Çukurova University

Çukurova University (Turkish: Çukurova Üniversitesi) occupies a foremost place among other Turkish universities with its 10 faculties, 3 colleges, 7 vocational colleges, 3 institutes and 26 research and application centers. The university campus is located 10 kilometers away from Adana city center, and is situated in a serene environment conducive to learning. This tranquil setting by the Seyhan Dam Lake is complemented by a motivated staff, innovative labs and modern libraries.
Established 1973 [1] 
Type: Public 
President: Alper AKINOÐLU 
Staff: 1,909 
Students: 23.000 undergraduate, postgraduate and doctorate 
Location: Adana, Turkey 
Campus: Urban, 22,000 decares) 
Website: www.cu.edu.tr 

The university, with its 1903 member teaching staff, offers courses to over 23.000 undergraduate, post graduate and doctorate students.

The faculty and students alike enjoy the Internet and CD-ROM Database in the Central Library which houses a wide variety of national and international publications. The university has well-equipped computer hardware, and the computer rooms are available for student use campus-wide. These computer rooms are also used for computer-assisted education and scientific research.

The university also offers its faculty and students a variety of recreational facilities including: an indoor sports center and swimming pool, a boathouse and a variety of sports grounds.

Students can make the best of their leisure time in any of the 29 student clubs.

The students of the university have the opportunity to do practical training abroad through AIESEC and similar organizations.

Transportation to the Balcalý Campus is offered by private bus services.

History

The Faculty of Agriculture, founded in 1969 by Ankara University, and the Faculty of Medicine, founded in 1972 by Atatürk University, were combined to form Çukurova University in I973. The number of the faculties rose to five when the faculties of Basic Sciences, Administrative Sciences and Engineering were founded. In 1982, the Faculty of Basic Sciences was reorganized as the Faculty of Sciences and Letters, and the Faculty of Administrative Sciences was combined with the Department of Economics and Administrative Sciences forming the Faculty of Administrative Sciences and Economics. The Faculty of Engineering and Architecture emerged from the combination of the Faculty of Engineering and the Engineering Department of the Adana Academy of Administrative and Commercial Sciences. Also, the Faculty of Education was established when the two-year Foreign Language Colleges of the Ministry of Education in Adana, Mersin and Hatay were combined. By 1992, the university helped to lay the foundation of 3 new universities in Turkey. Two colleges, complete with modern buildings, laboratories and educational equipment were turned over to Mersin University, and 3 colleges were turned over to Hatay Mustafa Kemal University, and the Research and Application Center in Kahramanmaraþ was taken over by Sutcu Imam University.

Despite this relative downsizing in 1992, it is observed that the university had grown even stronger by 1993 when the 20th anniversary of the University was celebrated. The number of the faculties rose to 10 when the faculties of Fisheries, Theology, Dentistry and Fine Arts were established.

Adana Vocational College of Health and Kozan Vocational College were opened to education. With the addition of 3 post-graduate institutions and The State Conservatory of Çukurova University, the number of academic bodies increased to 21. The Karatas College of Tourism and Hotel Management was set up in 1994, the Karaisali Vocational College was set up in 1995 and the Vocational College of Kadirli offering two educational programs: Computer Programming and Industrial Electronics was founded in 1997. The Department of Physical Education was reorganized as the College of Physical Education and Sports, and in 1996, the Vocational College of Health Services was reorganized as the College of Health Sciences.

The campus: Balcalý

The Çukurova University's Balcali campus which is on the eastern side of Seyhan Dam Lake occupies an area of 20 km². The name "Balcali" originates from the name of the village that stood on the present campus before the university was built

The campus houses administrative and educational buildings with labs available for research services in various branches of a hospital complex, a central library, a central cafeteria, sports facilities, teacher residences, social facilities and dormitories which accommodate a total of 3500 students.

A large number of public transport vehicles regularly commute between the city center and the campus, providing mass transport for the students and university personnel.

Education

The language of instruction in almost all the programs of the university is Turkish. However, the language of instruction in the Electric-Electronics and Mechanical Engineering Departments of the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture is English[3].

Students receive compulsory English preparatory classes in all the programs of the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences.

English preparatory classes are optional for the students registered in the Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics Departments of the Faculty of Science and Letters and for the students of Civil Engineering, Geology, Architecture, Industry and Textile Departments of the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture.

Foreign language preparatory classes are conducted in the English, French and German Language Teaching Departments of the Faculty of Education.

The Qur'an and the fundamentals of Islam and Arabic are taught as a preparatory program for one academic year in the Faculty of Theology.

The university consists of 10 faculties (with 80 undergraduate programs), 3 graduate schools (with 64 post-graduate programs), 3 colleges (with 4 undergraduate programs), 7 vocational colleges (with 23 vocational programs) and YADIM (Foreign Languages Research and Application Center where both undergraduate and post-graduate students are taught English), and a state conservatory.

Evening classes

Evening classes are available in the Department of Teacher Training of the Faculty of Education; in the Departments of Economics and Business in the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences; in the Departments of Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Turkish Language and Literature in the Faculty of Science and Letters; in the Departments of Civil- Mechanical- Geological- Industrial- and Mining Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture; in the Faculty of Fisheries; and in all Departments of Ceyhan and Osmaniye Vocational Colleges.

Academic staff

The university employs 1903 academic staff (24 from abroad) of which 330 are professors, 141 associate professors, 299 assistant professors, 152 instructors, 723 research assistants, 76 specialists, 157 lecturer.