New Paltz and Turkish university system offer dual diploma program

NEW PALTZ — The State University of New York at New Paltz is collaborating with the Turkish Higher Education Council (YÖK) to bring Turkish students to the New Paltz campus next summer to study business and economics.

Students participating in the YÖK-SUNY Dual Diploma Program will complete their undergraduate degree at Istanbul Technical University, the oldest technical university in Turkey, or Middle Eastern Technical University in Ankara, the most selective public university in Turkey, in addition to traveling to New Paltz for three years during the summer to take a full slate of courses.

The program is “in concert with our central mission in educating students who can contribute as productive members in a global society,” said S. Ilgü Özler, campus coordinator of the YÖK-SUNY Dual Diploma Program. “The collaborative effort between SUNY and YÖK brings us into a new frontier in international education that will allow students to develop a truly global perspective.”

Under this program, the students will also have the opportunity to develop excellent English language skills, both in the Turkish classroom and in a native English environment, and complete a rigorous undergraduate degree program in less than four years that will prepare them for a range of careers.

This new program is in concert with the efforts of SUNY Chancellor Robert L. King, who has stressed the importance of placing a stronger emphasis on international education, demonstrating his belief that today’s students must be educated to become productive citizens of the world community. The Chancellor is actively working to expand foreign study opportunities for students and faculty, and developing new, joint degree programs with leading Universities in both Russia and Turkey.

David Lavallee, provost of SUNY New Paltz, said he has been pleased by how the New Paltz faculty and those of the Turkish universities have been able to cooperatively design joint programs of study.

“The Turkish universities we have chosen as partners teach their courses in English and use a very similar system of courses and degree requirements,” he said. “They also attract the best students in the country, often with SAT-equivalent scores above 1400.”

To learn more about the YÖK-SUNY Dual Diploma program, visit the new comprehensive Web site at www.newpaltz.edu/dualdiploma.