E-mail:
Study Program:
Exchange semester:
Academic year:
Host University:
Country:
v.s.vanbuuren@tilburguniversity.edu
Bachelor Psychology
Fall
2014-2015
Sabancı Üniversitesi
Turkey
I GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Sabancı Üniversitesi is a private-owned university close to Istanbul. It is not actually
within the vaguely defined city borders, as it is 40 kilometers away from Kadıköy, the
downtown on the Asian side of the city. However, on the positive side this means it is a
relatively small-scale school. In my experience, the average class was 30 to 50 persons,
which is great because individual grades are calculated on the class average. The university
hosts a total of 4.500 students, of which 3.500 are undergraduate.
The university currently holds three faculties and a language school. The faculties are
all hosted in a separate building, as is the language school (19). There also is a central dining
hall (20) on campus, a supermarket, four other restaurants (07/10), a sports hall (04), cultural
centre (03) and of course a library (21). The faculties are the school of management (24),
which I attended, the faculty of arts and social sciences (23) and the faculty of engineering
and natural sciences (22). The numbers refer to the campus map attached to the end of this
experience report. In here, you can see what is where, to have a global idea of the campus.
The usual study structure for Turkish students is a four-year programme. There is a
first, undifferentiated year per faculty. Students subscribe themselves per faculty, and when
accepted, they thus follow an all-round program. After this, they choose their studies, but only
fully differentiating after their second year. This means that some class-rooms are quite
diverse, and many people actually aren’t that interested in the subject but have to follow it
mandatorily.
A picture of Sabancı Üniversitesi: aerial overview. On the far left are the sports centre and the cultural centre. The
dome-like building on the right is the library, and the dome in the centre is the central hall. The other four
buildings making a rectangle are the faculties and language school. In the background you can see the dorms.
As said, the campus is not actually within Istanbul. To be honest, when at campus,
you don’t really have the idea to be in this vast city. With an official population of well over 14
million inhabitants, and unofficial numbers reaching up to 20 million, it is the 6 th largest city in
the world. This of course means that living in this city is an incredible experience. However,
the campus is in this aspect a great way to find some rest, as the city literally never sleeps.
Even at 4 at night there still are traffic jams.
A small map of Istanbul and Sabancı: At the far right is the university. The departing point is where the shuttle
from Kadıköy departs. In the upper left corner are “Beyoğlu” (Taksim) and Fatih (Sultanahmet). This are the other
two downtowns in this immense city.
As this city is so huge, this means that there are also a lot of things to do and see.
However, once you get used to it, it is fairly easy. I lived on the Asian side, in the Kadıköy
downtown. Here is a bar street, which is ideal to just go for a quick drink. The most popular
bars close around 2 am. As for things to see: at the waterside you’ll have a great view of
Sultanahmet with its Blue Mosque and Ayasophia. Furthermore, every Tuesday there is one
of the biggest markets of Istanbul nearby.
On the European side, there are actually two downtowns, Taksim and Sultanahmet.
Taksim is great for the nights: there are dozens of nightclubs each boasting their own music
and style. As they all are on the upper floor of 5 to 8 story buildings, all of them are an
experience in their own way, as is getting up there. Sultanahmet is the historic and cultural
centre of the city. All the main touristic views are located here, absurdly close to each other.
The Blue Mosque and Ayasophia are standing next to each other. There also is the Spice
Bazaar and Grand Bazaar at 10 minutes walking. Even more close to the Blue Mosque is the
Topkapı Palace: Until Atatürk, this huge palace was actually hosting 28 generations of
sultans. Also close by is the Cistern Basilica, an old water-storage turned beautiful.
All in all, there is plenty to see and to do in Istanbul for an exchange period. Many of
my friends abroad decided to stay another semester, since there is so much to discover in
this city. Next to the three main areas, Istanbul hosts a great variety of neighborhoods, of
which many are a must-see. The city is nothing like Tilburg, compared to this city, Tilburg is a
boring little village.
II PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Information before you left
The information on forehand was quite late. Far in August (while leaving September 6 th) I
received the much needed information. However, this was still on time, and there were
some earlier e-mails about really urgent matters as visas.
Visa procedure and arrival
Honestly, getting a visa is not a problem. This is simply applying online, pay 25 euros and
you’ll have it within a week. The problem is that in Turkey, you need to go through a lot of
bureaucracy to get your residence permit. After several visits at at least three different
places, I finally managed to apply for mine. However, it took another 45 days to actually
receive the residence permit. This was easily and by far the most annoying experience of
my whole exchange, since it is time-consuming and pretty pointless. I believe I paid
around ₺150 (Turkish Liras) in the process, approximately €55.
Furthermore, everything was organized just fine. The university is really close to an
airport (Sabiha Gokçen) and a 10 euro taxi-ride (₺25) will get you there. Entering the
dorms is fairly easy, even when you come at night (like me), and nobody actually was
expecting you to arrive. The only thing was that you still had to apply for a school card.
