Molecular Biology and Genetics

Greetings, I'm Professor Turgay CAKMAK, the head of the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics at Istanbul Medeniyet University. Our department was established in 2010, and we welcomed our first students in 2015. Our department focuses on the formation, development, and understanding of living organisms, as well as the structure and functions of biomolecules involved in these processes. As a result, we are an active and interdisciplinary department that strives to keep our undergraduate curriculum updated.
Currently, our undergraduate program covers essential subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, general biology, cell biology, and physiology during the first and second years. In the third and fourth years, students delve into subjects like molecular biology, molecular genetics, biochemistry, biotechnology, cancer biology, evolution, biodiversity, and more. Additionally, we offer a diverse range of elective courses, including bioinformatics and recombinant DNA technologies. Practical laboratory applications are also incorporated into these courses, as we place great importance on equipping our students with vital laboratory skills upon graduation. Consequently, we ensure that all our students actively engage in laboratory experiments as part of their coursework.Internship opportunities are available for our students, with third-year students having the chance to pursue internships in scientific research laboratories or biotechnology laboratories in hospitals. Furthermore, we facilitate direct involvement in research studies through the fourth year graduation project and semester graduation project course, enabling students to work alongside our department's esteemed academicians in research laboratories. We strongly encourage our students to participate in national and international exchange programs, and currently, our undergraduate students actively benefit from the ERASMUS program.Upon graduation, our department's first graduates in the 2019-2020 academic year are qualified to work in various settings, including hospitals, stem cell centers, diagnostic centers, and agricultural research and development centers, holding the title of molecular biologist. Moreover, our graduates have the opportunity to pursue higher education, contributing to the field of science through graduate and doctoral programs, and eventually becoming scientists themselves. Alongside these opportunities, we support our students in establishing their own startup companies, leveraging the knowledge and experience gained during their undergraduate education, with the assistance of TÜBİTAK (The Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey) and the ministry.
We eagerly await enthusiastic students who are interested in investigating the structure and functioning of living organisms at the molecular level. It's worth noting that our department's courses in the second and third years can be challenging due to the comprehensive and detailed information presented. Istanbul Medeniyet University can be described as a boutique city university, where various university units are easily accessible within short distances. The campus benefits from a direct metro connection, providing convenient transportation options throughout Istanbul. This accessibility is a significant advantage. I extend my best wishes to the candidates taking the exam, and as the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics at Istanbul Medeniyet University, we eagerly anticipate the arrival of new students to our department.