Programme Information

The Architecture Undergraduate Program is a 240 ECTS program and the graduation period is 4 academic years consisting of 8 semesters, and as in other departments of our university that provide undergraduate education, 1 ECTS in the Architecture Undergraduate Education Program corresponds to 30 (hours/semester) of education-teaching workload on the student. The language of education-teaching is Turkish.

Our department started its first education in 2012 and produced its first graduates in 2016. In 2013, the Urban Studies and Management Thesis/Non-thesis MA and Urbanism and Urban Transformation PhD Programs were established under the Department of Architecture, and postgraduate education was strengthened with the opening of the Architecture Thesis MA and PhD Programs in 2016. Our department, which prepares many graduates for the professional environment with its rapidly developing and renewed academic education and infrastructure, was established with the aim of training architects who are sensitive to scientific and professional developments in the field of architecture, can understand and interpret research and practices carried out on national and international platforms, and can produce studies in this field.

Vision of the Department of Architecture

To be a recognized, pioneering, and continuously evolving department that is the preferred choice for graduates; that cultivates responsible professionals—equipped to lead the country's development and progress, and characterized by an innovative, inquisitive, and participatory spirit as well as respect for professional ethics and human values; that trains dynamic academics who conduct research and generate knowledge in the field of architecture at national and international levels while upholding ethical values; and that aims to carry out high-value-added work—utilizing advanced education and research techniques in technology—to elevate society's technological, socio-economic, and cultural standards.

Mission of the Department of Architecture

The aim is to educate virtuous, leader architects who can carry tradition into the future; possess creative, inquisitive, and innovative mindsets; have acquired knowledge and skills in theory, design, and practice; are capable of interdisciplinary collaboration; adapt to the dynamics of the era; and uphold ethical values. Furthermore, the objective is to prepare and implement curricula that evolve in line with the contemporary architectural landscape, produce academic work meeting national and international standards, and foster an academic environment that monitors and supports developments in the field of architecture.

Opportunities Offered to Students:

Opportunity to learn a foreign language (Free),
Opportunity to do a minor ( Scholarship during the normal education period of the major program),
Opportunity to do a double major ( Scholarship during the normal education period of the double major program),
Opportunity to study abroad with international exchange programs (1 or 2 semesters),
Opportunity to continue postgraduate programs after graduation.

Career Opportunities:

Thanks to the internship, vocational training practices and part-time work opportunities offered throughout their undergraduate education, our students can start working in the companies where they did their internship after graduation. On the other hand, construction companies and private architecture offices that will meet the needs of the rapidly developing construction sector are among the organizations where our graduates can find work. In addition to the opportunity to find work in public institutions and municipalities, there is also the opportunity to open a private architecture office individually or as a group. Our department, which encourages and supports entrepreneurship, guides our students who want to open their own architecture offices or pursue an academic career.

The most frequently used Instructional Methods of the educational programs of Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University are given below.

• Expression
• Question-Answer
• Discussion
• Exercise and Practice
• Presentation
• Guided Practice
• Role Playing
• Group Study
• Simulation
• Brain Storming
• Six Hat
• Case Study
• Experiment - Test / Lab/ Workshop / Field Practice
• Self study
• Problem Solving
• Project Based Learning (Including Field Work)

The most frequently used Evaluation Methods of the educational programs of Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University are given below.

• Testing (Essay / Tests: True-Falls, multiple-choice, short answer, matching)
• Oral Exam
• Homework
• Project / Design
• Portfolio
• Performance Assignment ( Lab / Workshop / Field Work / Seminar / Presentation / Completion Study / Thesis

Students who successfully complete this program are eligible to receive a Bachelor of Architecture degree.

Students of Turkish nationality are accepted to the Architecture Undergraduate Program based on the results of the YKS (Numerical) Exam conducted by the Student Selection & Placement Center (ÖSYM).

Foreign students are accepted to the program based on the evaluation of their direct applications to the university.

In order to graduate from this program, students must take at least 240 ECTS courses, have a GPA of at least 2.00 out of 4.00, and complete their internships within the specified period and characteristics.

Procedures to recognise prior learning (RPL), including non-formal and informal learning, is in an early stage of development in Turkey and there is no a comprehensive and enabling legislative framework at the national level in place yet. However, within the institutional autonomy respected there are some implementations at the institutional level for allocating credits towards exemption from some programme requirements on the basis of RPL. This is particularly a wide spread exercise implemented in cases that students, having a certain level of knowledge, skills and competencies in relation to fields such as foreign languages and computer use, prior to admission to the university, are subjected to an examination and if they are found successful to a certain degree required by the programme they have been admitted to, they are exempted from the relevant course units of the course programme. RPL is also practiced for students who wish to transfer their studies to the equal or an upper levels at an another institution including those from abroad in the same or similar fields. In such cases, students, having received some course units in a previous programme they had studied and having been successful, may be  exempted from the same or similar course units of the programmes they are admitted to upon the approval the adaptation committees of the programmes.
 
Such procedures of recognition are also used comprehensively in practice at our university. The general arrangements for the recognition of such implementations are outlined in the relevant section of our Education and Examination Regulations, Rules & regulations for Postgraduate Programmes and that of Regulations for Lateral Transfer of Students.

Thanks to the internship, vocational training practices and part-time work opportunities offered throughout their undergraduate education, our students can start working in the companies where they did their internship after graduation. On the other hand, construction companies and private architecture offices that will meet the needs of the rapidly developing construction sector are among the organizations where our graduates can find work. In addition to the opportunity to find work in public institutions and municipalities, there is also the opportunity to open a private architecture office individually or as a group. Our department, which encourages and supports entrepreneurship, guides our students who want to open their own architecture offices or pursue an academic career.

The students graduating from this program may apply to second cycle programs.