LANGUAGE

The medium of instruction in Erciyes University is Turkish and/or English. If you are admitted to an academic program where the language of instruction is Turkish, you are expected to learn Turkish.

Kayseri is an ideal place for international students who wish to learn Turkish, which is one of the mostly spoken languages in the world. If you are also willing to enhance your Turkish living experience by learning Turkish, you can attend our Turkish courses at ERSEM.

ACCOMODATION

There are many dormitories on campus operated by the Ministry of Youth and Sport. After you register for a programme of study, you may apply to live in the girls’ or boys’ dormitory of Kredi Yurtlar Kurumu (General Directorate of Higher Education Credit Hostels Institution). Alternately there are private dormitories which cost approximately $300 per month, and there are also houses or apartments to rent in Kayseri which cost approximately $400 per month.

HEALTH INSURANCE

International students who initiate their study in Turkey, are eligible for general health insurance. This general health insurance must be requested within three months from their date of registration, payment of the first 30-day premium is required at that time. The premium rate is determined according to Law Nr. 5510, Item 82, is one third of the lower limit of daily income.

International students, who do not apply for general health insurance on time, are not eligible to receive the benefits of this insurance during their education period. Students who are self-financing their education, must appear in person for insurance registration.

PRACTICAL INFO

Money

The monetary unit is the Turkish Lira (TL). Traveler’s checks are not favored in Turkey. ATMs can be found in even the smallest Turkish towns. Most accept international credit cards or bank cards (a strip of logos is usually displayed above the ATM). Almost all ATMs have a language key to enable you to read the instructions in English. Most commercial establishments accept international credit cards such as Visa, Master Card and American Express.

VAT

The value-added tax, here called KDV, is 18%. Hotels typically combine it with a service charge of 10% to 15%. Value-added tax is nearly always included in quoted prices. Certain shops are authorized to refund the tax so you must ask about this.

Electricity

The electrical current in Turkey is 220 volts, 50 cycles alternating current (AC); wall outlets take Continental-type plugs, with two or three round prongs.

Major Holidays in Turkey

Jan 1: New Year’s Day

National holidays

Apr 23: National Sovereignty and Children’s Day (anniversary of the establishment of Turkish Grand National Assembly in 1920)

May 1: Labour and Solidarity Day (since from 2009)

May 19: Atatürk Commemoration and Youth & Sports Day (the arrival of Atatürk in Samsun in 1919, and the beginning of the War of Independence)

Aug 30: Victory Day (victory over invading forces in 1922).

Oct 29: Republic Day (anniversary of the declaration of the Turkish Republic in 1923)

Religious holidays

Ramazan Bayrami: Three-day festival when sweets are eaten to celebrate the end of the fast of Ramadan month. Also known as “Şeker (sweets) Bayramı” since it’s customary to offer candies to family members and friends that are visiting.

Kurban Bayrami: Four-day festival when sheep or cows are sacrificed and their meat distributed to the poor.

The dates of these religious festivals change according to the Islamic calendar and thus occur 10-11 days (exact difference between Gregorian and Lunar calendars is 10 days and 21 hrs) earlier each year. According to this;

Ramazan Bayrami will be celebrated on 17-18-19 July 2015

Kurban Bayrami (Sacrifice Holiday) will be celebrated on 23-24-25-26 September 2015

Local Time

Standard time zone: UTC/GMT + 2 hours

Telephone & Internet

To make a long-distance call (any call outside of your area code), you have to dial the long-distance prefix (0) before the seven-digit local phone number. Here are the area codes for Turkey´s major cities:

• Adana 322

• Ankara 312

• Antalya 242

• Bursa 224

• Istanbul (Asian side) 216

• Istanbul (European side) 212

• Kayseri 352

Each Turkish mobile provider is also assigned a range of area codes (or mobile prefixes). Turkcell uses numbers 530-539, Vodafone 541-549, and Avea 502-506.

Useful telephone service numbers

155 Police

112 Ambulance

110 Fire

170 Tourism Info

Tipping

For meals at restaurants, it is customary to leave a 5 % tip. Some high-end restaurant and hotels add a 10% service charge to the bill automatically. Please check the bill first or ask if service is included.

