Istanbul Technical University (ITU) is the oldest and most rooted technical university in Turkey and it is among the oldest in the World. The School of Civil Engineering is the largest and one of the most important schools within ITU. As the department head, I would like to express that I have always been proud to be a member of the Civil Engineering Department, which gave its name to the School of Civil Engineering.
The Department of Civil Engineering is located on Ayazaga (Maslak) Campus, the largest of the five ITU campuses in Istanbul. Our department has a distinguished status and prominence among the Civil Engineering departments in Turkey and in the World. Accepted as the mother of all engineering fields, Civil Engineering was born within the framework of military engineering but has outgrew its domain and distinguished itself as the oldest non-military (hence the name Civil) engineering branch still in practice. As a live witness of this transition and expansion, the Civil Engineering Department at ITU has always been at the forefront of Civil Engineering education with its roots and traditions, qualified and competent faculty members, and state-of-the art laboratories.
The Civil Engineering Department at ITU started as a military engineering school in 1773 and it was transformed to its current civil form in 1883. This date has also been accepted as the beginning of civil engineering in Turkey. Our department currently has 1761 undergraduate and 1224 graduate students enrolled. There are 92 faculty members, 7 instructors, and 38 research assistants working within the Civil Engineering Department. The number of journal papers per faculty member is increasing, along with national and international research projects that address industry problems. Under the umbrella of civil engineering, we offer bilingual education where the students can take a certain proportion of their courses ranging from a minimum of 30% up to 100% in English.
Our joint program with the University at Buffalo (UB), The State University of New York (SUNY) allow our students to spend alternate years at ITU and SUNY and obtain undergraduate degree diplomas from both institutions upon graduation. Another joint program with the University of Urbana Champaign, called the ITU-UIUC 3+2 BS-MS Program, involves three years of study at ITU and additional two years at UIUC, after which the student receives an undergraduate degree (B.S.) diploma from ITU and a master’s degree (M.Sc.) diploma from UIUC.
Our program was accredited in 2012 by the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) of ABET (www.abet.org) as one of the 23 undergraduate programs at ITU accredited by ABET. In June 2016, accreditation application for a new term was filed with ABET.
Our department has been strengthened by its rich history, rooted traditions, and world class scientists. ITU civil engineering alumni have played key roles in building and developing Turkey since the last era of the Ottoman Empire and early years of the Republic. Since the 1950s, our alumni have been leading their field in academia and industry. Among our alumni, we have a former prime minister and president, in addition to several ministers.
Civil engineering offers a wide range of career opportunities. Our graduates work in various fields, such as the design and construction of buildings, dams, airports, bridges, highways, railways, tunnels, water transportation systems, harbors, industrial buildings, and sustainable energy production facilities. Natural disasters create an indispensable need for durable and long lasting constructions, and civil engineers are crucial to designing and building infrastructures made to withstand such unforeseen events. Consequently, ITU civil engineering graduates are in high demand both domestically and internationally. Our department responds to this demand by preparing civil engineers that are productive, adaptive, team players, communicative, environmentally sensitive, ethical, equipped, and knowledgeable. Our department maintains our principals and traditions while never ceasing to improve and advance the state-of-the-art in civil engineering education and technology.
Please visit our website to find detailed information regarding our department, courses offered, and research of our faculty members. For questions, contact our department head office via email or phone. Your visit would also make us happy. Thank you very much for your interest in our department.
Sincerely,
Prof. Mehmet Emre Bayraktar, Ph.D.
Head of Civil Engineering Department
Istanbul Technical University, Ayazaga, Istanbul