Bahçeşehir University is a private educational institution in Turkey, located at the European side of Istanbul. The Turkish National Assembly authorized the establishment of the University of Bahçeşehir by the Bahçeşehir Uğur Education Foundation in 1998. An academic and strategic protocol was signed shortly after (February 1998) with San Diego State University in California, USA. The enrollment of the first students was made after the first placement exam (ÖSYS) in 1999-2000 academic year. The University has 2 campuses, Beşiktaş Campus which includes Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Arts and Science, Faculty of Law, Faculty of Management, Faculty of Architecture, and Institute of Natural Sciences and Institute of Social Sciences and a Vocational school. Şişli Campus includes Faculty of English Preparation. The current rector is Prof. Dr. Yılmaz Esmer. Bahçeşehir University was founded in 1998 as a foundation university by Bahçeşehir Uğur Educational Institutions.