The foundations of the Faculty of Science and Letters at Yıldız Technical University were laid during the period when our university was known as the Istanbul Technical School, when the school was reorganized as the Istanbul State Academy of Engineering and Architecture under the State Academies of Engineering and Architecture Law No. 1184 dated June 3, 1969, and the Faculty of Basic Sciences was established within this structure.
Following these developments, Yıldız University was established by Law No. 2809 dated March 28, 1983; during this process, the Faculty of Basic Sciences within the Istanbul State Academy of Engineering and Architecture was restructured as the Faculty of Science and Letters.
Within the Faculty of Science and Letters, in accordance with Official Letter No. 3939 dated September 22, 1982, the Department of Mathematics, the Department of Physics, the Department of Chemistry, the Department of Turkish Language and Literature, the Department of Engineering Sciences, the Department of Philosophy, Psychology, or Sociology; the Department of Western Languages and Literatures, which includes the divisions of English, French, and German Language and Literature; and the Department of History, which includes the sub-disciplines of Ancient History, Modern History, Modern History, and History of the Republic of Turkey, were established.
The name of Yıldız University was changed to Yıldız Technical University by Law No. 3837 dated July 3, 1992, while the name “Faculty of Arts and Sciences” was retained. Structural changes took place in the following years; by a decision of the General Assembly of Higher Education dated June 13, 2006, the Department of History was replaced by the Department of Human and Social Sciences, which included the sub-departments of Sociology, Psychology, Philosophy, History, and Anthropology.
Various changes were made to the faculty’s structure over time. By a decision of the Higher Education Executive Board dated February 10, 2010, the Department of Philosophy was established; by a decision of the Higher Education Executive Board dated May 11, 2011, the Department of Sociology was established; and by a decision of the Higher Education Executive Board dated August 16, 2017, the Department of Human and Social Sciences was established under the Division of Human and Social Sciences; by the same decision, the Departments of Philosophy and Sociology were closed, and by a decision dated September 13, 2017, the Department of History was closed. Finally, on March 20, 2022, the Department of Human and Social Sciences was closed, and the Department of Sociology was reopened. By a decision of the Higher Education Executive Board dated April 26, 2022, all major fields of study were abolished, and a new structure was implemented in which each department is referred to by its own name.