Middle East Technical University


Middle East Technical University is a public technical university located in Ankara, Turkey. The university puts special emphasis on research and education in engineering and natural sciences, offering about 40 undergraduate programs within 5 faculties, 97 masters and 62 doctorate programs within 5 graduate schools. The main campus of METU spans an area of, comprising, in addition to academic and auxiliary facilities, a forest area of, and the natural lake Eymir. METU has more than 120,000 alumni worldwide. The official language of instruction at METU is English.
Over one third of the 1,000 highest scoring students in the national university entrance examination choose to enroll in METU; and most of its departments accept the top 0.1% of the nearly 1.5 million applicants. METU had the greatest share in national research funding by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey in the last five years, and it is the leading university in Turkey in terms of the number of European Union Framework Programme projects participation. Over 40% of METU's undergraduate alumni choose to pursue graduate studies.

History

Middle East Technical University was founded under the name "Orta Doğu Teknoloji Enstitüsü" on November 15, 1956, to contribute to the development of Turkey and the surrounding countries of the Middle East, Balkans, and Caucasus, by creating a skilled workforce in the natural and social sciences. "Arrangements and Procedures as for the Foundation of METU, Law No 6213" was enacted on January 22, 1957, whereby the current name "Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi" was adopted. Finally, the "Foundation Act No 7907", setting forth the particular standing of METU and establishing it as a juridical entity, was enacted on May 27, 1959.
In the early years immediately following its foundation, METU was temporarily hosted in a small building that previously belonged to the Social Security Office of Retirees in Kızılay and another building near the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. In 1963, the university moved to its current location west of Ankara city center, creating the first university campus of Turkey. In 1956, the Department of Architecture initiated the first academic program at METU, followed by the Department of Mechanical Engineering in the spring of 1957. At the start of the 1957–1958 academic year, the Faculty of Architecture, the Faculty of Engineering, and the Faculty of Administrative Sciences were established. In 1959, the establishment of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences was completed. The Faculty of Education launched its academic program in 1982.

Organization

Faculties and departments

METU has 42 academic departments, most of which are organized into 5 faculties. These are responsible for the undergraduate programs.
In addition to these, there are the Department of Basic English and the Department of Modern Languages in the School of Foreign Languages; the Technical Vocational School of Higher Education; and, bound directly to the President's Office, the Department of Turkish Language and the Department of Music and Fine Arts.

Graduate schools

The 5 graduate schools present in METU are responsible for the graduate programs.
As of 2010, METU has approximately 23,000 students, of which 15,800 are enrolled in undergraduate programs, 4,500 in masters, and 2,700 in doctorate programs. A further 1,500 students are attending programs in the new Northern Cyprus Campus. Over 40% of METU's students go on to graduate school. Each academic year, METU hosts over 1,500 regular international students from nearly 80 different countries; and through 168 Erasmus Programme agreements and 182 bilateral exchange and cooperation agreements with universities abroad, it sends 350 students and receives 300 students and 50 researchers annually. As of 2010, the university employs 2,500 faculty, 500 academic instructors, and over 2,000 research assistants. The number of the alumni exceeds 500,000.
METU has about 40 undergraduate programs within the faculties of Engineering, Architecture, Arts and Sciences, Economic and Administrative Sciences, and Education, and there are 97 masters and 62 doctorate programs available in the graduate schools of Natural and Applied Sciences, Social Sciences, Informatics, Applied Mathematics, and Marine Sciences. METU commonly ranks close to the top among research universities in Turkey, with over one third of the 1,000 highest scoring students in the national university entrance examination choosing to enroll; and most of its departments accepting the top 0.1% of the nearly 1.5 million applicants. In the Webometrics Ranking of World Universities published in July 2009, aiming to measure through web-based publications the institution size, research output, and impact, METU ranked as the world's 435th among 15,000 universities, being the only university from Turkey to get included among the top 500. Recently, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings published in September 2016 placed METU at the 501-600th position worldwide based on indicators of teaching, research, influence, innovation, and international character, making it one of the six universities from Turkey listed among the top 600. The QS World University Rankings 2010 by Quacquarelli Symonds ranked METU as 185th worldwide in the field of engineering and technology, and as 333rd in the field of natural sciences.
The language of instruction at METU is English. All enrolled students are required to have a degree of proficiency in English for academic purposes, and this is assured by a proficiency examination before the commence of studies. Students with unsatisfactory knowledge of English follow a preparatory English education for one year, given by the METU School of Foreign Languages. Two exceptions instructed in Turkish are the Turkish language and the history of Turkish revolution courses mandated by the Council of Higher Education.