Contact Information

Erciyes University International Students Coordination Office

Telephone: + 90 352 437 93 18e-mail: eryok@erciyes.edu.tr

Web: www.erciyes.edu.tr

A Brief History of Erciyes UniversityThe establishment of Erciyes University dates back to 1969. Kayseri Gevher Nesibe Facul-ty of Medicine was established as an affiliate of Hacettepe University in Ankara, in 1969. The Kayseri Business Administration Faculty was founded in 1977. The two faculties constituted the nucleus of Kayseri University, which was then renamed Erciyes Univer-sity in 1978. The name of the university was inspired by Mount Erciyes (3,917 m), which lies 15 kilometers to the south-west of the city.

Two other higher education institutes, the Theology Institute founded in 1967, and the Kayseri State Higher Education Academy founded in 1977, were incorporated into the university as the Faculty of Theology and the Faculty of Engineering. Additional Faculty were added almost immediately, including the Faculty of Medicine, the Faculty of Eco-nomics and Administrative Sciences, and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Growth con-tinued with the Faculty of Architecture and Fine Arts in 1992, the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, of Dentistry, and of Communications, all in 1997. The year 2002 brought the addition of the Faculty of Education, in 2003 the Faculty of Law, and of Pharmacology. The Faculty of Aviation and Space Sciences and the Faculty of Tourism were added in 2012, and today Erciyes University is host to 18 outstanding Faculty.

Erciyes University is proud to have 7 Graduate Schools and 33 Research Centers. The University is also home to four Colleges, including the Physical Education and Sports College, Kayseri Atatürk Health College, the Civil Aviation College, and the School of For-eign Languages; and nine Vocational Colleges including the Kayseri Vocational College, the Halil Bayraktar Health Services Vocational College, the Safiye Çıkrıkçıoğlu Vocational College, the Mustafa Çıkrıkçıoğlu Vocational College, the Vocational School of Social Sci-ences, the Develi Huseyin Sahin Vocational College, the Vocational School of Judicial Practices, the Bunyan Vocational College, the Tomarza Vocational College.

In the 2013-2014 academic year 49786 students were enrolled at our university.

More than 970 of these students are from the Turkic republics and relative communities.We have 2200 members in our faculty, and 50 foreign faculty.

Location of Erciyes University

Erciyes University is located on the outskirts of the city of Kayseri which has a population of 1,274,968. Kayseri has a rich and colorful historical background dating to 2000 B.C., but its primary importance was attained when it became a center of the Cappadocia region during the time of the Romans. The city was christened Caesar in Cappadocia in honor of Caesar Augustus, and translated to Kayseri when it was conquered by the Seljuks.

At the end of the eleventh century, the Anatolian Seljuks claimed Kayseri as their own. It became their second Anatolian capital city and a major cultural and scientific center for nearby Konya. During those years the administration of their educational system was conducted through thirty-two madrasas (universities). The first Turkish-Islamic campus in Anatolia was the Hunat Hatun Complex, still located in the center of the city and dedicated to an influential woman of the time in 1276, named Hunat Hatun. The complex includes a mosque, the madrasa which also contains Hunat Hatun’s tomb, a hamam (bath house and spa), and a soup kitchen. In the period of the Anatolian Seljuks, a large number of architectural works of art such as mosques, madrasas, and particularly the “Döner Kümbet” (monumental tombs), which roughly can be translated as “The Turning Vault,” were constructed. These historical buildings survived through ancient times up to the present. The historical covered-bazaar and the 1500’s Silk Road Caravanserai, both located inside the Castle walls, are the inspiration for today’s big malls and rank third in size in the country.

The aircraft and textile industries of Turkey had their birth in Kayseri. The city is also well-known for its hand-woven silk and wool carpets, its shrewd businessmen, a spiced sausage called Sucuk, a cured meat somewhat like prosciutto called Pastırma, and a pasta dish served with yoghurt called Mantı.

Kayseri was home to one of the oldest trade fairs in the world and seems to have always been a trade center. The Kanish and Karum ruins, trade centers between the Assyrians and Hittites, are located 22 kilometers to the east of Kayseri. Kayseri holds many Ottoman and Seljuk works of art, in addition to a great number of relics and ruins from the prehistoric periods of the Hittites, Assyrians, Greeks, and Romans. Several historical large-inns and caravanserais which saw their heyday during the Seljuk era, also exist in the vicinity. These include the Sultan Han Caravanserai, 45 kilometres to the east of Kayseri; the Karatay Caravanserai, 60 kilometers to the south-east of Kayseri; and the Incesu Karamustafa Pasha Caravanserai, 20 kilometers to the west of Kayseri.

