page_title: Middle East Technical University
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Middle East Technical University / History
caption_attribution_description: English: METU, Faculty of Architecture, partial entrance hall, 1961-1980 SALT Research, Altuğ-Behruz Çinici Archive ODTÜ Mimarlık Fakültesi, bölümsel giriş cephesi, 1961-1980 SALT Araştırma, Altuğ-Behruz Çinici Arşivi
context_page_description: Middle East Technical University is a public technical university located in Ankara, Turkey. The university puts special emphasis on research and education in engineering and natural sciences, offering about 40 undergraduate programs within 5 faculties, 97 masters and 62 doctorate programs within 5 graduate schools. The main campus of METU spans an area of 11,100 acres, comprising, in addition to academic and auxiliary facilities, a forest area of 7,500 acres, and the natural lake Eymir. METU has more than 120,000 alumni worldwide. The official language of instruction at METU is English.
  Over one third of the 1,000 highest scoring students in the national university entrance examination choose to enroll in METU; and most of its departments accept the top 0.1% of the nearly 1.5 million applicants. METU had the greatest share in national research funding by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey in the last five years, and it is the leading university in Turkey in terms of the number of European Union Framework Programme projects participation. Over 40% of METU's undergraduate alumni choose to pursue graduate studies.
context_section_description: Middle East Technical University was founded under the name "Orta Doğu Teknoloji Enstitüsü" (Middle East Institute of Technology) on November 15, 1956, to contribute to the development of Turkey and the surrounding countries of the Middle East, Balkans, and Caucasus, by creating a skilled workforce in the natural and social sciences. "Arrangements and Procedures as for the Foundation of METU, Law No 6213" was enacted on January 22, 1957, whereby the current name "Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi" (ODTÜ) was adopted. Finally, the "Foundation Act No 7907", setting forth the particular standing of METU and establishing it as a juridical entity, was enacted on May 27, 1959.
  In the early years immediately following its foundation, METU was temporarily hosted in a small building that previously belonged to the Social Security Office of Retirees in Kızılay and another building near the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. In 1963, the university moved to its current location west of Ankara city center, creating the first university campus of Turkey. In 1956, the Department of Architecture initiated the first academic program at METU, followed by the Department of Mechanical Engineering in the spring of 1957. At the start of the 1957–1958 academic year, the Faculty of Architecture, the Faculty of Engineering, and the Faculty of Administrative Sciences were established. In 1959, the establishment of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences was completed. The Faculty of Education launched its academic program in 1982.
caption: METU Faculty of Architecture is the first building of the campus
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