International perspective

20122013201420152016
Times Higher Education World Ranking276-300201-225201-22585501-600
Times Higher Education Reputation91-10051-6071-80N/AN/A
QS World University Rankings Engineering185204118--
Webometrics Ranking of World Universities321321275--

Researchers from METU actively take part in many COST, EUREKA, NASA, NATO, NSF, UN, World Bank, Jean Monnet, Erasmus Mundus, Leonardo and SOCRATES projects. METU has been involved in 56 European Union 6th Framework Programme projects, including the coordination of 12 FP6 and 3 Networks of Excellence projects. Within the 7th Framework Programme, 33 research projects involve participation of METU, since 2007.
As of 2010, METU has 19 international joint degree programmes with European and American universities at the undergraduate and graduate levels. METU is a member of various associations and networks dealing with international education and exchange, including EUA, EAIE, IIE, GE3, SEFI, and CIEE. The university also actively participates in AIESEC and IAESTE summer internship programs. English as the language of instruction in all its degree programs has greatly facilitated METU's international involvements and accommodation of international students and researchers.
METU continually goes through external assessment, accreditation, and certification by international organizations. In 1991, METU initiated a long-term program to have its engineering programs evaluated by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, the recognized U.S. accreditor of college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology. This process was concluded with the Faculty of Engineering having all its thirteen undergraduate programs declared as "substantially equivalent" to the ABET accredited programs in the USA. The university has completed the evaluation process of Institutional Evaluation Programme of the European University Association in 2002.
Because of METU's effort to maintain international standards, the Faculty of Engineering was awarded in 1977 the "Silver Badge of Honor" by the UNESCO International Center for Engineering Education and the "Meritorious Achievement Award in Accreditation Activities" by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. METU was awarded the international Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1995 for its forestation program.
Being the pioneer institution of the country to connect to the Internet backbone in the early 1990s, METU also manages Turkey's Country Code Top-level Domain .

METU library

The METU main library has one of the largest collections in Turkey, containing nearly 489,000 books classified according to the Library of Congress Classification scheme. The library subscribes to 1,500 print journals and it provides access to 50,537 electronic journals, 200,120 electronic books, and 66 electronic reference sources. The library collections also hold over 1,780 book and serial CDs, 1,300 doctoral dissertations and 11,600 masters theses. Abstracts for doctoral dissertations and some master theses from North American colleges and universities and some accredited international universities are also provided, starting from 1861, with full texts available from the year 1997. All of library's collections are predominantly in English, but there are also items in Turkish, German, and French.

Campuses

Ankara campus

METU main campus in Ankara, used by the university since 1963, is the first university campus of Turkey. It is situated about 20 km west of central Ankara and encompasses an area of, of which constitute the METU Forest. The campus grounds was transformed into a forest with the continuing help of students and volunteers since the foundation of the university. The creation of this distinctive campus with its forest was spearheaded by the METU rector from 1961 to 1969, Kemal Kurdas.
Lake Eymir near Gölbaşı, inside the campus, is used by the students and faculty for rowing and recreational activities. The campus is accessible by several types of public transport, and the construction of METU subway station of the Ankara Metro on the main entrance to the campus is completed in 2014.

Northern Cyprus campus

The METU Northern Cyprus Campus, first overseas campus of a Turkish university, 50 km west of Nicosia on the island of Cyprus, admitted its first students during the academic year 2002–2003, but the doors were officially opened in Cyprus in September 2005.

Erdemli campus

METU Erdemli campus in Mersin Province on the Mediterranean coast, used by the Institute/Graduate School of Marine Sciences since 1975, is the first campus of METU out of Ankara. It is situated about 45 km from Mersin. Campus area is 660,000 m², close to the shore and surrounded by lemon trees. The laboratory space is about 700 m². METU-IMS Harbor is an important shelter for marine biological diversity on the Mersin coast. The harbor is the only intact rocky habitat along the long sandy coast.
Live footage from all campuses can be accessed via , a collection of six webcams in METU main campus, one in METU Northern Cyprus Campus, and one in the Graduate School of Marine Sciences, in Erdemli, Mersin.

