Galatasaray University (Turkish: Galatasaray Üniversitesi, French: Université Galatasaray) is a Turkish university established in İstanbul, Turkey in 1992, following an agreement signed with the presence of President François Mitterrand of France and President Turgut Özal of Turkey during a ceremony at Galatasaray High School, the mother school of the university. Turkey's Ambassador to France, Coşkun Kırca, played an important role in organizing the agreement. Galatasaray University is one of the most important members of the Galatasaray Community as Galatasaray High School and Galatasaray Sports Club, and is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious and notable universities in Turkey.
Galatasaray University is the only Francophone University in Turkey. The establishment has five faculties (Economic and Administrative Sciences, Law, Communications, Natural Sciences and Literature, Engineering and Technology); two institutes (Social Sciences, Applied Sciences), 200 teachers and 2500 students.
As a participant in the European exchange programs Erasmus and Socrates, Galatasaray University accommodates around 50 European students. Meanwhile, 100 students of Galatasaray University travel each year to France within the framework of these exchange programs.
In essence, Galatasaray University represents a secular tradition of teaching. Courses at Galatasaray University are tri-lingual: in Turkish, French and English. Apart from French which is the primary foreign language, fluency in English as the secondary foreign language is also required. For the Faculty of Engineering, the preparatory period includes only one year of linguistic training.
Galatasaray University is located at Ortaköy within the borough of Beşiktaş, a populated central district on the European side of İstanbul. The building which accommodates Galatasaray University was originally the Feriye Palace, a coastal summer palace on the Bosphorus built in 1871.
