On March 13, the Department of Tourism and Hotel Management was awarded national accreditation by the Tourism Education Quality Assurance and Accreditation Council (TURAK), an accrediting body recognized by Turkey’s Higher Education Council.
The department was established in 1988, in accordance with the vision of university founder İhsan Doğramacı regarding the importance of tourism for Turkey. Bilkent University thereby became the first private institution of higher education in the country to provide instruction in this field.
The department offers a BSc degree in Tourism and Hotel Management designed to prepare its graduates for managerial positions in the industry by combining management courses with tourism- and hospitality-related subjects such as hotel operations and food and beverage service. Since its establishment, the department has graduated more than 3,900 students. It has also twice been recognized as the “Best in Tourism Education” in Turkey by the Association of Travel and Tourism Professionals International.
The process of preparing for TURAK accreditation lasted a year, culminating in a visit by the evaluation team last December. The evaluation involved faculty, staff, students, graduates, employers and administrators. The department received its TURAK accreditation, affirming the quality of the education it provides, based on the high standards of its program, its commitment to continuous improvement, its academic faculty, its facilities, its relations with industry and the involvement and achievements of its graduates.