UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION

The four year Academic education is the most extensive part of the Officer Development System that is being conducted in Turkish Air Force. This educational development process started with the establishment of Turkish Air Force Academy in Eskişehir in 1951. The education and training period of Turkish Air Force Academy carried on as two-year academic study till 1969, than the three year of academic study took place between the years of 1969 and 1974. There has been a four year academic education since 1974. For the equivalence of the education given in Air Force Academy with the other universities, there had been an improvement study held by the order of Turkish General Staff for the War Academies. Then, having considered the needs of Turkish Air Force, there has been a bachelor’s degree education on Aviation, Electronics, Computer and Industrial Engineering programs which began to be applied since 1991-1992 Academic Term. In 1994-1995, academic term departments were reorganized as of Aeronautical, Electronics, Computer and Industrial Engineering. The bachelor’s degree education that is already being carried on legalized with the War Academies’ Law numbered 4566 on 17^th May 2000, since then the officers graduated from Turkish Air Force Academy as pilot candidates started to be given the education of BS in Engineering. Dean of Academics was changed into Deanship after the War Academies’ Law took effect.

The duties of Turkish Air Force Academy Deanship are; to train active duty officers in the name of Turkish Air Force, to plan, to perform, to follow, to check, to develop, to coordinate, to supply education and training academically. And also to provide a productive and effective management of the organization under its command  according to determined goals and to support the Institute of Aeronautics and Space Technologies by the means of education and training.

The BS which is going to be given in Turkish Air Force Academy is formatted according to the goals of the Turkish Air Force Academy and also in the standards that is programmed in the field of engineering by the Council of Higher Education (CHE). 

The education program of BS has been organized considering the hours of lessons, value of credits, and the contents of the lessons according to the standards of equivalences of national or international institutions.

The resultant that is called credit includes theoretical, laboratory and practical lessons. In these lessons one credit is for weekly every theoretical lessons and also 0,5 credit for practical and laboratory lessons. Military training lessons, physical education lessons and leadership and commandership training and practices are called coefficient lessons.

The training and education year consists of two terms in the Turkish Air Force Academy. Each term includes 15 or 16 weeks for academic training and also final term examinations.

The lessons are for each term. There is at least one midterm or final exam for each lesson in a term. Fixed based and fixed letter spaced marking system is being applied in order to evaluate the cadets. Central examination system is performed. Because there is a composite examination system, all classes have the exams at the same time.

The academic year starts at the last day of September or the first Monday of October and there are five lesson days in a week in the Turkish Air Force Academy.

The cadets are given at least two weeks off in an academic year.

In summer Encampment and Military training period, all the activities of military training, orientation training, preparation for the next year and the schedule for cadet passes are planned and executed in “Annual Activity Schedule” .Military training period consists of at least two weeks and it never exceeds eight weeks.

Lessons are planned and applied to improve cadets’ reading and research habits. Applications regarding reading, observation, research techniques from different sources are also taught to cadets.

In order to create more efficient and effective educational environments, custom modified educational methods are applied. These methods are applied in laboratories and special classes.

Vital feed back from various departments of Turkish Air Force is used to improve the education system. Future needs are taken into consideration with the developments in science and technology together with close cooperation with similar inland and international institutions. 

As outlined above, Air Force Academy continues to educate and train cadets in the departments of Aeronautical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Applied Sciences, Military and Social Sciences, and Foreign Languages in the most contemporary academic knowledge and skills with theoretical and practical lessons.