You need this card to pay for basically everything on campus, from lunch to printing to
transport from and to the campus. Missing out on this for the first two weeks was
expensive, but furthermore everything was organized perfectly.
Orientation/Introduction activities
There was much to do as orientation and introduction. There was an organized
orientation week, to get to know the campus better and the city of Istanbul, as well as
your fellow students. This week as a joint effort of Sabancı’s ESN-section and their
International Office. The ESN-section were basically just local students doing everything
to help you out as much as possible, which was great.
Next to all this, there also are buddies. These also are students –not necessarily on the
ESN-team, assigned to act as a friend but more importantly to help you with Turkish
bureaucracy. However, my buddy was from Pakistan, and unable to speak Turkish, so
next to being a friend he wasn’t really able to help me dealing with bureaucracy.
Housing
Sabancı Üniversitesi has dorms for up to 2.491 students. Dorms are for 2 or 4 students,
but since the actual rooms are spacious this isn’t an issue at all. Exchange students and
international students have priority when applying for the dorms. I initially signed up for
the dorms, as the distance to Istanbul was so great and I wasn’t sure about using the
shuttle on a daily basis. After 3 weeks I decided that I preferred to live in Istanbul, to
experience this city. I then used craigslist to find a place to live, which worked within two
days time.
The university doesn’t help you to search for accommodation off-campus. However, they
do have a list of trusted renters and useful sites. And, more importantly, they also hold a
blacklist with rip-offs and scams. In this way, the university supports you to find good
accommodation, since there are many scams out in Istanbul.
I was very satisfied with both my ‘homes’ in Istanbul. The dorms are truly great. They’re
clean, spacious and practical. However, since I wanted to experience the city more, I
decided to move out. I found a room with a Turkish man, which was the kindest person
I’ve ever met. I could use his whole flat, and my bedroom was basic but had everything.
However, most student flats weren’t like this. What I’ve seen, many were quite soberly
furnished, and the kitchen/bathrooms were unhygienic. I would recommend future
students to contact ESN Sabancı to help you out with housing if you cannot go look for
yourself.
Living Costs
Turkey isn’t that expensive to live. So, next to the grant, borrowing from DUO was
enough. On average, I had about €1000 to spend a month, which was well enough. I am
sure one could live comfortably for less money however, I just decided that I wanted to
enjoy the experience and spent much unnecessary money. So, compared to Tilburg, my
living expenses were more, but I am definitely sure this is not needed.
Expense
Housing
Food
Transport
Books (once!)
Travelling within Turkey
Nightlife
Total
Liras
₺900,₺300,₺360,₺500,₺300,₺500,₺2,860,-
Euros
€320,€120,€140,€170,- (€34,- a month)
€120,€170,€904,-
I would recommend future students to consider the following things. Flying within Turkey is
dirt cheap: For 40 euros, you can fly a round-trip to every destination within the country. On
the other hand, drinking is quite expensive in Turkey. An average beer is ₺10,-. Wine and
spirits are more expensive. This means you can finance a weekend to wherever you like
within Turkey with two nights of drinking. It is what you prefer, but I decided to travel a bit
more and drink a bit less.
Academic Calendar
I arrived the 6th of September at the campus. My first day of classes was the 15 th. The
week between this was the introductory week. The last day was officially the 26 th of
December. There was actually a mid-term break, already as soon as the first week of
October. This was due to the traditional slaughter feast. There were two days of at the
end of October as well, due to the 80th birthday of the modern Republic of Turkey.
Examination took place from December 27th to January 11th. This included the weekends,
and the 31st of December. The 1st of January was exam-free however.
The International Office
There was a great international office. The person responsible for incoming students in
Ceyda Karadas (suincoming@sabanciuniv.edu). She is a great person, and really makes
an effort to help everybody out, even with personal problems. So, basically, whenever
you need something you can e-mail her or visit her at her office. This was never a
problem. The information provided by the International Office was good: it ranged from
necessary things to do, to even certain parties and places to avoid on NYE.
Exchange promotion
At Sabancı university there was one day in which international students were invited to
talk to the local students about studying abroad (in their home countries). As I was one of
the few Dutchmen attending that day, I talked to many Turkish students about Tilburg
university, since the Netherlands is an immensely popular destination for Turkish
students.
Furthermore, I was pro-active on campus: I even have helped some days at the language
school to help Turkish students improve their English by engaging them in conversations
about different topics. This was to prepare them for oral exams held by Sabancı.
Social Activities
As already mentioned, there was an ESN section. This basically was a student
organization for international students, even only on-campus. They (the local students)
organized many events for the international students to take part in. Next to this, I also
joined an outdoor club. Sadly, after the first week they only communicated in Turkish so I
wasn’t able to participate in their activities.
