Department of Civil Engineering

My name is Merve Tepe. I am from Ankara. I am a student in the Department of Civil Engineering at Yıldırım Yıldırım Beyazıt University. I'm in my third year. Civil engineering is the oldest and most fundamental branch of engineering. The aim of the department is to train qualified, dedicated, environmentalist, innovative, theoretically and practically educated civil engineers. Our department provides 100% English education. It is located in the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences in the 15th of July Martyrs Building. Starting with basic courses given in all engineering departments such as Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry, the program continues with courses such as Statics, Structural Statics, Strength, Reinforced Concrete and Earthquake Engineering that will be used throughout the course of our professional life. There are 3 laboratories in our department – the Structural Mechanics and Materials Laboratory, the Geotechnical Laboratory and the Hydraulic Laboratory. We use the Construction Mechanics and Materials Laboratory, which is approximately 300 square meters, for courses such as Materials Science, Reinforced Concrete and Earthquake Engineering. In this laboratory, we learn the behavior of materials such as cement, aggregate, concrete, wood and steel. At the same time, we test the behavior of a structure during earthquake by testing simple structure models with various earthquake acceleration records with the help of shaking table. In the Geotechnical Laboratory, we carry out ground experiments that are necessary for the basic design of the building. We do sieve analysis, consistency, permeability and consolidation experiments to measure the general characteristics of the ground and also measure the strength of the ground with shear strength tests. In the Hydraulic Laboratory, there are nearly 10 experimental sets. With these experimental sets, we examine the behavior of water in water structures such as dams, water channels and pipes. There are 2 summer internships in our department. Each internship takes 20 working days. It is up to the student to have an internship at the construction site or office. The student can do both at the construction site or both in the office, or one at the construction site and one in the office. An internship book and an evaluation form are prepared after the internship and are submitted to the commission. After this, an evaluation is made through an oral presentation.
There is also a graduation project in our department. We select from the instructors we have known for 4 years and identify the field we want to work in and apply to the department head with a form. Then, after some evaluations, the graduation project consultants are determined. Along with our advisors, we carry out our work regularly by identifying a topic and organizing weekly study sessions. I come to school five days a week. If I have a plan with friends from my department, our meeting point is usually our faculty because our campus is in the center of the city. I go to the library very often and I use the study rooms. In addition, the fact that there is a shopping center directly opposite our school is very useful in terms of meeting any of our needs immediately. But since I'm in my third year now, I don't have much time for it. In my mind, I want to study master's degree after I graduate. Notably, this year, a master’s program in English has started in our department. I'm thinking of applying for that. I like water-related courses; so, I can then work in the field of hydraulics. After graduating from our department, we have the opportunity to work in basic fields such as geotechnics, hydraulics, transportation, building management and mechanics. We have the opportunity to work both in construction sites and in the office. At the same time, we have the opportunity to work both in state institutions such as the General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works, General Directorate of Highways, Ministry of Environment and Urbanization and in the big and important companies that make us the second in the world in the construction sector. I chose the civil Engineering Department after I considered the job opportunities in our country, as well as in the countries all around us, due to the enormous size of the construction industry. I chose Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University because it is primarily in the capital, so it is intertwined in the construction sector, industry, and institutions. Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University also provides English language education and its graduating students are employed in very good institutions. We are new as a department but our teachers have completed the infrastructure of our department. We also benefit from these opportunities. If you want to take advantage of these opportunities, you should choose our school and department. I wish success to all students who will come to our university.