Galatasaray University

Galatasaray Education Institution was established by force of law pursuant to the agreement concluded between the Government of the Republic of Turkey and the Government of the French Republic on April 14, 1992, and published in the Official Gazette dated May 22, 1992, and numbered 21235, by a decision of the Council of Ministers (decision dated May 4, 1992, and numbered 92/2991). According to the founding agreement and its approved statutes, the "Advanced Technology Higher School" is among the units within GEÖK, and its mission is defined as training high-level engineers. The name of this higher school was later changed to "Engineering and Technology Higher School" in accordance with the Regulation on the Establishment and Operation of GEÖK and the General Regulation on Higher Education Units of GEÖK, published in the Official Gazette dated November 13, 1993, and numbered 21757. The Department of Industrial Engineering was established within this higher school and first admitted students in the 1993-1994 academic year.

25 months after its establishment, Galatasaray Higher Education Institution gained university status with the Establishment and Staffing Law No. 3993, published in the Official Gazette No. 21952 on June 6, 1994, and, in accordance with its founding public legal entity status, adopted the name "Galatasaray University" as a state university. In line with this new status, the Faculty of Engineering and Technology was established under the Rectorate, and the Department of Industrial Engineering has been affiliated with this faculty since that date.

The Department of Industrial Engineering, which has continuously run the Undergraduate Program in Industrial Engineering since its establishment, is also responsible for running the Master's Program in Industrial Engineering (with thesis) (1997 to present), the Master's Program in Engineering Management (without thesis in evening classes) (2003 to present), the Doctoral Program in Industrial Engineering (2005 to present), and the Master's Program in Logistics and Finance Management (with thesis) (2011 to present), all within the Galatasaray University Institute of Science.

The undergraduate program in Industrial Engineering, which graduated its first cohort in 1997, has produced a total of 868 graduates as of July 2025. In the 2025–2026 academic year, the program hosts 171 undergraduate students. Students in the Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Program receive education in mathematics, fundamental engineering, and computer science, as well as in operations research, simulation, engineering economics, financial management, production management, quality management, facility planning, information technologies, and human resources management. The language of instruction is French, with English as a second foreign language in the curriculum, and graduates are required to have a good command of English in addition to French.

During the summer, students have the opportunity to put their theoretical knowledge into practice through mandatory internships at leading national and multinational companies in Turkey or abroad, gaining experience for their professional lives. Students utilize chemistry, mechanics, electronics, computer, and computer-aided design laboratories to carry out applications within the scope of fundamental engineering sciences. The Department of Industrial Engineering established a UNESCO Chair in Computer Integrated Manufacturing in 1997. Established in 1999 within the UNESCO Chair, the Computer Integrated Manufacturing laboratory supports undergraduate and postgraduate education and research activities in the field of modern manufacturing systems, providing students with the opportunity to reinforce their theoretical knowledge with practical applications.

The Department of Industrial Engineering participates in student exchange programs with many universities in European countries, primarily France, under the Erasmus+ program. The majority of graduates currently work as Industrial Engineers in various public and private institutions, while others continue their academic careers as faculty members or postgraduate students.

As of April 2026, the Department of Industrial Engineering consists of 16 full-time faculty members, including 7 Professors, 4 Associate Professors, and 5 Assistant Professors, as well as 5 Research Assistants. When the studies conducted are examined, it is generally observed that the faculty members of the Department apply existing or self-developed methods in the fields of multi-criteria decision making, fuzzy logic, nonlinear programming, stochastic programming, combinatorial optimization, general and heuristic optimization to technology management, logistics and supply chain management, new product-process management, disaster management, waste and return management, urban transportation management, inventory management, decision support systems design, investment analysis, project management, and sustainable engineering. The studies authored by the faculty members of the Department and included in the internationally recognized Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) and Social Sciences Index are also noteworthy.