16/02/2026
Foundations Development Program
- Prepares its graduates for the world of the future, not just today.
- Teaches the knowledge and skills to enable lifelong learning.
- Adopts a model that, focuses not only on the transfer of knowledge but also on its application by fostering skills for learning to learn.
- Doesn't just transfer skills but creates an environment for personal development and independent thinking .
- Nurtures a culture of being curious, competent, and scientifically-thinking universal individuals.
- Trains professionals who can adapt to changing conditions.
Sabancı University's Foundations Development Program (FDP) is a unique educational model inspired by the Core Curriculum and Liberal Arts traditions in higher education. This program aims for students to develop holistically, not only in their fields but also intellectually, ethically, and analytically. In short, it produces graduates who are not just experts, but good thinkers, good writers, who understand the world correctly, and who can adapt to change both professionally and personally. We asked Dr. Emre Erol, Director of the FDP, about what this unique educational model offers students.
In a recent interview with a reputable newspaper, Prof. Dr. İonna Kuçuradi, President of the Turkish Philosophical Society, stated, "One of the most important things we can do today is to train 'good teachers,' that is, teachers who help individuals develop their own inherent capabilities."
Sabancı University embraces this role of the good teacher, creating a foundation for students to analyze their own personalities, interests, and abilities through its Foundations Development Program model. It provides both academics and students with the opportunity to implement "learning to learn" practices within a common "learner community" on a level playing field.
Problems Experienced When Choosing a Profession
In Türkiye, the problems faced by high school graduates when choosing a profession are not limited to exam stress. Pressures stemming from family, society, the system, and the economic structure make this process even more difficult. When we talk about family pressure, we think of the imposition of a "profession that guarantees a job," the parents burdening the child with their own dreams, a culture of comparison, and economic anxieties. When you add to this the "peer pressure" created by the dreams that the ever-dynamic and changing youth culture puts forward at a given time, many Turkish young people find themselves in a degree program they don't really want as a result of external influences. Meanwhile, the inadequacy of the guidance system throughout the education process leading up to higher education does not help the student to better understand themselves and does not create self-awareness.
Naturally, under these conditions, it becomes inevitable for the student to find themselves in a field at university that is completely unsuitable for their personality, talent, and interests. As a result, the process of choosing a field that will be approved by others, rather than what they want, leads to unhappiness, dropping out of school and, in the long term, disillusionment with the profession, all of which reduce the individual's performance and damage their mental and emotional health. Sabancı University fundamentally solves these problems with its Foundations Development Program.
‘I made my decision as soon as I saw Sabancı University’
Dr. Emre Erol, Director of the Foundations Development Program at Sabancı University, is both a former Sabancı University graduate and a faculty member at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences since 2016. He points out that he also faced these problems during the career selection process. However, he is lucky compared to most university candidates. Thanks to the freedom of program selection that Sabancı University gives its students, he has been able to freely shape his career in line with his own curiosity, skills, and passion. Dr. Erol, who was one of the students who received his undergraduate education in the early years of the university, came to the university with the intention of enrolling in the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, in the Telecommunications Program, and graduated from the Social and Political Sciences (SPS) Degree Program at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences 4 years later. Moreover, he completed his master's degree in the History Program at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and, years later, when he was a director, he also completed the EMBA program at Sabancı Business School, thus experiencing three different educational programs of the university. In short, apart from the nearly eight years he spent completing his doctoral studies and working as an academic at Leiden University in the Netherlands, Dr. Erol had the chance to experience different aspects of Sabancı University's educational model.
Dr. Erol describes how Sabancı University impressed him at first sight: “When I first visited the campus, I was captivated; not only by the campus itself, but also by campus life, the opportunities offered at that time, the educational model, and the enthusiasm of the students. In particular, my interactions with the staff, academics and students in the promotion team who greeted me on campus made me feel like I was at a world-class university. The unique educational model showed me that I would have another chance to consciously shape my future. The departmentless structure, the freedom to choose programs, the architecture of the campus, the atmosphere of freedom I felt in the common areas and generally throughout the university, all captivated me.”
The first university in our country to blend a core curriculum structure with the opportunity for informed and free specialization.
Today, Dr. Emre Erol plays a significant role in preserving this environment of freedom. Since 2019, as the Director of the Foundations Development Program, the design and implementation of the core curriculum has been the responsibility of him and his team. “As the first university in Türkiye to implement a core curriculum design, Sabancı University ensures that students, regardless of their future specialization, take these fundamental courses upon starting their studies,” says Dr. Erol, explaining this core curriculum courses, known as University Courses, as follows: “These courses constitute approximately one-third of the student's total credit load and continue throughout their undergraduate education. While most courses are completed in the first year, some extend into the second, third, and even, optionally, the fourth year. The core curriculum, consisting of University Courses, has its own unique program objectives and aims to raise individuals who can learn throughout life, question, internalize scientific thinking, and establish interdisciplinary connections. It also has a benchmarking function for students with diverse educational backgrounds, thus enabling them to acquire knowledge about different disciplines after enrolling in the university and to choose their degree program consciously and freely thereafter.”
Like the rest of the university, the language of instruction in the FDP is English, and students whose English level is insufficient are required to complete the Foundations Development Year (FDY). Those who do not have a sufficient level of English continue with the FDY. The FDY is programmed to improve students' English and academic communication skills.
In short, the distinctive features of the education offered are based on two main stages:
The Foundations Development Year aims to improve students' English and communication skills.
The Foundations Development Program consists of compulsory courses for all students, accounting for one-third of the total course load, mostly taken in the first year, but some spread over several years, covering different disciplines. In addition to the educational outcomes of this program, it gives students the opportunity to become familiar with different disciplines and make informed choices about degree programs.
Which courses?
The core curriculum, implemented at leading universities worldwide such as Harvard, Columbia, and Chicago, was first introduced in Türkiye at Sabancı University and subsequently adopted by Koç University, Kadir Has University, and Abdullah Gül University. Sabancı University has a comprehensive core curriculum system that is closely linked to and constantly updated with examples from around the world.
Inspired by examples from prestigious universities worldwide, Sabancı University's core curriculum focuses on algorithmic thinking, social responsibility, academic literacy, mathematics, natural sciences, philosophy, ethics, human history, and the great works of humanity, aiming for students to develop holistically, intellectually, ethically, and analytically, not only in their respective fields. Detailed information about these core curriculum courses can be found on the program's web page.
Source:
https://www.sabanciuniv.edu/tr/akademik/egitim-ve-kariyere-destek/temel-gelistirme-programi-tgp
