EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION AND ACADEMIC PROGRAMMES

Objectives of Education and Training at the Turkish Naval Academy:

    (1) Who are dedicated followers of the principles of Atatürk, the founder of the modern Turkish republic, as well traditional military culture, good order and discipline,

    (2) Who maintain a high level of professional and physical readiness,

    (3) Who have satisfactorily completed the required course of study, and earned a bachelor of science degree in an engineering major,

    (4) Who are capable of assuming leadership position to meet the future demands of the navy,

    (5) Who have the due talents and knowledge in military, basic, technical and social sciences in order to keep up with the improvements in naval technology,

    (6) Who are expected to serve as officers of the deck (OOD),

    (7) Who assume division officer duties on surface ships following a berief period of on the job training related to the duties they are assigned to.

To accomplish its mission, the curriculum of the Turkish Naval Academy incorporates professional subjects into the required courses comparable to those offered at civilian universities. Therefore, the Naval Academy curriculum is designed to graduate well-rounded naval officers who are technically competent and fully capable of employing some most sophisticated military equipment and systems. At the same time, graduates are prepared to learn quickly, apply individual creativity and good judgement and make early contributions to their ships or duty stations. During four-year education and training each cadet is given fundamental academic knowledge or skills of the related field of study. These majors are industrial, mechanical, electrical-electronic (including , electronics, communication systems, control systems ) and computer engineering as well as naval architecture.

Admission Procedure:

The Naval High School in Istanbul provides graduates for the Naval Academy. The curriculum of the four-year Naval High School is identical to that of a civilian high school with the exceptions of infantry drills and professional courses such as seamanship, navigation and at-sea training. The graduates of the Naval High School are directly admitted to the Academy without any examinations. If a need arises, however, civilian high schools may also provide nominees for the Naval Academy on condition that they get the required degree on the University Entrance Examination as well as they are the graduates of the science major. Female cadets were first admitted to the Academy by the 1992/1993 Academic Year. Admission of foreign nationals is carried out according to the consent of the Turkish General Staff and the international treaties signed with respect to the motion of the Cabinet.

Organisation:

Aiming to activate the application, co-ordination and the control factors, the organisation of the Turkish Naval Academy consists of the Chief of Staff, Commandant of Midshipmen, Academic Dean, Discipline Court, Supreme Disciplinary Board, Research and Development Board and the Guidance and Counseling Department which are all functioning under the supervision of the Superintendent.

Education and Training Programmes:

As a result of rapidly improving technology, increasing demand for highly skilled and competent personnel who can handle the most sophisticated weapon systems, it is aimed that the graduates of the Turkish Naval Academy will be granted with two diplomas for both naval profession and an engineering major. Therefore education and training programmes include three aspects:

    (1) The academic programme of the Turkish Naval Academy consists of common-core and major programmes. The purpose of the common-core is to provide the cadets with not only the professional knowledge required for command at sea but also the basic and social science background necessary to follow the major area courses. As an initial step to have scientific aptitude, all first year students take common courses in basic and social sciences while improving their skills in research, problem solving and analysis-synthesis for the purpose of enabling them to arrive at sound decisions and to express their ideas with a good command of English,

    (2) Through professional training, cadets are equipped with knowledge and behaviour in such a way as to make them apply the tactics and techniques under combat conditions. Professional training is provided in two ways: as academic courses and applied training. As an inseperable part of the professional development programme, cadets also undergo combat military training, applied naval training as well as leadership training programmes,

    (3) At the end of the four-year education period, the graduates of are granted a bachelor of science degree in an engineering major;  with respect to the requirements of the Turkish Naval Command.

Foreign Language Education:

English is the main foreign language at the Turkish Naval Academy. However, those who are admitted from both Naval High School and civilian high schools obtain high grades on the English proficiency test can take German courses during their four years of education. Main objective in foreign language education is to enable student to speak and understand the target language as well as read, understand and write any documents related to their profession.

