Frequently Asked Questions — Undergraduate Students

Academic Calendar is the calendar that comprises the dates of all education-related activities (registration for the semester, course add/drop, withdrawal from courses, final examinations, submission of applications, etc.). The Academic Calendar is announced subsequent to its approval by the University Senate.  It can be accessed at https://academiccalendar.boun.edu.tr.

All students, including those enrolled in the English Preparatory Division, are assigned at least one academic advisor, who is a full time faculty member or a lecturer holding a doctoral degree in the department or program the student is enrolled in.  The academic advisor provides guidance to the students on various academic issues, and assists them in their adjustment to life at the university and in their career planning.

 

In each registration period, the academic advisor assists students in selecting the appropriate courses and preparing their course lists, and having their course lists approved.  The advisor provides information on  various academic issues including course add/drop procedures, transfer, leave of absence, prerequisite courses and their sequencing, double major programs, repeating courses, summer school, and transfer of courses from other universities.  A student’s academic course registration is finalized following his/her academic advisor’s approval.

 

You can find your academic advisor on the following link:  registration.boun.edu.tr  → General Services → Advisor Lists.

Appeals of students who fail to complete their academic registration within the specified dates due to an acceptable excuse are evaluated by the executive board of the relevant faculty or school. These students may be allowed to register before the end of the add/drop period designated in the academic calendar, provided that their excuse is deemed acceptable. The University Executive Board is authorized to decide on special cases.

The curriculum of an undergraduate degree program comprises the courses and their credit load, traineeships and similar work required for graduation, and their distribution across the semesters in the student’s expected period of study. Each department’s undergraduate curriculum can be viewed in the Boğaziçi University Catalog or on OBIKAS. Students plan their course lists in line with those curricula; their course lists become final upon their academic advisor’s approval.

A student can enroll in certain courses only after he/she has passed a core course designated as prerequisite in the catalog. In other words, in order to enroll in a certain course, the student must have completed its prerequisite(s) with a passing grade. Prerequisite courses have priority since taking a course without satisfying its prerequisite criterion may cause the extension of a student’s period of study. In special cases, the prerequisite criterion may be waived by decision of the instructor teaching the desired course and the executive board of the relevant faculty. Students may submit a petition to be exempt from the prerequisite criterion.

The prerequisite for some courses is designated as “consent of instructor.”  The instructor who teaches the course determines whether a student is adequately equipped to take that particular course.  To be able to enroll in those courses, the student must have the instructor’s consent.  The student applies for consent on OBIKAS; however, it is important to get in touch with the instructor prior to applying for consent.  The student can add the course to his/her program upon receipt of the instructor’s consent.  Approval of the academic advisor is required before registration to the said course can be finalized.

In case a student cannot register to the course due to quota/class/department/surname restrictions, he/she may be allowed to register by the consent of the instructor who is teaching that course. In this case, even if the instructor gives consent, the student cannot enroll in the course unless its prerequisites are completed.

The expected period of study at the English Prep program is one year. The expected period of study for a four-year undergraduate program is eight semesters, excluding the period of study at the English Preparatory Division, and ten semesters for non-thesis integrated BS/MS programs. The financial requirements and rights of students may vary depending on whether they are in their expected or maximum period of study.

Course (credit) load is the sum of the number of credits assigned to credit courses taken in one semester.

If necessary, the credit load of a student can be decreased to 11 credits by decision of the executive board of the relevant faculty or school, or to less than 11 by University Executive Board decision. A student who wishes to register for less than 15 credits must submit a petition to the relevant faculty/school executive board. In such cases, the student’s registration is finalized by decision of the executive board.

Students take the courses in their undergraduate curriculum for credit. Courses that are not included in the curriculum can be taken on either credit or non-credit basis, in accordance with the rules specified by the relevant executive board and by approval of the academic advisor. The credits and grades earned for non-credit courses are not taken into account in calculating the student’s GPA. These courses cannot be converted to credit courses after the student’s registration for the semester has been completed.

Students may transfer the credits received for courses and laboratory work, practice, internships/traineeships, and other tasks at other higher education institutions, and have them counted towards graduation by relevant executive board decision. These courses and credits are accepted as part of the requirements for graduation by relevant executive board decision, in transfers to undergraduate programs at BU; transfers from associate degree programs to undergraduate degree programs; admission or placement of students who have studied in other higher education institutions to programs at Boğaziçi University; and courses taken by Boğaziçi University students at other higher education institutions. Courses taken previously but not considered part of graduation requirements and for which a letter grade no less than CC has been earned are eligible for transfer. The courses taken for credit at Boğaziçi University are transferred, with the grade earned for them; those taken at other higher education institutions are transferred as credit courses and are assigned a grade of P. The maximum period of time allowed for the completion of course/credit transfer procedures is specified in the relevant directives, but must be no later than the registration deadline for the semester that follows the semester the student has been placed in the undergraduate program.

Students can learn their semester grades via OBIKAS once they are electronically submitted by the course instructor. The instructor must be informed immediately in case of errors in the grades entered. In such cases, the grade change is finalized by decision of the executive board.

Students have to repeat core courses for which they have received a grade of F. Elective courses for which a student has earned a grade of F may be either repeated or other courses be taken in their stead. Students in normal status can repeat a maximum of six of the courses for which they have earned a grade of DC or DD within three semesters after they were first taken. They cannot repeat more than one course per semester. Regardless of the previous grade received in repeated courses, the last grade received is valid, but the previous grade is kept in the academic records.

A student whose GPA is below 2.00 at the end of any semester is considered “on probation”. A student who is on probation is not allowed to carry more credit hours than the average semester credit load.

A student is in senior standing if he/she has completed the minimum number of credits required for graduation minus the maximum number of credits stipulated for the last two semesters of the curriculum. 

Senior students can register for 500-level courses.  Course underload rules do not apply to senior students.  Students of senior standing who are in repeating status are also exempt from the requirement to take a maximum of two new courses. 

A student enrolled in a double major program fulfills the requirements of two separate undergraduate degree programs, as defined by the Senate, and earns two separate diplomas.  Students in a double-major program are entitled to 10 semesters of study starting from the date they started their freshman year, even if they have already met the requirements for their major program.  Students can begin a double major program as of the beginning of their third semester, but no later than the beginning of their fifth semester.  Applications must be made to the Dean’s Office of the relevant faculty/school before the deadline announced in the academic calendar [Double Major Directives (TR)].

Students can study for one or two semesters in a higher education institution which is an exchange partner of Boğaziçi University.  Detailed information on exchange programs can be obtained from the Office of International Relations [Directives for Exchange Programs (TR)].