The information and program qualifications related to the Railway Systems Engineering Master of Science Program, under the Department of Railway Systems Engineering of the Graduate School, are summarized below.
Information About The Program
Railway system related works started in 1795 at the Istanbul Technical University (Mühendishane-i Berr-i Hümâyûn) with a department named after Railways (Demiryolları Kürsüsü). After that, the conventional railways lived a golden era with the establishment of the young Republic of Turkey. Nowadays, there is a considerable increase in investments on high speed railways in Turkey. There also exist lots of investments on metro, light metro, and street tramway projects in İstanbul, Ankara, İzmir and also in other major cities of Turkey. All these investments in turn mean that the demand for good Railway Engineers will increase. Considering all these raised demands and the request from TCDD (Turkish State Railways) the Railway Systems Engineering Master Program is decided to be established by ITU. The program has been accepting students since the 2014-2015 academic fall term, after the endorsement of the program by YÖK (Council of Higher Education) in 2013.
Considering the huge amount of money allocated to railway investments, education on railways is becoming more and more important. Therefore, ITU Railway Systems Engineering Master Program aims to educate people who will be able to work for public or private companies in the railway sector nationally and internationally with the highest possible standards. The program is supported by several departments including Civil Engineering Department, Mechanical Engineering Department, Electrical Engineering Department and Control Engineering Department. As a result, the students have a strong consultancy support from various disciplines and they are encouraged to work in both national and international projects.
Click here for the program's website.
Registration Requirements
Application Term : Previous Term / 2024-2025 Spring Semester
Application Requirements (For T.C Nationality) ALES Numerical must be minimum 75 (old system GRE Quantitative minimum 700, new system GRE minimum 155 , GMAT minimum , GMAT minimum 540). Undergraduate GPA must be minimum 2.3/4 (60.33/100). Graduation must be All Engineering. Students who have graduated from an engineering curriculum may apply.
However, depending on courses they have passed, students may be required to take remedial courses.
Quota (For T.C Nationality): 10
Application Requirements (For International Students) ALES Numerical must be minimum 75 (old system GRE Quantitative minimum 700, new system GRE minimum 155 , GMAT minimum , GMAT minimum 540). Undergraduate GPA must be minimum 2.3/4 (60.33/100). Graduation must be All Engineering. Students who have graduated from an engineering curriculum may apply.
However, depending on courses they have passed, students may be required to take remedial courses.
Quota (For International Students): 3
Application Page Graduate Education and Training Regulation Senate Principles
Application requirements, application dates, and quotas are updated in real-time from the Application System.
English Proficiency
Regulations and Guidelines
Academic Calendar
Course Plans
Course Schedules
Course Adjustment and Exemption Procedures
Program Educational Objectives
Students that finish the ITU Railway Systems Engineering Graduate Program
• gain the habit of and the ability to follow the state of the art developments in railway systems engineering,
• learn the necessary basics for being able to apply and improve the basic information, concepts and new technologies they have attained in R&D activities,
• have the necessary foundation to be able to make research and publications for the development of science in railway systems engineering,
and specialize on a specific topic in Railway Systems Engineering.
Measurement and Evaluation
Evaluating Student Success
The student success is evaluated considering Articles 56, 57, 58, and 59 of the Istanbul Technical University Graduate Education and Training Regulation Senate Principles.
ARTICLE 56 - Before the enrollment for the courses begins, the faculty member who offers the course informs the Program Executive Committee about the types, number and contribution percentage to the final grade of the studies within the semester, as well as requirements for a right to take the semester final exam. These requirements shall be finalized by approval of the Program Executive Committee and approval of the chair of the department, who declares them to the student and informs the Graduate School.
ARTICLE 57 - A student may appeal the final grade of a course within one week following the announcement of the grades. Appeals must be submitted to the Graduate School in writing. The relevant faculty member shall re-evaluate the student's success status and submit the result to the Graduate School within one week. Appeals not submitted within the prescribed time frame shall not be considered by the Graduate School.
