ITU is Ready for the New Academic Year with 16 Dual Degree Programs

ITU Dual Degree Programs, which gave successful graduates in 14 fields in the 2020-2021 academic year, will continue to be in 16 fields one of the important instruments of ITU in internationalization in the 2021-2022 academic year

Istanbul Technical University Dual Degree Programs are programs that have been implemented and are being conducted successfully with the mission of ensuring the establishment, execution and development of international collaborations in order to train designers, engineers, artists and business managers who can play a role in the emergence of products that can add value to our country in high-quality R&D and innovation studies. In the 2020-2021 academic year, the Dual Degree Programs, with 14 programs open to new student admission, made a significant contribution to ITU's internationalization by giving successful graduates.

In 2000, with the encouragement of the Council of Higher Education, Istanbul Technical University initiated a cooperation with The State University of New York (SUNY) to develop dual degree programs at the undergraduate level. As a result of this collaboration, the journey of Dual Degree Programs has started with the departments of Management, Economics, Information Systems Engineering, Ship Machinery and Management Engineering, and Maritime Transportation and Management Engineering opened jointly with SUNY campuses in the 2003-2004 academic year.

In 2006, Bioengineering and Environmental Sciences and Management programs with Montana State University; in 2007, Industrial Engineering with Southern Illinois University Edwardsville; and in 2014, Electronics and Communications Engineering programs with New Jersey Institute of Technology University started to accept students. In 2019, dual degree programs were launched with Azerbaijan Architecture and Construction University in Civil Engineering, and with International University of Sarajevo in Architecture, Electronics and Communication Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Economics departments. Environmental Sciences and Management, Environmental Engineering, Economics, and Industrial Engineering programs from a total of 18 programs that have been opened so far have been closed to new student admission.

Most prestigious award to ITU’s dual degree programs

In 2007, dual degree programs received the Andrew Heiskell Award for Innovation in International Education, one of the most prestigious awards in international higher education. As of 2021, ITU carries out a total of 16 dual degree programs in 7 fields with SUNY Universities and 9 fields with other partner universities. These programs and partner universities are:

Management                                                                                          – SUNY New Paltz

Fashion Design                                                                                       – SUNY Fashion Institute of Technology

Textile Development and Marketing                                                  – SUNY Fashion Institute of Technology

Information Systems Engineering                                                       – SUNY Binghamton

Civil Engineering                                                                                     – SUNY Buffalo

Ship Machinery and Management                                                      – SUNY Maritime College

Maritime Transportation and Management Engineering                – SUNY Maritime College

Bioengineering                                                                                        – Montana State University

Electronics and Communication Engineering                                    – New Jersey Institute of Technology

Civil Engineering                                                                                      – Azerbaijan Architecture and Construction University

Architecture                                                                                              – International University of Sarajevo

Economics                                                                                                 – International University of Sarajevo

Electronics and Communication Engineering                                     – International University of Sarajevo

Mechanical Engineering                                                                           – International University of Sarajevo

Marine Engineering with Specialisation in Autonomous Marine Vehicles     - Strathclyde University, UK

Industrial Engineering                                                                                             - SUNY Binghamton, ABD

Bilateral agreements continued in 2021

The program, which is planned to be launched in the field of Industrial Engineering with Binghamton University in 2021, has received the approval of the Council of Higher Education and is expected to start accepting students in the near future. The Naval Architecture and Marine Mechanical Engineering program, which is carried out in partnership with the University of Strathclyde in the United Kingdom again in 2021, is another program that is expected to start accepting students in the near future. As of 2021, ITU Dual Degree Programs has more than 2000 graduates in total.

Although it varies according to the department, dual degree programs are 4-year undergraduate programs in which students spend half of their education at ITU and the other half at a partner university with which the program is contracted. Students who successfully complete the programs are entitled to receive two separate undergraduate diplomas from both ITU and partner university campuses at the end of their education. In order to be included in these programs, students must have received sufficient scores from the ÖSYM university entrance exams.

Each program is shaped according to the needs of the departments. In line with the curriculum determined jointly among partner universities, generally the 1st and 3rd years of education are given at ITU, and the 2nd and 4th years are given in partner campuses. Dual degree programs prepare students for the global business environment of the globalizing world by experiencing two different cultures and even enabling them to study together with students from many different countries of the world. In addition, in programs carried out jointly with universities in the USA, students who complete their last year of education in the USA stay in the USA for at least one more year and have a work permit in a field related to their departments. In this way, they get the opportunity to make a great contribution to their professional life by starting their work experience in America.

Praise to ITU from overseas program coordinators

The programs have greatly contributed to universities in both countries. Valerie Chou, former coordinator of Binghamton University, one of our partner universities, said the following about the programs: “We are very lucky to have Turkish dual degree students on the campus of Binghamton University. They brought their past experiences and cultural perspectives to our campus, allowing our campus staff, professors and other students to experience these different perspectives.”

Elif İpek, a graduate of the ITU-Fashion Institute of Technology (SUNY FIT) Fashion Design Dual Degree Program, expressed her experiences about the programs as follows: “ITU-SUNY program was definitely the best school to choose in the field of fashion design and I have never regretted my choice. When I researched the fashion departments of other schools, I saw that they did not give as much importance to technical education as ITU. FIT is already one of the most established fashion schools in America, even the world, and having FIT written on your CV will always open different doors for you.”

Elif Yıldırım, a graduate of the ITU-Buffalo University Civil Engineering Dual Degree Program, shares her program experience as follows: “There is no need to mention the quality of ITU's engineering departments among universities in Turkey. This dual degree program also allows us to study abroad for two years and to have a diploma from both universities. This is the main reason why I chose this program. In addition, I had the opportunity to meet many international students and I was very impressed by the cultural differences and social atmosphere I learned about. More importantly, choosing this program was a turning point in my life because this decision shaped my career goals.”

You can find more information about the programs at http://www.dualdiploma.itu.edu.tr/en/ddp.