History of the Establishment of Bartın University

The history of higher education in the province of Bartın dates back to the 1990s. Bartın Faculty of Forestry, established under Zonguldak Karaelmas University by Law No. 3837 dated 11 July 1992, became the first faculty established in Bartın. Founded on the Ağdacı Campus, the faculty admitted its first students in the 1993–1994 academic year and began its educational activities. With the commencement of education at Bartın Faculty of Forestry, Bartın Vocational School, the Vocational School of Health Services, and the School of Physical Education and Sports were also incorporated into the university.

By 2008, as city universities began to be established throughout the country, the city of Bartın gained its own university bearing its name. Bartın University was established by Law No. 5765 dated 22 May 2008. Along with the four academic units transferred from Zonguldak Karaelmas University, the newly established Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Faculty of Engineering, Graduate School of Social Sciences, and Graduate School of Natural Sciences admitted their first students. With a total of three faculties, two graduate schools, two vocational schools, and one school, the University began educating students who aimed to play a significant role in the future.

Since the Ağdacı Campus, which Bartın University inherited from Zonguldak Karaelmas University, would not be physically sufficient for the new faculties and departments to be established, the need for a new campus arose. Following extensive and meticulous studies, on 26 August 2009, an area of 1,171,032.22 square meters located within the boundaries of Kutlubey-Yazıcılar and Esenyurt villages on the Bartın–Zonguldak highway was designated as the Kutlubey Campus of Bartın University.

Having rapidly increased its scientific activities, Bartın University also continued to expand the number of its faculties. Respectively, the Faculty of Education and the Faculty of Letters were established in 2010; the Faculty of Science in 2011; the Graduate School of Educational Sciences and the Faculty of Islamic Sciences in 2012; Ulus Vocational School in 2017; the School of Foreign Languages and the Faculty of Health Sciences in 2018; and the Faculty of Sports Sciences in 2019. By Presidential Decision No. 1157 published in the Official Gazette No. 30812 dated 25 June 2019, the name of the Faculty of Engineering was changed to the Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Design. By Presidential Decision No. 2654 dated 15 June 2020, the graduate schools were consolidated under a single structure and renamed the Graduate School. By Presidential Decision No. 9818 dated 15 May 2025, the name of the Faculty of Islamic Sciences was changed to the Faculty of Theology as part of a new restructuring process. On 11 November 2025, Bartın Organized Industrial Zone Vocational School was established under Law No. 2547 with the aim of enhancing university-industry cooperation and training a qualified workforce. By Presidential Decision No. 11003 dated 6 March 2026, the name of the Faculty of Letters was changed to the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Today, Bartın University is a higher education institution with 9 faculties, 4 vocational schools, 1 school, and 1 graduate school, providing education to more than 15,000 students. Thanks to the importance it attaches to quality education and scientific infrastructure, Bartın University has become one of the promising universities and has gained a respected position both nationally and internationally through its activities. Within the scope of the “Regional Development-Oriented Mission Differentiation and Specialization Project,” to which the Council of Higher Education (CoHE) attaches great importance, Bartın University has specialized in the field of “Smart Logistics and Integrated Regional Applications” and continues to add value to the province of Bartın and to our country.