History

The history of our University dates back to the establishment of the Bandırma Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, which was founded within Balıkesir University under Law No. 3897 on July 3, 1993, and commenced its educational activities on October 18, 1993, with the Departments of Economics and Business Administration. In the same year, Bandırma Vocational School also began its educational activities. In the following years, Gönen Vocational School, Manyas Vocational School, Erdek Vocational School, and Bandırma School of Health were established and continued their education within the structure of Balıkesir University. As a result of the regional needs and the strong demand from the local community, our University was officially founded as the second university of Balıkesir Province by Law No. 6640, enacted on April 23, 2015.

The name of our University, Bandırma Onyedi Eylül University, originates from September 17, 1922—the date marking the liberation of Bandırma during the Turkish War of Independence, when the final shots were fired against enemy forces, symbolizing the eternal preservation of our nation’s independence.

Our University was established through the transfer of long-standing academic units and experienced academic and administrative staff from Balıkesir University, including the Bandırma Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Bandırma School of Health, Bandırma Vocational School, Gönen Vocational School, Manyas Vocational School, Erdek Vocational School, and the Gönen Geothermal Institute. With its strong foundation and the motto “A Bridge to the Future,” Bandırma Onyedi Eylül University has taken its distinguished place in the field of higher education.

Today, our University continues its educational and research activities across 11 campuses, with 12 faculties, 1 institute, 1 school, 8 vocational schools, and 13 research and application centers. As of 2025, the University has 20,792 students—including 1,821 international students—as well as 648 academic and 376 administrative staff members, offering programs at associate, undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral levels.

In addition to the academic units initially included in Law No. 6640—namely, the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Faculty of Maritime Studies, Ömer Seyfettin Faculty of Applied Sciences, School of Foreign Languages, Bandırma Vocational School, Gönen Vocational School, Manyas Vocational School, Erdek Vocational School, and the Graduate School of Education—our University has, in a short time since its establishment, added many new academic units to its structure. These include the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture, Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Islamic Sciences, Faculty of Communication, Faculty of Agriculture, Vocational School of Justice, Vocational School of Health Services, Maritime Vocational School, Bandırma Organized Industrial Zone Vocational School of Technical Sciences, and Susurluk Vocational School of Agriculture and Forestry.