Marmara University

One of Turkey’s oldest educational institutions, Marmara University was established in 1883 as Hamidiye Ticaret Mekteb-i Âlisi in a house in the centre of Istanbul. When the first students completed their courses in 1887 there were just 13 graduates, although today there are tens of thousands of students enrolled at the university.

The university went through several name changes before becoming Marmara University in 1982, and today there are 16 separate faculties as well as a School of Medicine. Courses are taught in either Turkish, English, French, German or Arabic, and the university is proud to be the only multilingual higher education institution in Turkey. The university also has vocational schools, academic institutes and graduate schools, most of which are located in the Turkish capital.

The university is comprised of 14 campuses on both the European and Asian sides of Istanbul. The Acıbadem, Anadoluhisarı, Başıbüyük, Göztepe, Haydarpaşa, Kartal Pendik and Bağlarbaşı campuses are all located on the Asian side of the city, with the latter being the largest. On the European shore are the Bahçelievler, Beyazıt, Nişantaşı, Sultanahmet, Tarabya and Şişli campuses, and Şişli is the smallest, being comprised of just one building.

The university has an impressive international profile and several faculties compete with other international universities at various events. The Erasmus programme has helped the university develop further international ties and cooperative agreements are in place with universities across Europe.

Some of Turkey’s most famous people have studied at Marmara University, including Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, founder of the Energy Forum of Turkey Neslihan Gökdemir, comic actor Kemal Sunal and media tycoon Aydın Doğan.