I had some contact with local students, but sadly, not too much. Except for the ESNmembers not too many Turks were keen in talking to international students, since their
level of English was usually quite low.
My friends thus were international. I have acquired English, German, Spanish, Chinese,
Italian, Swedish, Swiss and French friends. With them, I have travelled throughout
Turkey. For prospective students, places like Pamukkale, Ephesus, Gallipolli, Olympos,
and Butterfly Valley are must-sees. In general, the whole southern coast line is
worthwhile, but I recommend to go between Antalya and Fethiye. Most places in between
are rustic, and very interesting to experience. In special, I would like to recommend
Cappadocia. This is a region famous for its rock formations. Basically, the landscape
there just looks extraordinary, and it simply beautiful.
III ACADEMIC INFORMATION
Academic level at a host university
Most courses are offered in English. However, some courses are offered in Turkish only,
and sometimes the class shifts from English to Turkish. I did not follow any courses
taught in Turkish, and I would not recommend anybody to do this if you don’t already
speak the language.
I took six different courses since I thought it would be easy enough anyway. I chose some
subjects on marketing, and some subjects on management, since I feel both fields
complement psychology. The management subjects were taught very subjectively.
Though interesting, I wouldn’t recommend these courses necessarily: many information
only applies to Turkey. The marketing courses however were somewhat more theoretical
and in my opinion useful. In short, all lectures were theoretical, but not all of them applied
proper theory, and were more experience-based.
In general, most courses consist out of lectures. For one we had many group work, and in
two other courses there were sometimes case studies. These few moments were quite
interesting.
Though, I am not very satisfied with the academic level at the host university. For a
university ranking 182nd in the Times Higher Education rankings the level of the teachers
was very low. Some were struggling with speaking English, and didn’t even fully
understand classroom questions. Also, some of them weren’t interested in their students
or their own subject at all, and openly stated they were only there for the good salary. The
relationship between students and teaching staff was in general quite bad. However,
there were no hard rules, so almost every teacher granted extra time when requested.
This was nice in some way, of course.
Exams
The exams were theoretical. All but one of them were open-ended questions. Due to
weather conditions (it actually snowed in Turkey, up to 30 centimeter at campus) I had to do
two finals as take-home, as I was already back in the Netherlands. These were converted to
essays.
Other
Though there is a huge library with many available resources, including every movie
imaginable and cartoons, the library itself does not have many computers. Every student
is expected to have their own laptop. There is a rental service however, for those who do
not own a laptop.
A little note on the library: Probably this is the worst designed building on campus. The
giant dome structure makes it a very noisy place: every seat has an adjacent spot from
which you hear every little sound and vice versa. So it is far from a quiet place to study.
Description of Courses
Example
Course
MKTG 301
Introduction to
Marketing
MKTG 407 Sales
Management
MKTG 405 Marketing
Strategy
Prerequisites
None
Exam
Written
ECTS
6
None
Written
6
MKTG 301
Written
6
MGMT 402
Entrepreneurship
ORG 401 Human
Resources
Management
MGMT 403
International Business
None
Written
6
None
Written
6
None
Written
6
Comments
Mid-term, many
assignments,
presentation
Mid-term, two
assignments
Mid-term, many
assignments, MarkStrat
module
Mid-term, interview +
presentation
Mid-term, interview +
presentation, though
easy
Mid-term, mandatory
lectures with surprise
quizzes, though
extremely easy
In total, I obtained 36 credits. Though, I would definitely not recommend other students to do
this as well. The subjects are relatively easy, but most classes are semi-mandatory as
attendance contributes towards your grade. I would definitely recommend both Introduction to
Marketing and Marketing Strategy: these two were definitely the most interesting and best
taught courses I had.
All courses were at Bachelor level. Course numbers starting with a ‘3’ are classes in which
there are still ‘undifferentiated’ students, and thus should be somewhat easier, though this
wasn’t true in my experience.
Also, I would recommend future students to take a course in Basic Turkish. This definitely is a
life-saver, and can potentially improve your experience abroad immensely.
Tips for the future students:
I would highly recommend anybody to go on an exchange. It is a great opportunity to
learn about yourself, about other cultures and other people. You’ll get to know a lot of fun
people, and you will see the world from a different perspective afterwards. I also definitely
recommend Sabancı University. It is a great place, and many people are very, very
friendly. I also think that the educational level is, although not great, still better than most
other universities. Also, it is a good place to come, when you are living in such a busy city
as Istanbul.
Though, if you are going to Turkey: Please take a language course. If you aren’t able to
do this in preparation, please to it in Turkey. It will help you out immensely, and Turks are
very kind to people who try to speak their language and understand them. Furthermore, I
don’t have any advice for prospective students. There isn’t much that needs to be
organized out in front, and despite I’m not an experienced traveler, I think I didn’t forget
anything.