The Faculty of Political Sciences is located within the Istanbul University Beyazit campus in the heart of the old city. The campus is in close proximity of the Hagia Sophia Basilica, and the Blue Mosque. It is next to the Suleymaniye Mosque and the Grand Bazaar.

Our faculty formerly served as the guard quarters of the Daire-i Umur-ı Askeriye, i.e. the Ministry of War of the Ottoman Empire, now the main building of the University. Both buildings were constructed between 1867 and 1874. The guard quarters was known as the Bekir Ağa Division, named after its rigid leader, and housed some 200 soldiers.

During the Second Constitutional period, after 1908 and particularly after World War I, the building was used as a detention centre for political prisoners. The occupant British forces in Istanbul held leading members of the İttihat ve Terakki Partisi (i.e. the Committee of Union and Progress, which dominated the Ottoman administration during its last decades) — such as the pioneers of Turkish nationalism, Ziya Gökalp and Hüseyin Cahit Yalçın — imprisoned here, before transferring them to Malta. The founder of the Turkish Republic, Atatürk, visited his friends here at a few occasions, while they were held in what now are the bottom floor amphitheatres of the Faculty.

The Faculty of Political Sciences looks forward to hosting academics from abroad as lecturers and research fellows as well as undergraduate and post-graduate students, and thereby making the Faculty a lively intellectual centre of international debates in all fields of Political Science, Economics and International Relations. 

In line with Turkey's application for full membership to the EU and its status as a candidate country, we are aiming to enhance the EU awareness of our students who take jobs in the public administration and the foreign service as well as the private sector when they graduate. For this purpose we are aiming to approximate our curricula with those of the EU universities, to give our students the opportunity to increase their international experience by spending a semester / year of their education abroad, by attending post-graduate programmes, summer schools and language courses. Improving courses on Gender Studies and Turkish Politics in our post-graduate programmes is another objective in the medium term. 

There are already a considerable number of international students from the New Independent States and the Balkan countries in the undergraduate and post-graduate programmes of the Faculty. In order to facilitate the international transfer of course credits between universities, we have adopted the grading system of credits per semester. 

The language of instruction in our Faculty is Turkish. However, the students of the Department of International Relations have to go through a one-year intensive training of the English language before they start their undergraduate education. Their knowledge of foreign languages is enhanced by compulsory intensive courses of Diplomatic and Professional English courses as well as elective courses of professional French and German. 

The Faculty of Political Sciences offers a convenient environment to study Turkish political life, contemporary Turkish history and Turkish foreign policy due to both its academic staff working in the field, and the facilities of the Istanbul University that offer Turkish, Greek and Ottoman language courses. 

The biannually published refereed Journal of the Faculty of Political Sciences accepts articles in both Turkish and English, thus enabling our visiting scholars to publish their research. 

With the improvement of its international character, our Faculty aims to conduct an increased number of research projects and to host international conferences and summer schools.

Acceptance

Each year 300 students are accepted to the Faculty of Political Sciences through a nation-wide examination (OSS) organised by the Office of Higher Education for all Turkish candidates. 

Foreign students have to pass a "Foreign Students Examination" organised by the same Office (YOS). Application for this Examination are made to the Board of Higher Education directly between the months of January and May and the Exam takes place in June. 

Students from Turkic Republics have to pass an examination in their own country before they take the Exam for Students from Turkic Republics (TCS organised by the Board of Higher Education). 

Our Faculty also accepts students under the Student Mobility programmes of the EU, i.e. Socrates/ERASMUS. There are currently international students from Afghanistan, Albania, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Romania, Russia, Sudan, Syria, Serbia and Montenegro, Tadjikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, the US and Uzbekistan enrolled in our programmes. 

In accordance with the restructuring began in 1998, the educational activities of Istanbul University are organized to fit a standard calendar. The academic year begins in October and ends in the first half of January. Spring term is from February to the end of May. Examinations are given at the end of each term. Students unsuccessful in these examinations can attend the summer school. Students who have successfully completed their undergraduate courses receive their diplomas in a Graduation Ceremony in July. The Graduation Ceremony is held with the contribution of all the faculties and colleges, and every year some 10 000 students get together to share the pleasure of the occasion.

Life At the Faculty

There is a student canteen in our faculty, and two large lunch restaurants are located right behind the faculty building, one for students, the other for academic and administrative staff. Near the main gate a somewhat more expensive restaurant called the House of Professors (Profesörler Evi), can be found, in a beautiful historic building. In addition to the computer club, there are two student computer halls in the faculty, offering access to the Internet. The faculty sports club offers possibilities for any student interested in football (soccer), basketball, volleyball, ping-pong, chess, mountaineering and other sports. There are two basketball grounds and one tennis court next to the faculty building. Within the campus, by the main gate, there is a postal office. Two banks also have campus offices and there are also some cash dispensers available.

Student Clubs

Fifteen student clubs are currently active at the Faculty of Political Sciences. They include the clubs of business, theatre, computer, political sciences, public finance, music, scientific research, sport, environment, culture, folklore and international relations.

International Relations Club (IRC)

The Club was established in 1998 by 20 students and it turned into a family that includes 200 students in four years. The aim of IRC is to inform its members about global issues. To this end the Club organises itself into several working groups and also holds conferences and meetings where its members find an opportunity to meet academic and non-academic experts in their field. In addition to its academic dimension, IRC provides a stimulating social-life to its members by traditional picnics and sporting activities.

Accomodation, Health Services and Counselling

Istanbul University is supportive of its students in relation to their accommodation problems and offers approximately 1500 students the opportunity to reside on campus. New hostels were added to the existing ones in the 2000-2001 academic year . Students apply for admittance to hostels as they register. Detailed information on hostels can be obtained from the Guidance-Counseling Social Support Units which operate in 11 separate centers. The teaching staff of Istanbul University appointed to these centers aim to help the students throughout their education. The university offers free health services to its students at the five medico-social centers situated at various places on the campuses (one is located in close proximity of the Faculty of Political Sciences) and at the two faculties of Medicine that are among the best established health institutions in Turkey. Initial examinations and treatment are supplied for the students and their families, whether they be covered or not by a social security scheme, at these medico-social centers, and treatment is followed up, if necessary, at the hospitals of the faculties of Medicine.

Language Courses

It is possible to attend courses in Arabic, Persian, Greek and Ottoman language offered by the Faculty of Literature of Istanbul University, located at the Beyazit Campus.

There are also certificate programmes in foreign languages at the Department of Foreign Languages. These programmes cover preparatory, intermediate, or advanced level German, French or English.