Faculty of Political Science, Ankara University


The Faculty of Political Science of the University of Ankara is the oldest faculty of social science in Turkey, being the successor of the "Mekteb-i Mülkiye" which was established in Istanbul on February 12, 1859, under the reign of Sultan Abdulaziz, then moved to Ankara in 1936 under a new name, and was incorporated to Ankara University on April 3, 1950, under its current name. The Faculty of Political Science provides higher education in the fields of Social Science, Public Finance, Economics, Public Administration, Labor Economics, Business Administration and International Relations.
It is considered to be one of the most influential institutes in the political life of Turkey.

History

The faculty was founded in Istanbul as a community college in 1859 and has undergone series of changes since the establishment. It was named Mekteb-i Mülkiye-i Şahane under the Ministry of Internal Affairs but in 1918 the name was changed to "Mekteb-i Mülkiye" under the Ministry of Education. After the founding of the Republic, at the request of Atatürk, the school was moved to Ankara, and named the School of Political Science. The length of study was also increased to 4 years. On March 23, 1950, the school was placed under Ankara University, and its name was changed to Ankara University, Faculty of Political Science. The school has been a symbol of freedom of expression and organization. Holders of every different political view have found there an environment in which they could freely express themselves on a democratic platform as an important difference between Mülkiye and other universities.
Masters and Doctorate programs were implemented in the 1955-56 academic year. In 1982, the faculty adopted the new framework, increasing the number of specialization departments to six: International Relations, Political Science and Public Administration, Economics, Public Finance, Business Administration, Labor Economics and Industrial Relations. Since the 2008-2009 academic year, Foreign Language Preparatory School has been mandatory.

Staff and Alumni

The faculty currently has 172 academic staff and 78 administrative staff.
The faculty's alumni, who are also called Mülkìyelìler, are employed in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Internal Affairs, Public Finance and in public institutions including banks and private companies. A number of alumni have served as prime ministers, ministers, deputies, ambassadors, and governors.
Mülkiyeliler Birliği, the faculty's Alumni Association is a non-governmental organization with branches across the country. It organizes variety of courses, seminars, symposiums and exhibitions. It also publishes magazines and books.

Education Facilities

The faculty has several teaching facilities to meet the needs of various courses and departments. In addition to the two amphis, the faculty has a 450-seat conference hall, several large classrooms, seminar rooms, multipurpose rooms and computer centers.
For all departments, English language preparation classes have been mandatory since 2008-2009. In addition, foreign language courses are available. Since the 1992-1993 academic year, language courses covering the departmental terminology have been given as electives.
The library specializes in the field of social sciences. There are 108,000 Turkish and foreign language books. The library has a collection of 46,000 domestic and overseas periodicals and newspaper collections of historical value. The library has a 300-seat reading room, as well as the "Hande Mumcu Reading Room" for periodicals and the "Ali Cankaya Room" with tapes and CD-ROMs.

Publications

The faculty has published the Journal of Political Science four times a year since 1943.

Social and Housing Facilities

In addition to a canteen and two tea centers, there is a dining room which provides service to faculty, academic and administrative staff.
Although there are many student dormitories at the University of Ankara, they are not sufficient to accommodate all students. To compensate this shortcoming, there are many private and state dormitories in Ankara which give housing services to students.
The faculty offers a wide range of social and sporting activities including theater, cinema, art, music and dance ensembles, plus over 30 communities of thought.
The faculty's basketball team, Mülkiyespor, which is supported by Alumni, competes in the secondary league.

Traditional Cow Festival

One of the most colorful aspects of social life in the faculty is the traditional cow festival organized once a year since the 1930s, prior to final exams. The Cow Festival is the famous celebration when the top student in a given class is forced to parade the streets on a cow – a play on words since “cow” is slang for nerd in Turkish. It is organized by a Festival Organization Committee elected from third and fourth year students. Faculty members, students and alumni join in the opening ceremony, reading the prayer of that year together. A "reading cow sculpture" was built in front of the faculty by the Festival Organization Committee 2000.

Notable alumni

Mülkiye March was composed by Musa Süreyya and its lyrics were written by Cemal Edhem as alumni of Class of 1921. Its first two lines translated as: "We do not want another love, because it is your love in our hearts; stop weeping, beloved country, because we have arrived."