METU-Technopolis

METU-Technopolis, or METUTECH, is the first science and research park of Turkey. Founded within the campus, it aims to facilitate the development of companies that conduct substantial research and development to produce high-tech products and services through benefiting from METU's research capacity and information pool. Priority is given to companies executing research and development work on information technologies, advanced materials, energy, automotive, chemistry, biology and environment technologies.
As of 2009, the METU-Technopolis project employs about 3,300 personnel, approximately 2,700 of which are researchers, working within 240 firms. Around 90% of the firms are small and medium enterprises, 65% of these are specialized in information and communication technologies, 25% in electronics, and 15% in other sectors such as aerospace, environment, bio-technology, nanotechnology, and advanced materials. The company profile also includes multinationals such as SBS, MAN, Cisco, and Siemens. To promote entrepreneurship and innovation, the incubation center at the METU-Technopolis serves 38 start-ups and micro sized companies, most of which start their life a spin-offs from METU research projects.
METU-Technopolis hosts partners to several European Union Sixth Framework Programme projects, such as NICE, SINCERE, ReSIST, SmeInnov8gate and IP4INNO.

Student life and culture

The student life at METU is marked with activities of student societies, frequent political protests, and festivals. The Cultural and Convention Center continually hosts a wide spectrum of cultural events and also regular occurrences such as the METU Jazz Days and METU Art Festival. The event with the largest number of participants is the annual METU Spring Festival, a five-day-long series of open-air concerts and exhibitions held at the main campus.
There are various traits shared by METU students, including the usage of an English–Turkish jargon which apparently stemming from the fact that English is the language of instruction covering academic processes and student life, which reputedly is not liked much by the students of other universities; and the omnipresent word "Hocam", which is used by METU students to address anyone from bus drivers to senior faculty members. Underneath this phrase lies the philosophy that everyone has something to learn from each other.
The main campus has dormitory capacity for nearly 7,000 students who benefit from the shopping center, banks, post office, and a wide variety of sports facilities, including gymnasiums, tennis courts, basketball and football fields, jogging trails, Olympic-size indoor swimming pool, and an outdoor swimming pool.