ARTICLE 58 - Courses in graduate programs shall be evaluated according to the following grading system.
| Grade Description |
Grade |
Scale |
| Excellent |
AA |
4.00 |
| Very good plus |
BA+ |
3.75 |
| Very good |
BA |
3.50 |
| Good plus |
BB+ |
3.25 |
| Good |
BB |
3.00 |
| Conditional Pass |
CB+ |
2.75 |
| Conditional Pass |
CB |
2.50 |
| Conditional Pass |
CC+ |
2.25 |
| Conditional Pass |
CC |
2.00 |
| Fail |
FF |
0.00 |
| Fail(No Exam) |
VF |
0.00 |
ARTICLE 59 - Students who wish to improve their cumulative grade point average may retake courses during the course-taking period. The most recent grade will be counted for the repeated courses.
Internship
There is no internship in this program.
Graduation Requirements
In order to be able to graduate from the Railway Systems Engineering Program at least eight courses with not less than twenty-four total credits hours in addition to a noncredit seminar course and a thesis work must be completed. At least, twelve credits of the total twenty four credits must be from the compulsory courses. Six of this required twelve credits must be from the common compulsory courses of the program (i.e. three credits for one the accepted Engineering Mathematics courses and three credits for RSM 503 Railway Systems Engineering course), and the other six credits must be from the group of compulsory courses depending on one of the three options of the program and must be selected with the supervisor of the student. It is possible to take 50% of the elective courses from other programs within the ITU with the approval of the supervisor. At least 30% of all the credits taken must be from courses delivered in English.
The Awarded Degree and Title
Degree : Master of Science Title : -
Program Employment Opportunities
The graduates of the program can be employed in national or international, private or public firms in the areas related with railways.
The main research areas of the program is given in http://www.rsm.itu.edu.tr/research-areas/
Number of Graduates
Graduate Statistics
| Year | Number of Graduates |
| 2017 | 3 |
| 2018 | 5 |
| 2019 | 16 |
| 2020 | 4 |
| 2021 | 5 |
| 2022 | 5 |
| 2023 | 3 |
| 2024 | 3 |
Program Outcomes
P.O.1 Developing and intensifying knowledge in railway systems engineering, based upon the competency in the undergraduate level (sufficient knowledge) (knowledge).
P.O.2 Grasping the inter-disciplinary interaction related to railway systems engineering (knowledge).
P.O.3 The ability to use the expert-level theoretical and practical knowledge acquired in railway systems engineering (skill).
P.O.4 Interpreting and forming new types of knowledge by combining the knowledge from railway systems engineering and the knowledge from various other disciplines (skill).
P.O.5 Solving the problems faced in railway systems engineering by making use of the research methods (skill).
P.O.6 The ability to carry out a specialist study related to railway systems engineering independently (competence to work independently and take responsibility).
P.O.7 Developing new strategic approaches to solve the unforeseen and complex problems arising in the practical processes of railway systems engineering and coming up with solutions while taking responsibility (competence to work independently and take responsibility).
P.O.8 Fulfilling the leader role in the environments where solutions are sought for the problems related to railway systems engineering (competence to work independently and take responsibility).
P.O.9 Assessing the specialist knowledge and skill gained through the study with a critical view and directing one’s own learning process (learning competence).
P.O.10 Systematically transferring the current developments in railway systems engineering and one’s own work to other groups in and out of the area; in written, oral and visual forms (communication and social competency).
P.O.11 Ability to see and develop social relationships and the norms directing these relationships with a critical look and the ability to take action to change these when necessary. (communication and social competency).
P.O.12 Proficiency in a foreign language –at least European Language Portfolio B2 Level- and establishing written and oral communication with that language (communication and social competency).
P.O.13 Using the computer software together with the information and communication Technologies efficiently and according to the needs of railway systems engineering (communication and social competency).
P.O.14 Paying regard to social, scientific, cultural and ethical values during the collecting, interpreting, practicing and announcing processes of railway systems engineering related data and the ability to teach these values to others (area specific competency).
P.O.15 Developing strategy, policy and application plans concerning the subjects related to railway systems engineering and the ability to evaluate the end results of these plans within the frame of quality processes (area specific competency).
P.O.16 Using the knowledge and the skills for problem solving and/or application (which are processed within railway systems engineering) in inter-disciplinary studies (area specific competency).
P.O.17 The ability to present one’s own work within the international environments orally, visually and in written forms (area specific competency).
Program Coordinator
Head of the Department
Links