BOGAZICI UNIVERSITY
Bogazici University (BU) offers courses covering a wide range of the liberal arts. The interests of most Hanover students can be met through this program, and students choosing to study for a term at BU would not have a difficult time maintaining progress toward graduation. Classes are taught in English, and those satisfying LADRs and academic major/minor requirements are offered in chemistry, economics, education, English, history, mathematics, molecular biology and genetics, management, physics, philosophy, psychology, political science, and sociology.
BU enrolls not quite 10,000 students and has earned a reputation as one of Turkey’s best universities. The university educates a large portion of the new faculty for the growing Turkish system of higher education. Doctorate programs are increasing in number and scope, and the university routinely places its students into prestigious graduate study programs across Europe and North America.
Another priority for BU is diversity. The university attempts to have approximately twenty percent of its faculty in a given year be non-Turkish and is expanding its support for students from other countries. Currently most of the degree-seeking, non-Turkish students come from southeast Europe and central Asia, but other students come from broad array of nationalities.
The faculty engage students in critical thinking through a variety of teaching methods, ranging from lectures to Socratic dialogue, and Hanover students should find the course of instruction at BU familiar. The diversity in teaching style stems in part from class sizes that range from over 200 students in introductory courses to an average of 20-40 students in upper-level courses. Humanities texts tend to be readers compiled by the professor with the focus on primary texts. Science courses rely on lectures supplemented with laboratory exercises, and upper-level students may participate in novel research. In all courses, students are evaluated at various points in the semester by an assortment of means, including quizzes, exams, lab reports, and papers, much as occurs at Hanover. While the faculty have less contact with students outside of class than is typical at Hanover, the familiar academic structure and the fact that English is not the first language of most BU students help explain the academic success of American students.
A unique feature of the Hanover program with BU is that HC students attend the annual American-Turkish Council meeting in Washington, D.C. during their sophomore year. The price is built into the program cost and subsidized by the Council; the meeting helps orient students to Turkish culture and interests.
THE UNIVERSITY
BU was established as Robert College by Americans in 1863 and slowly expanded until 1971, when it was reorganized and administration was placed in the hands of Turkish nationals, thus being transformed into Bogazici University.
BU is spread across five campuses; the liberal arts portion of the university is located on two adjacent campuses that overlook the Bosphorus Straits in a residential and retail community six miles from the center of Istanbul. Like its academic program, it looks and feels like an American university. The humanities and social science departments are on the southern campus in buildings dating from the 19th century; the natural sciences, the education department, and the library are in modern building on the northern campus. The grounds are spacious and well kept. Classrooms and laboratories are modern, and the library, containing approximately 400,000 volumes and 1,500 periodicals, is fully computerized with online services. A 24-hour computer center is equipped with PC and Macintosh computers and provides email and Internet access. BU also offers a large athletic complex, a wide variety of extracurricular activities, and a modern health care center staffed with English-speaking physicians and medical staff. Hanover students will feel at home in the teaching environment at Bogazici University while being immersed in an unparalleled cultural experience.
THE SETTING
With roots predating 667 BC, Istanbul (nee Byzantium, then Constantinople) is a huge, modern city with a range of historical, educational, recreational, and social activities exceeding the expectations of a city of over 10 million people. Sites include the Hagia Sophia (St. Sophia’s Cathedral), Topkapi Palace, the Hippodrome, Dolmabahce Palace, the Grand Bazaar, and the Bosphorus. Istanbul, renown for its friendly people and cosmopolitan character, straddles the Bosphorus and is the gateway both to Europe in the west and Asia in the east.
TRAVEL
Buses, ferries, and countless taxis provide readily available, inexpensive transport within the city. Longer trips by bus or train to other parts of Turkey (e.g. the Troy of Homeric legend), to the Middle East, and to Europe can be easily arranged, depending on student schedules.
HOUSING
Hanover students stay in the modern “SuperDorm.” Students live in suites with up to four students; each student has a private bedroom, and the suite contains shared bathroom, kitchenette, and living room space. Within the SuperDorm there are a cafeteria, a computer room, a game room and lounge, and laundry facilities. Both Turkish and foreign students stay in SuperDorm and are consciously intermingled in order to maximize their opportunity to interact with students from a wide variety of cultures. SuperDorm also houses an international student counselor and a housing supervisor, both of whom complement the work of the International Relations Office by orienting students to life at BU, in Istanbul, and throughout the region.
ACADEMIC CALENDAR
The fall semester starts in mid-September and ends in early January; the spring semester beings in early February and ends in June; and a summer term spans July and August.
APPLICATION PROCESS AND DEADLINES
The application process is initiated in and coordinated through the Study Abroad Office. The application procedure is necessarily lengthy, due to the requirements of international study and the need to maintain satisfactory progress toward graduation from Hanover. The application deadlines are strictly enforced. Students are urged to contact the Study Abroad Office for an Application for Off-Campus Study. Consult your academic advisors or the study abroad advisor early in your career, so that you can plan ahead. Studying off-campus for a term requires careful planning to ensure timely completion of the Liberal Arts Degree Requirements and major course requirements.
SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS
- Obtain a passport and visa. See the Study Abroad Office for information on obtaining these documents.
- Agree to enroll in the Introductory Turkish course.
- Purchase an International Student Identity Card (ISIC). The holder is eligible for basic medical, accident, and illness insurance, and gains a variety of discounts.
- Have a minimum GPA of 2.5.
ON-CAMPUS EXPERTS
Our faculty that have visited BU include Drs. Appelt, Baecle, Krantz, Buchman, Johnson, and Thornton, all of whom are happy to answer your questions.
Visit BU at: http://www.boun.edu.tr
