History

The Department of Speech and Language Therapy was established within the Faculty of Health Sciences in 2015. The founding Head of the Department was Prof. Dr. Seyhun TOPBAŞ. On July 24, 2020, Dr. Lecturer R. Sertan ÖZDEMİR was appointed as Head of the Department.

The Department of Speech and Language Therapy was officially established within the Faculty of Health Sciences at Istanbul Medipol University on January 28, 2015, pursuant to the decision of the Council of Higher Education (CoHE), numbered 75850160-101.03.01/4266.

The Department offers a four-year undergraduate program. In the 2015–2016 academic year, the program commenced its educational activities with the admission of 15 students receiving full scholarships. In the 2016–2017 academic year, an additional 15 students receiving full scholarships were admitted. In the 2017–2018 academic year, the English-medium Undergraduate Program in Speech and Language Therapy was launched.

In each of the two academic years following the establishment of the English-medium program, 40 students were admitted to each of the two undergraduate programs, including 4 students receiving full scholarships and 36 students receiving a 50% tuition fee discount. As of the 2020–2021 academic year, the quota was increased to 50 students, consisting of 8 students receiving full scholarships and 42 students receiving a 50% tuition fee discount.

The Department graduated its first cohort in 2019. The English-medium program, which is currently in its third academic year, has not yet graduated its first cohort.

The Department initially commenced its educational activities at the Kavacık North Campus and, following the completion of the first two academic years, relocated to the Kavacık South Campus.

In the 2016–2017 academic year, the thesis-based Master’s Program in Speech and Language Therapy was established, followed by the Doctoral Program in Speech and Language Therapy in the 2017–2018 academic year.

The Department currently has a total of 10 academic staff members, comprising 6 full-time faculty members, 2 research assistants, and 2 practicing speech and language therapists.

Educational activities, research and development studies, and clinical professional practices within the Department are carried out at the Phonetics and Computerized Speech Laboratory and the Medipol Speech, Language and Swallowing Therapy Center (MEDKOM), both located on the South Campus. In addition, students have the opportunity to undertake clinical observations and practical training at the Speech and Language Therapy Clinics located at the University’s Mega Hospital, Çamlıca Hospital, and Koşuyolu Hospital.