staff for the Turkish university system, as well as providing a very large number of Turkish bureaucrats, professionals, and business people.
==Faculties==

★ Faculty of Law

★ Faculty of Journalism

★ Faculty of Literature and Social Sciences

★ Faculty of Sciences

★ Istanbul Faculty of Medicine

★ Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine

★ Faculty of Economics

★ Faculty of Pharmacy

★ Hasan Ali Yücel Faculty of Education

★ Faculty of Dentistry

★ Faculty of Forestry

★ Faculty of Engineering

★ Faculty of Veterinary Sciences

★ Faculty of Business Administration

★ Faculty of Communication

★ Faculty of Water Products

★ Faculty of Political Sciences

★ Faculty of Theology

Contents

Notable alumni

External links

References and notes

Notable alumni

;Turkish Presidents: ★ Abdullah Gül;Foreign Presidents: ★ Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, President of Israel;Turkish Prime Ministers: ★ Abdullah Gül ★ Refik Saydam ★ Yıldırım Akbulut ★ Sadi Irmak ★ Mehmet Naim Talu ★ Suad Hayri Ürgüplü ★ Nihat Erim;Foreign Prime Ministers: ★ David Ben-Gurion, Prime Minister of Israel;Turkish Ministers: ★ Mehmet Ali Sahin ★ Turhan Feyzioğlu

;: ★ Hulusi Behcet ★ Aykut Barka;: ★ Ahmet Hamdi Tanpinar ★ Ömer Lütfi Mete ★ Orhan Pamuk, Nobel Laureate in Literature ★ Oben Özaydın;: ★ Orhan Veli ★ Attila İlhan ★ Onat Kutlar;: ★ Arif Mardin ★ Bülent Ortaçgil;: ★ Haşmet Babaoğlu

External links

★ Istanbul University Website

★ History of Istanbul University (Turkish)

★ Istanbul University Alumni Association of USA

References and notes

1. History of Istanbul University (Turkish)
2. History of Istanbul University (Turkish)