Galatasaray University

Established 1992 
Type: Public 
Rector: Prof. Dr. Ethem Tolga 
Faculty: 5 
Location: Istanbul, Turkey 
Campus: Urban 
Website: https://www.gsu.edu.tr 

Galatasaray University is the only Francophone University in Turkey. Regarded as one of the best Turkish universities, the establishment has 5 faculties (Economic and Administrative Sciences, Law, Communications, Natural Sciences and Literature), 2 institutes (Social Sciences, Applied Sciences), 200 teachers and 2500 students.

As a participant in the European exchange programs Erasmus and Socrates, Galatasaray University accommodated 50 European students in 2005-2006 and will accommodate 70 of them for the academic year 2006-2007. Meanwhile, 100 students of Galatasaray University travel each year to France within the framework of these exchange programs.

In essence, Galatasaray University represents a secular tradition of teaching. Courses at Galatasaray University are tri-lingual: in Turkish, French and English. Apart from French which is the primary foreign language, fluency in English as the secondary foreign language is also obligatory. Due to a new regulation in 2006, the incoming students (via the annual nationwide ÖSS university entrance exams) should have one year of preparatory school for the Social Sciences departments, aimed at teaching the French language and culture. Thus, in overall, undergraduate studies take 5 years. For the Faculty of Engineering, the preparatory period includes only one year of linguistic training.

Galatasaray University is located at Ortaköy within the borough of Beþiktaþ, a populated central district on the European side of Ýstanbul. The building which accommodates Galatasaray University was originally the Feriye Palace, a coastal summer palace on the Bosphorus which was built in 1871.

Galatasaray University is heir to the centuries-old traditions of Galatasaray Lisesi which was established in 1481 as the Galata Sarayý Enderun-u Hümayunu (Galata Palace Imperial School).