Mount Erciyes, the top of which is often covered with snow year-round, is both a world class center for winter sports and a cool resort in summer. The Taurus Mountains within the borders of the city, Kapuzbaşı Waterfalls near Yahyalı, and Sultan Sazlığı (the Sultan Marshes) on the same route, are natural wonders as well. Over 250 different species of birds migrate through the Sultan Sazlığı each year.

Kayseri, in the center of the Cappadocia region, is 80 kilometers from Göreme and the UNESCO Open Air Museum, and 70 kilometers from the Soğanlı Valley, a picturesque valley of innumerable chapels, church halls, houses, and tombs. Notable historical and natural symbols of Kayseri are the Castle and the Turning Vaults, and the extinct volcano, Mount Erciyes, ever watching over her university.

HOW TO GET TO KAYSERİBy Road: Because of its position in the centre of the country, Kayseri is well positioned on bus routes going east to west, and north to south. Services include several buses daily from Istanbul (12 hours), Ankara (5 hours), Bursa (11 hours), Izmir (12 hours), Konya (4 hours) and Cappadoccia (1 hours). The main bus station is on the west of the city centre, and there are dolmuses running to and from the bus station.

By Rail: There are two daily trains from Adana (7 hours) and Istanbul (12 hours), hourly from Ankara (9 hours), several weekly from Diyarbakir (20 hours), and one daily from Kars (24 hours). The train station is just north of the city centre.

By Air: There are daily direct flights to/from Istanbul and İzmir and several times flights a week to/from Antalya and Northern Cyprus . And also there are several times flights a week to/from many European countries. The Erkilet Airport is 4km to the city centre.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

The best way to travel around Kayseri is to use buses and light railway system.You can buy tickets from agents that are located everywhere.Ticket fee are as following;

Ticket (for 1 use) for students: 1.15 TL

Ticket (for 1 use) for non-students: 1.85 TL

You can get discount tickets for multiple boarding.

ADMINISTRATION

UNIVERSITY

Rector Prof. Dr. H. Fahrettin KELEŞTEMUR rektor@erciyes.edu.tr

Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Hasan YETIM hyetim@erciyes.edu.tr

Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Abdülhakim COŞKUN coskuna@erciyes.edu.tr

Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Murat DOĞAN murat.dogan@erciyes.edu.tr

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS COORDINATION OFFICE

Coordinator Prof. Dr. Karamehmet YILDIZ karamy@erciyes.edu.tr

Vice Coordinator Assoc. Prof. Dr. Galip GÜNER galipguner44@gmail.com

Leader of Students Emre GÖKDUMAN emre862@gmail.com

ADMISSIONApplication Requirements

International students are admitted to the institutions of higher education in Turkey on condition that applicants fulfill the requirements for student admission, determined by the relevant institution of higher education and approved by the Council of Higher Education.

Undergraduate Admissions

Following documents are required from applicants who wish to apply for undergraduate study at Erciyes University .

High School Diploma and its translation (Turkish or English)•A passport, with an entry visa that bears the remark of education, and its certified •translationOfficial Transcript and its translation (Turkish or English)•Language Proficiency Score (Applicants should contact the university for minimum •English language requirements. Students who do not meet language proficiency requirements may take the university’s proficiency test upon arrival. Those who fail the proficiency test must attend the English Preparatory Program provided by the university. For further information, please contact the Admissions Office of the Erciyes University.)Valid International University Entry Exam Result •Financial Guarantee Letter•Application Fee•

All documents regarding application must be submitted to the respective university no later than the application deadline announced on the Academic Calendar.

Graduate Admissions

Following documents may be required of applicants who wish to apply for graduate study at Erciyes University.

Bachelor’s or Master’s Diploma and its translation (Turkish or English)•A passport, with an entry visa that bears the remark of education, and its certified •translationOfficial Transcript and its translation (Turkish or English)•An updated resume•Statement of Purpose•Recommendation Letters•Language Proficiency Score (Applicants should contact the university for minimum •English language requirements. Students who do not meet language proficiency requirements may take the university’s proficiency test upon arrival. Those who fail the proficiency test must attend the English Preparatory Program provided by the university. For further information, please contact the Admissions Office of the respective university.)Result for Graduate Program Entrance Exam (Please contact the Admissions Office •for the acceptable exams.)Written exams and/or interviews•Financial Guarantee Letter•Application Fee•

All documents regarding application must be submitted to the respective university no later than the application deadline announced on the Academic Calendar.

ERCIYES UNIVERSITY

WELCOME GUIDE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS