A. Department Introduction:
The Department of Mathematics, which officially adopted its new name in March 2016, is the successor to the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, one of the first programs established at Çankaya University upon its founding in 1997. The primary aim of the department is to provide students with a modern education in mathematics, while also offering fundamental training in computer science and other related disciplines. Thus, the goal is to produce a workforce equipped with the modern knowledge required for science and industry.
B. Education:
i. Curriculum
In line with the objectives mentioned above, the undergraduate program consists of 44 courses, 11 of which are elective. Within the scope of these courses, students have the opportunity to learn the methods of both applied and abstract mathematics. Consequently, the program aims to develop students’ abilities to analyze and solve complex problems using a mathematical modeling approach. In addition to social sciences and free electives, the list of elective courses is designed to allow students to specialize in areas of mathematics that interest them. Furthermore, our students can choose these electives not only from advanced fields of mathematics but also from computer science, engineering, economics, business administration, and finance, thereby developing themselves in their desired areas.
ii. Student Opportunities:
Double Major-Minor:
Our students have the opportunity to pursue double majors and minors in various engineering departments as well as in Economics, Business Administration, and other departments.
Erasmus:
Our university has bilateral agreements with numerous universities across the European Union through the Erasmus program. These include agreements with Portugal, Romania, Spain, and France, which our department’s students have benefited from in previous years. In recent years, several of our students have attended two different universities in Portugal, particularly, gaining the opportunity to transfer credits for courses taken during a semester abroad, in addition to experiencing the lasting benefits of such exchange programs for their cultural development. Alongside our efforts to establish agreements with Mathematics departments at more universities under Erasmus, studies are ongoing to create joint programs at the Master’s level with various leading universities in the USA.
Graduate Studies:
The department offers both Thesis and Non-Thesis Master’s programs in Mathematics and Information Technologies. These programs receive many applications from within Turkey, including our department’s graduates, as well as significant interest from Middle Eastern and North African countries. On average, 10 students graduate from these programs with a Master’s degree each year.
TÜBİTAK Basic Sciences Scholarship:
Undergraduate students enrolled in the formal education program who are placed in the Mathematics department by ranking within the top 25,000 according to the MF-1 placement score type required by the Mathematics department in the Undergraduate Placement Exam (LYS) are granted a scholarship under the TÜBİTAK 2205 Domestic Undergraduate Scholarship Program, the amount of which is determined by TÜBİTAK. The same applies to students enrolled in another program who are pursuing a double major in Mathematics.
iii. Academic Staff:
Our department, which holds a respected position among Mathematics departments in Turkey, has a productive, dedicated faculty whose priorities are student development. Our teaching staff includes faculty members who conduct world-class research in their fields, as well as promising, highly dynamic young academics.
iv. Academic Studies:
Our department members conduct active research in various areas, including analysis, applied mathematics, and algebra. Over the years, our department has hosted many prestigious national and international conferences. Following many of these meetings, proceedings have been published as books by internationally respected publishing houses, with some of our faculty members serving as editors.
According to the 2015 URAP report, our department ranked 1st among Mathematics departments in Foundation Universities and was placed within the top 500 worldwide. Furthermore, Asst. Prof. Dr. Dumitru Baleanu from our department was listed in the top 1% of the world’s most cited scientists in the field of fractional calculus within mathematics, according to a study conducted by the Thomson Reuters research institute and publisher in 2015.
C. Career Opportunities and Graduates:
i. Career Opportunities:
Mathematics helps students develop analytical thinking skills, which provide valuable contributions to finding employment in many fields. In various areas of modern technological societies, there is a need for specialists skilled in mathematics and computer science. Consequently, in the coming years, job opportunities will increase for those who know how to apply mathematics to real-world problems. Employment prospects suggest that individuals with strong mathematical skills will have promising careers. A mathematics graduate utilizes their analytical and creative abilities to assist organizations in developing more effective systems and operational processes. Fields where our graduates work include academia, software specialization, expertise in public and private institutions, the insurance sector, finance and banking, the stock market, and the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK). Teaching mathematics in high schools is another major opportunity for our graduates. Those who pursue their Ph.D. can work as academic staff at universities. Research mathematicians work in various settings, including private and public research laboratories, commercial companies, and universities. Additionally, some of our graduates have completed their scientific studies by working in highly reputable companies in Turkey and abroad, conducting postdoctoral research at prestigious universities, and participating in influential projects in industry and science.
ii. Graduates:
To date, our undergraduate program has produced 361 highly qualified graduates. Some of our graduates work in public institutions, banks, various life insurance and financial companies, pension funds, as computer programmers/software developers, regional managers, general managers, administrative coordinators, human resources managers, credit analysts, specialists/assistant specialists, investment specialists, investment analysts, and software engineers. We also have graduates working as computer, information technology, and mathematics teachers in secondary education institutions. In addition, we have successful graduates who have pursued or are currently pursuing academic careers.
For details, the ‘Graduates’ menu can be visited…
VISION
The vision of Çankaya University’s Department of Mathematics is to teach our students to address mathematical and logical problems within a cause-and-effect framework. Within the scope of this aim, it is to provide the necessary foundational knowledge and tools for basic and undergraduate-level mathematics education and to enable and encourage them to use these in the production processes of new possible results. Within the framework of all these objectives, a total of 142 credits of basic and up-to-date courses are offered to our undergraduate students as compulsory and elective. Furthermore, our department aims to ensure that our students acquire a basic knowledge of established fields in the literature and complete their preparation for graduate education processes.
MISSION
The mission of Çankaya University’s Department of Mathematics is for our graduates and students to contribute, with their own knowledge or in collaboration with our institutional faculty members, to the solution processes of real-world problems that have emerged in various multidisciplinary fields worldwide, as well as to existing and ongoing mathematical problems.
EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENTS
The classrooms we use for department courses are generally small, located on floors A and B of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and are suitable for interactive teaching with students. Depending on the course requirements, projectors available in the classrooms can also be used.
The MATLAB and LaTeX programs, which we use intensively for mathematics, are installed in the Computer Laboratory, located in H-309, and relevant courses are conducted in this laboratory. Students can also use this laboratory for their studies during their free time.
