University Courses (UCs) are the common core curriculum courses at Sabancı University. Students who complete the Foundation Development Year (FDY) or who are eligible to skip through FDY continue their studies in the freshman year and they start their undergraduate life by initially being exposed to the UCs. All UCs are mandatory to all students. They take about 1/3 of any undergraduate student’s total credit load. Most UCs are taken during the freshman year but others are enrolled thereafter until graduation. 

The UCs constitute the backbone of our unique educational design at Sabancı University. They aim to build a foundation conducive to follow faculty courses, to develop the practice of critical thinking with respect to ethical and moral problems, to get to know more thoroughly the society students currently live in, the world at large, and themselves. Natural Sciences, Social Sciences and sub-fields related to these sciences are all combined in UCs’ unique design. These courses not only provide our students with the necessary content and skills for their fields but also guide them in choosing their major program of study. Finally, UCs make informed and free declaration of major after enrollment possible at Sabancı University. 

All UCs can be grouped as follow: Freshman Year University courses, Major Works (HUM) courses, Project Course (PROJ), Law and Ethics course (SPS 303). 

Freshman Year University Courses

These courses are designed to give you the necessary skills, intellectual level and the basic content that is necessary for an informed specialization and to understand the rapidly changing world around you. All students are automatically registered to these courses. Civic Involvement Project (CIP) course is a unique part of our Freshman Year University courses. It comes from a basic inspiration of all Liberal Arts educational traditions is taking active roles in civic life. Responsible citizenship, avoiding isolation and alienation from the societies in which we produce our knowledge and science, and being aware of our global challenges means ‘getting out there and giving a helping hand.’ CIP courses are designed with that in mind and they are mandatory to all students. 

Major Works (HUM) courses

Major Works Courses are 200-level introductory courses (HUM 2XX) and 300-level more advanced courses (HUM 3XX) investigating the world’s leading works of literature, arts, philosophy, and music to help students develop a taste of their own.

As a vital component of the Foundation Development Program (FDP), Major Works Courses are designed to equip students not only with fundamental knowledge and understanding of human expression but also with tools of independent and critical thinking.

They also aim to help students explore their personal choices and tastes, providing them with innovative and in-depth perspectives of the world, their country, their society, and themselves.

All students who have completed 23 credits are required to take one course from the pool of 200-level Major Works Courses before graduation. SPS 101 and SPS 102 are required pre-requisites. Students who fail SPS 101 and SPS 102 courses will not be admitted to Major Works Courses.

All FASS and SBS students who have completed a 200-level Major Works (HUM 2XX) course are required to take one course from the pool of 300-level Major Works Courses (HUM 3XX) before graduation.

Any Major Works (HUM) courses taken after the completion of mandatory HUM course requirements will be counted as free electives.

For Major Works related frequently asked questions, please click.

Undergraduate Project Course 

Undergraduate Project Course (PROJ 201) is designed to introduce the basics of project design, scientific research, and the necessary skills like time management and group work to complete scheduled work. The students have to take this course on freshman or sophomore year. PROJ 201 also helps students to see the applied side of their fields of interest and thus contribute to their specialization and informed choice of major. 

Click to look closer to Undergraduate Project Course.

Law and Ethics course (SPS 303)

This course is designed to complement the FDP design as the final common course to be taken towards graduation of an undergraduate student. The course is designed to introduce and discuss major philosophical and political texts on systems of law and ethics. The course could only be taken once the other prerequisite common courses are completed and it builds on that knowledge. Like our CIP courses the Law and Ethics course also has the goal of emphasizing civic involvement by training informed, critical and responsible individuals who would have the necessary analytical tools to engage with the political, ethical and legal issues of the world around them.