Faculty Development Program (FDP)

The program has been completed (2002–2020)

The Faculty Development Program (FDP) was designed to contribute to the training of academic staff needed in Türkiye. It was developed by combining Articles 33 and 35 of the Higher Education Law No. 2547, which cover doctoral studies both abroad and in Türkiye. Under this program, science and technology were produced at our universities while new faculty members were trained. One of the most important features of the model—operating as a domestic–international PhD pathway—was that, upon graduation, the academic staff member would return to their home university with a research project prepared together with their thesis advisor, enabling them to continue collaborative research there.

The implementation of FDP, based on framework protocols signed between universities, was carried out by joint commissions and juries formed by faculty members and administrators from these universities. Its funding was provided by the Ministry of Development (formerly the State Planning Organization) and the Council of Higher Education (YÖK). The program’s primary objective was to train qualified academic staff to help address Türkiye’s need for faculty members and, through cooperation, to enable other universities to benefit from the expertise and capacity of universities that are strong in a given field.

Program Timeline and Completion

With funding from the Ministry of Development and position support provided by YÖK administrators, the program was implemented by METU between 2002–2010 and by YÖK between 2010–2020, and has been completed.