With the motto "From Kindergarten to University", Marmara Educational Institutions were founded in 1991 by Hüseyin Şimşek, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of our University. Subsequently, the Istanbul Marmara Education Foundation (IMEV) was established in 1996, followed by the founding of Maltepe University in 1997.
Maltepe University was officially established by Law No. 4282 dated July 9, 1997. It is a public legal entity subject to the provisions of the Law No. 2547 and related regulations concerning foundation and higher education institutions. The university began its academic activities in the 1997–1998 academic year by accepting students through additional quotas.
IMEV, the foundation to which Maltepe University is affiliated, continues the tradition of philanthropic service, particularly in the fields of education, health, environment, culture, arts, and social welfare.
Marmara Education Village was established in 2002, primarily by IMEV, to bring together Marmara Educational Institutions within a campus located among pine forests, covering 1,000 acres of open and 300 acres of covered area. This campus, which also houses Maltepe University, includes the following faculties and schools: Faculty of Education, Faculty of Fine Arts, Faculty of Law, Faculty of Communication, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Faculty of Business and Management Sciences, Faculty of Architecture and Design, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, the Conservatory, School of Nursing, Vocational School, School of Foreign Languages, and the Graduate School. These academic units offer associate, undergraduate, master's, and doctoral programs. Numerous studies are also conducted in the university's research and application centers. Students who complete their basic medical sciences training at the Faculty of Medicine within the Marmara Education Village continue their clinical education at Maltepe University's Faculty of Medicine Training and Research Hospitals located in the centre of Maltepe.
In summary, Maltepe University offers educational services through 9 faculties, a conservatory, 1 graduate school, 3 vocational schools, and a school of higher education. The university contributes to Turkish and global science through academic research and publications. The campus also features the 8,000-seat Marmara Open-Air Theater and two 2,000-square-meter film and television studios.
The educational philosophy of our university is encapsulated in the motto: "Free in thought, contemporary in education, universal in science." Our main goal is to prepare enlightened and modern young individuals for the future of Turkey—youth who internalize the fundamental principles of the Republic, adhere to Atatürk’s vision, are secular and democratic, proactive, rational, inquisitive, well-read, research-oriented, productive, and capable of competing with the global youth in every field.
Maltepe University places great emphasis on internationalization. The university initiated its first steps in this direction in the early 2000s, obtaining the Erasmus Charter in 2004 and the Extended Erasmus Charter in 2007. Maltepe University has consistently been among the pioneers of internationalization among Turkish universities. For this purpose, student and teacher exchanges are carried out, and strong ties are established with prestigious universities worldwide for joint research and academic collaborations. International exchange programs and joint projects are among the key indicators of Maltepe University's international character. Furthermore, since 2010, bachelor's degree graduates, and since 2012, graduate degree recipients, have been awarded Diploma Supplements.
One of Maltepe University's long-standing priorities is delivering quality education. Through the Quality Management Coordination Office established at the university, all processes related to quality in higher education are closely monitored, and Maltepe University approaches all its stakeholders—especially students—with this understanding.
Proving its power in this framework with the documents it has received and leaving 28 years behind, Maltepe University has taken its distinguished place in the Turkish University System, having completed its institutionalization to a great extent, with its distinguished and experienced academic-administrative staff, its programs updated according to the developments and expectations of the age, the diversity and richness of its academic infrastructure facilities (laboratory, information and document center, internet access, etc.), sharing research results with the society, and its social and cultural activities encouraging participation, and especially continues its “Quality Journey” with all its possibilities.