Galatasaray University is a Turkish university established in İstanbul, Turkey in 1992, following an agreement signed in the presence of President François Mitterrand of France and President Turgut Özal of Turkey during a ceremony at Galatasaray High School, the mother school of the university. Turkey's Ambassador to France, Coşkun Kırca, played an important role in organizing the agreement. Galatasaray University is one of the most important members of the Galatasaray Community as Galatasaray High School and Galatasaray Sports Club, and is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious and notable universities in Turkey. Galatasaray University is the only Francophone University in Turkey. The establishment has five faculties ; two institutes, 200 teachers and 2500 students. As a participant in the European exchange programs Erasmus and Socrates, Galatasaray University accommodates around 50 European students. Meanwhile, 100 students of Galatasaray University travel each year to France within the framework of these exchange programs. In essence, Galatasaray University represents a secular tradition of teaching. Courses at Galatasaray University are tri-lingual: in Turkish, French and English. Apart from French which is the primary foreign language, fluency in English as the secondary foreign language is also required. Also, the students have to follow a third language course during their studies, which is either Spanish or German according to their choice. For the Faculty of Engineering, the preparatory period includes only one year of linguistic training. Galatasaray University is located at Ortaköy within the borough of Beşiktaş, a populous central district on the European side of İstanbul. The building that accommodates Galatasaray University was originally the Feriye Palace, a coastal summer palace on the Bosphorus built in 1871. Galatasaray University is heir to the centuries-old traditions of Galatasaray High School which was established in 1481 as the Galata Sarayı Enderun-u Hümayunu.
History
In 1871, during the reign of Sultan Abdülaziz, the building was built by Ottoman Armenian architect Sarkis Balyan. The building was used as a dormitory for the female students of the Galatasaray High School until 1992, when it was inaugurated as the Galatasaray University. On January 22, 2013, the roof of a building used by professors and secretaries for offices caught on fire. The cause was assumed to be electrical, since a small outlet fire occurred at around 6:00 pm. After campus security stabilized the fire and disabled the alarm, the fire spread inside the walls of the building to the roof. The fire was contained at approximately 10:00 pm.
;Faculty of Law The last student to be admitted to Galatasaray University Law School for 2016-2017 academic period, is the 87th of 2.255.386 students sorted by their score in ÖSYS. In 2019, still the students to be admitted to the Galatasaray University Law School are in the first 100 students sorted by their score of the central exam. This highly selective process, coupled with the quality of the professors makes the Galatasaray University Law School one of the bestlaw schools in Turkey. Galatasaray Law School ranks as the number one law school in Turkey almost every year.