Student organizations

There are numerous student organizations active in METU. Some of these are:
AbbreviationFull nameFoundedDescriptionExternal link
METU AikidoMETU Aikido Society 2001The society of METU for people who are interested in Japanese martial art Aikido and also the biggest Aikido Dojo in Turkey. METU Aikido Society organises every year at METU. Visit .
OCİTMETU First Aid and Life Saving Society 1992OCİT aims to teach first aid and what to do in emergence situations. It's for gaining awareness of first aid and saving people. Further information visit
METU MECHMETU Mechanical Engineering and Innovation Society 2009METU MECH is a technical and social student club. Society activities varies from engineering projects to free lectures in numerous areas. The main aim of the club is to enhance scientific knowledge in METU and to provide a place where the undergraduate level research and development activities can be done. Society has an annual event named "ODTÜ Sanayi Günleri " which involves large company presentations as well as seminars.
BIYOGENMETU Biology and Genetics Society2004METU BIYOGEN is a student club which aims to improve the understanding of basic sciences, especially Biology and related sciences such as Evolutionary Biology within METU and also throughout Turkey. By using its subgroups such as Evrim Ağacı , Yaşam Ağacı magazine, AIDS Day Committee, etc. it organizes events that are open to public, in which the advancements in basic sciences are promoted and the public is informed. The society is also involved in academical research in basic sciences. Every year, the society organizes the largest Evolutionary Biology conferences of Turkey that are open to public, each of which includes more than 600 international participants.
HUTMETU Aerospace Students Society The aerospace interested students society of METU and one of the biggest members of the European Association of Aerospace Students, It organizes local events and takes part in international events of EUROAVIA.
HATMETU Aviation Club Paragliding Group1992The group has educated hundreds of people who love aviation and paragliding, and has set several records in Turkey. The training place frequently used by the group is Racon hill in Ankara, while for more advanced trainings the group organizes trips to other provinces of the country.
CCLUBMETU Computer Club1989The Computer Club aims to inform the members about computer technologies and increase the number of sources written in Turkish about computer science. CClub has been organising the Traditional Programming Contest every year since 1997. The club also has an electronic magazine called ":tr:E-bergi|e-bergi" which is published every month on the website http://www.e-bergi.com.
IEEEIEEE METU Student BranchThe METU branch of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers is one of the most active student societies on campus. Having twelve student sub-branches, IEEE METU Student Branch gets involved in both technical and social activities. The society is also active in Europe-wide projects and organizations such as the EESTEC. IEEE METU publishes the magazine Biltek four times a year.
VTMETU Productivity Club 1992A willing and active group aiming to foster relationships between the students, academics, and business world. With 70 enthusiastic active members and lots of beneficial projects, the club reaches a large student profile, especially to the engineering and management students. METU Productivity Club is the first Turkish member of the European Students of Industrial Engineering and Management, connecting the club to Europe since 1996.
SDTMETU Socialist Thought Club 1965One of the oldest societies of METU. It was founded in 1965 by 12 socialist students. During the beginning of the 1970s, it had more than 400 members. It was closed by rectorship in 1971, as a part of the oppressive policy of the oncoming military coup in the country. SDT was refounded in 2002 by students with massive events in the campus.
KGTMETU Classical Guitar Society 1975Founded by Ahmet Kanneci in 1975, it is Turkey's first guitar society and Ankara's first serious guitar education organization. The society aims to introduce and spread classical music culture. The society has raised some of the most talented artists and has been an active supporter of classical music with its voluntary classical guitar lessons, continuous music activities, and the annual International Classical Guitar Festival.
METU Capoeira Society2002A student society that deals with martial art capoeira. Founded by Şeyda Kavak in 2002. Its main focus is capoeira;but also focuses on Brazilian Culture. Since 2010, it is the representative of . The official website is
THBTTurkish Folklore Club 1961One of the oldest student societies in METU, mainly engaging in folk dance and folk music. It opens free courses for Turkish folk instruments and folk dances. Anatolian Musical Festival and Folklore Days are the events that the society organizes annually.
ORTMETU Robotic Society 2000A technical student society. Robotic Society organizes free technical courses to METU students. The society enters Formula-G in Turkey every year. MEŞ-e, the solar car built by the Robotic Society won the Formula-G 2005. Besides, The International METU Robotics Days event is hosted annually by the society.
ADTAtatürk's Thought Club1989A student society involved in political activities. The group organizes panel discussions and debates on various aspects of politics.
FPIRC/DPUİTMETU Foreign Policy and International Relations Club1992The club consists of 5 sub-groups which are "Hariciye", "News Report", "METU Model United Nations Society", "EUROsimA", and Conference&Public Relations
ILKYARFirst Aid SocietyAiming to introduce the concepts of moral and material aid to the elementary and high school students. The society organizes activities to raise money for these aids and it cooperates with many other companies and charities.
DKSKMountaineering & Winter Sports Club1963An important sports society in METU. This society became famous after their trip to the peak of Everest. The first Turkish female summitter, Eylem Elif Maviş, is a member of the society.
KTMTTurkish Classical Music Club Another society on music. The scope of KTMT is mostly on classical Turkish music instruments. Like THBT, KTMT also organizes free courses to students.
Book Club1996A student society about literature, books, and reading. The society organizes reading sessions every term and aims to increase students' scope of reading and intellectual abilities. Apart from organizing seminars about writers and literature, the society hosts renowned authors for panels.
SFFSScience Fiction and Fantasy Society A student club that unites students who are interested in science fiction and fantasy literature, cinema, comic Books, role playing games. The two major activities of the club are Treasure Hunt, one of the oldest and most popular activities of METU Spring Fest, and METUCON, a science fiction and fantasy convention held annually. Apart from TH and METUCON, the club organizes seminars and reading groups on science fiction and fantasy genre and film shows. Also a library dedicated to science fiction and fantasy literature is formed by the members of the club in years and everyone in the university can utilize it.
Chess ClubA student society with real chess-lover members. The club organizes several tournaments and activities about chess.
KDOMETU Karate-Do Club1984A branch of the METU Sports Club training Karate-Do in the style of Shotokan since 1984. Is a member of the World Karate Federation and the World Shotokan Karate-Do Federation. Attends in seminars and competitions worldwide. Achieved gold medal in 2004 WSKF World Championships held in Tokyo, Japan.
METU Bridge ClubA student society dedicated to introduce the game of bridge to the students of METU and eventually develop them into strong players. The club supplied a considerable number of young players to the Turkish Youth Bridge Teams over the last decade.
ODTÜ MTMETU Music SocietiesA student society with a primary mission of supporting amateur music since late 80s. The Music Societies is a very active society with events like Lake Festival, Metal Days, Amateur Music Days, Rock'n Blues Days, Rock Festival, and part of METU Spring Festival with no major sponsorship support and with fully voluntary work of society members. The society acts like a school for amateur musicians mainly in the genres of rock, metal and blues.
METU Classical Music SocietyAiming to organize concerts and recitals related to classical music.
ODOMETU Players 1960Metu Players is a university theatre club.
METU Musical Society "The Company" 1997A student society enacting musicals on various venues throughout the country.
METU Debating Society 2007A debating club hosting and attending to national and international British Parliamentary Style debating tournaments.
AATMETU Amateur Astronomy Society 1986A club of amateur astronomy enthusiasts to share the latest news and to give seminars to other students about astronomy.

Notable members

Faculty