About ITU 

ITU was established in 1773, during the time of the Ottoman Sultan Mustafa III. With its original name "Muhendishane-i Bahr-i Humayun", The Royal School of Naval Engineering, its responsibility was to educate chart masters and ship builders. In 1795, the "Muhendishane-i Berr-i Humayun", The Royal School of Military Engineering, was established to educate the technical staff in the army. In 1847, education in the field of architecture was also introduced.

Established in 1883, the School of Civil Engineering assumed the name "Engineering Academy", with the aim of teaching essentials skills needed in planning and implementing the country’s new infrastructure projects. Gaining university status in 1928, the Engineering Academy continued to provide education in the fields of engineering and architecture until it was incorporated into ITU in 1944. Finally, in 1946, ITU became an autonomous university which included the Faculties of Architecture, Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Electrical and Electronic Engineering.

With a history stretching back over 227 years, providing technical education within a modern educational environment and strong academic staff, ITU is strongly identified with architectural and engineering education in Turkey. Since its inception and foundation under Ottoman rule, ITU has constantly lead the way in reform movements, and in the latter era of the Republic of Turkey, ITU has assumed pivotal roles in the reconstruction, modernization, and administration of the country. The efforts and expertise of ITU graduates have been major contributors in the planning and construction of Turkey’s roads, bridges, dams, factories, buildings, energy plants, communication networks, villages and cities. ITU is a state university which defines and continues to update methods of engineering and architecture in Turkey. It provides its students with modern educational facilities while retaining traditional values, as well as using its strong international contacts to mould young, talented individuals who can compete in the global arena.

Campuses
Of ITU's five campuses, the main campus is located at Ayazağa, a recently developed business area. The Rector's office and administrative units are situated on this campus. Faculties of: Civil Engineering, Electric and Electronic Engineering, Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, Minig, Science and Letters, Aeronautics, and Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering are all on this campus which extends over an area of 247 hectares. Of the five institutes ITU has, four are located on this campus comprising: the Institute of Earth Sciences and the Institute of Information Technology.

The addition to the campus of the Central Library, computer labs and the 75th Anniversary Student Social Center make this area a busy and lively one for its student population. The total halls of the residence capacity currently stands at 2,930. The halls overlooking the artificial lake on the Ayazağa Campus, with a total capacity of 672 beds, are of a high standard consisting of 12 blocks, each housing 56 students. Of the four halls overlooking the valley, 2 house 60 male students each and 2 house 60 female students each.

The first blocks of the Ayazağa Girl's Hall for 400 students were opened in 1995, with the remaining blocks due for completion soon. ITU Student Complex which houses 1400 students has sports facilities and a social center inside its four blocks.

The Süleyman Demirel Social and Cultural Center was newly opened in April 2000. This center occupies 9200 m2 on the Ayazağa Campus and features a conference hall, a lobby, shops, clubs, offices, canteen.

Student social club activities are centered around the Culture and Arts Association, while sports activities are organized by the Physical Education Department. ITU hosts various sports competitions in its sports facilities which include the tennis courts and the gymnasium. In May every year, approximately heralding spring time, the Ayazağa Campus becomes a center of color as the student cultural and sports festivals get underway.

The Ayazağa campus can be reachable in ten minutes from the village of Istinye on the Bosphorus. Travel by water from the Istinye bay to Kadıköy and the Anatolian side is possible. It takes about 20 minutes to get to the city campuses in normal traffic, when there are no traffic-jams. Public buses setting out from the campus provide transportation to Taksim, the lively center of modern Istanbul.

The Gümüşsuyu, Taşkışla and Maçka campuses are located in the city center. The campuses at Gümüşsuyu and Taşkışla are both in the Taksim area which has served as the trade and cultural center of the city since the 19th century.

The Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, the gymnasium and the outdoor sports facilities are all located on the Gümüşsuyu campus. Both the girl's residence hall, accomodating 54, and the boy's hall'which has recently been renovated thanks to grants from ITU alumni'with a total capacity of 254 students, offer high standards of accomodation. The Arı student Center on this campus organises social and cultural activities for its students.

The Faculty of Architecture, the Social Sciences Institute, the Department of Fine Arts, the Continuous Education Center, the Rectorate and the ITU Development city-center offices are all located on the Taşkışla campus.

The Faculty of Management, The Department of Languages and History of Ataturk Reforms, the Turkish Music State Conservatory, ITU Foundation Offices and ITU Social Complexes are all located on the Maçka campus. An English Preparatory Program is provided by the Department of Languages. The Social Complex offers external and internal guests services at its hotel, restaurants, outdoor swimming pool and tennis courts. In addition, this campus is also home to a nursery. A cable-car shuttle nearby provides cheap and pleasant transportation between Maçka and Taşkışla.

The Maritime Faculty is located on the Tuzla campus with an area of 16.5 hectares. The fully equipped Maritime training pool is on this campus and the ITU Mediteranian Ship is anchored in the campus harbour.

Environmental Engineering Department (EED) of Istanbul Technical University (ITU), being one of the leading departments of Turkish Republic (TR) in the field of environmental engineering education and research, had first started as a graduate program in 1973 within the School of Civil Engineering, and the department itself was established in 1975, followed by the initiation of the undergraduate program in 1978. In 1978, the undergraduate program had started with a group of staff consisting of 2 Professors, 4 Research Assistants with Ph.D. degrees and of 4 assistants conducting their graduate studies. Now, there are 17 Full Professors, 6 Associate Professors, Assistant Professors, 3 Instructors and 17 Research Assistants in the department.

Environmental Engineering Department (EED) at Istanbul Technical University houses the two leading graduate programs "Environmental Biotechnology (EnviroBioTech)" and "Environmental Science and Engineering (EnvSciEng)" namely. The Department is a highly dynamic and exciting education and research centre, which attracts highly qualified students and top-class academics. The department accommodates total of 5 laboratories for research and education, several lab-scale and pilot-scale systems.

The mission of the department is to provide a professionally recognized, premium education that prepares engineers to identify, evaluate and solve complex problems involving environmental science and engineering. This is accomplished through the excellence in teaching and research, concentrating on the design and implementation of proper, feasible, and sustainable solutions with a global and inter-disciplinary perspective in environmental real-world issues. As a result of the strengths, the premium education, fundamental and applied research, well-equipped graduates, and proficient expertise generating from the Department have been sought after locally, nationally, and internationally.

Until July 2007, about 1326 environmental engineering students have completed the four-year undergraduate program to receive B.Sc. degrees from the Environmental Engineering Department (EED), together with 330 M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees. Currently, the Department has 215 undergraduate, 85 M.Sc. and 45 Ph.D. students registered as of July 2004.

The Environmental Engineering Undergraduate Program accepts about 50 students every year including the first rank students from reputable high schools of the country and foreign students.