page_title: Turkish Military Academy
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Turkish Military Academy / History
caption_attribution_description: English: View from 167th semester graduation ceremony activities at the Turkish Military Academy, Ankara. With the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (His Excellency). 2016 events in Military Academy Command.
context_page_description: The Turkish Military Academy is a four-year co-educational military academy part of the National Defence Univercity, located in the center of Ankara, Turkey. Its mission is to develop cadets mentally and physically for service as commissioned officers in the Turkish Army.
context_section_description: In recognition of intense demands of science and technology on modern warfare, the Ottoman State abolished the Janissaries and founded the Military Academy in Istanbul in 1834 as an institution devoted to the arts and science of warfare by the order of Sultan Mahmud II. The Academy produced its first graduates in 1841. After the foundation of military high schools in 1845, the Academy continued to give education with a four-year curriculum. The Academy had primarily trained artillery and cavalry officers until 1908.
  The Military Academies that were founded in five army centers in Adrianople (now known as Edirne in English), Manastır (now Bitola, North Macedonia), Erzincan, Damascus and Bagdad were closed after a short while. Later, only the Military Academy in Constantinople continued education and training.
  By applying an intensive training program to train soldiers for the fronts during the consecutive war periods, Turkish Military Academy (TMA) started training and education on 1 July 1920 in Abidin Pasha Mansion in Ankara during the Truce Period. TMA produced its first graduates on 1 November 1920. Atatürk hereby penned down his feelings in the book of honor: "Turkish Grand Assembly is pleased to see that the first officers of independence who are trained with the national oath of ‘Either independence or death!’ are introduced to our nation and entrusted with their missions." Following the Lausanne Treaty, TMA started education in Constantinople (known in English as Istanbul after 1930) again.
  Having been transferred to Ankara, the TMA started education in a new building on 25 September 1936. Academy's two-year education period was rearranged as to be a three-year education in 1948, two years in 1963, three years in 1971, and finally four years in 1974.
  While TMA offered bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Administration/Management between the years 1974-1991, the Academy made a gradual transition to Systems Engineering program. Systems Engineering Program produced its first graduates in 1994. With the Army Regulation for the Military Academies that was passed on 11 May 2000 in the Turkish Grand National Assembly, TMA was recognized as a higher education institution and thus, this served as a basis for the TMA to be organized in a university structure as a contemporary higher education institution.
  The construction of the monument has started September 1995 and it was opened on October 8th, 1997.
  After 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt Military academy along with Naval Academy and Air Force Academy subordinated to new National Defence Univercity which formed under Ministry of National Defence.
caption: Turkish Military Academy of Sanjak flag
exif: {}