Koç University(KU) is a private, non-profit university established in 1993 and is located on the European side of Istanbul, Turkey. Chemistry Department accepts 12 freshmen every year, 8 with full, 4 with half merit-scholarships. Students accepted rank in the top 2% of Turkish high school graduates. Students participate in research activities starting their freshman years. Polymer research group accepts 3-5 new students every year. Fundamentals of polymer science (synthesis, characterization, morphology) are discussed on Friday Group Meetings, followed by research presentations. Newcomers start working with experienced undergraduate and graduate students. As they gain experience, they work independently on their own projects. Juniors and seniors have “independent” research projects, which involve polymer synthesis, characterization, structure-property behavior, surface modification and theoretical modeling. So far about 50 students were involved in the program, 30 graduated and 26 were accepted to Ph.D.programs of Virginia Tech (7), University of Massachusetts-Amherst (4), University of Akron (4), University of Southern Mississippi (2), Carnegie-Mellon University (3), Virginia Commonwealth University (2) and other US Institutions. Research carried out by undergraduates resulted in 10 journal papers in Polymer and Macromolecules, 2 chapters in ACS Symposium Series and 14 ACS (Polymer or PMSE) preprints.
US University | Students accepted for PhD |
---|---|
Virginia Tech | 9 |
University of Massachusetts – Amherst | 5 |
Carnegie Mellon University | 3 |
University of Akron | 6 |
Virginia Commonwealth University | 2 |
University of Southern Mississippi | 2 |
University of Missouri – Rolla | 1 |
State University of New York – Stony Brook | 1 |
New York University | 1 |
University of Pennsylvania | 1 |
University of Pittsburgh | 1 |
University of Chicago | 1 |
North Dakota State University | 1 |