Laboratories:

Cadets are supposed to attend all laboratory practices, theoretical courses and applied training.

For the purpose of intensifying academic studies, there are numerous laboratories at the Academy; namely;

Engineering Majors:

The major area courses are aimed to give the fundamental academic knowledge or skills of the related field of study. These majors are:

Before starting their second year education, first year students are required to select one of the major courses of study considering their preferences, academic records as well as the personnel policy of the navy.

Duration of Education and Training:

Turkish Naval Academy is a four-year college providing education in 5 engineering majors to the naval officer candidates.

An academic year consists of two sessions:

- Academic Education and Training

- Summer Training (Applied naval training)

A teaching year at the Academy usually commences either on the last Monday of September on the first Monday of October. It comprises two semesters which last 16 weeks each. At the end of each semester, cadets take their final examinations during two weeks. Then, they take their leave for a fortnight. There is another two-week final examination period at the end of the second semester. Following that, a four-week period is reserved for re-sit and make up examinations. All in all, a teaching year consists of a 42- week Academic and 10- week applied training held during the summer session.

Cadets attend 30 hours of classes a week, taken 6 hours a day during 5 days. Two hours of this period are used for combat physical training and 28 hours for theoretical training. Besides basic military training is practiced every Wednesday after classed. The period of a regular class is 50 minutes.

Summer Training (Applied Naval Training):

During the four or five-week summer training period, cadets assume enlistedmen, petty officer and officer responsibilities. The aim of applied naval training at the Turkish Naval Academy is to make the cadets practice what they have learnt during the academic year and adapt themselves to the life on board as well as developing their leadership, navigation, training and commanding skills as the naval officers of the future. More specifically, the purpose of the applied training is to have the cadets apply the theoretical knowledge, acquired in classroom activities, in real situations, familiarize themselves with the conditions in which they are to serve in the future under any circumstances and adapt themselves to the life at sea.

Assessment:

By creating competitive academic atmosphere, students are prompted to show maximum effectiveness in their studies. In addition, for the purpose of preventing some problems which may arise from the medium of education, “dependent evaluation system” is applied.

As far as the assessment of cadets is concerned, they are examined twice within a semester and once at the end of it for each course they take. The final grades are evaluated on a quality point rating system.

Total quality points are divided by total credit hours calculate a student’s grade point average. For a cadet to pass, his or her GPA should not be less than 2.0 out of 4 and he or she should have no F’s. Students that do not meet these qualifications repeat their classes. The maximum period to finish the four-year-programme is five years.

The Faculty:

The courses at the Academy are offerred in modern classrooms and laboratories by distinguished officers as well as erudite academicians from several notable universities. Courses are given by about 110 to 125 instructors, 15 to 25 % of whom are civilian professors. There is one instructor for every nine cadets.

An adviser is assigned for each section among from the officers who teach them. Advisers consider the requirements of cadets related to their academic studies, inform them about examination results, care for the unsuccessful ones and take the due precautions and enable those who perform superb academic performance to be rewarded.

Courses are given by about 110 to 125 instructors, 15 to 25 % of whom are civilian professors. Of all the faculty, 15 % are professors, 5 % associate professors and 10 % assistant professors.

Combat Physical Training:

Combat physical training courses are given two hours a week to all classes according to a different syllabus. Cadets are graded depending on their performance in swimming, quickness and strength exercises. For physical training, there are athletic facilities containing an olympic sized indoor swimming pool, two outdoor tracks, a synthetic surfaced indoor track, shooting ranges, two soccer fields and both indoor and outdoor fields for tennis, volleyball and basketball. There is also a marina, which is the home for sailing and crew squads of the Naval Academy. The courses are given by professionals. In sports activities, water sports are attributed greater importance. Cadets are obliged to do sports individually and as members of various teams. Besides they are encouraged to participate in several intramural and intermural activities as well as the members of the Turkish Naval Command, Turkish Naval Academy, Turkish Armed Forces, Education and Training Command teams.