The Institute of Population Studies was established in 1967 within Hacettepe University, which had recently completed its establishment in Ankara. At the same time as the university’s foundation, the Institute was established thanks to the pioneering efforts of the university’s president Prof. İhsan Doğramacı and the founding director Prof. Nusret Fişek. It was indeed a visionary decision to initiate a program that had never been offered before in Turkey and to establish an institute whose research would guide data-based policymaking in the country—and—all of this within such a young university. The Institute of Population Studies is an institution founded by two professors of medicine for the advancement of social sciences.

According to official documents, the efforts for the establishment of the Institute of Population Studies began in 1966. According to the well-documented and carefully preserved Hacettepe Institute of Population Studies Plenum and Administration Journal, the first plenary session took place in the Hacettepe Science Center on August 4, 1966. The opening of the meeting was carried out by the Hacettepe Science Center chairman Prof İhsan Doğramacı. With 17 out of the 29 members in attendance, the Institute statute was read, and a board consisting of of six principal and two substitute members was elected. The principal members of the board – with their then academic ranks- were Dr. Bozkurt Güvenç, Enver Ergun, Prof. Haluk Cillov, Dr. Turhan Oğuzkan, Dr. Şerif Mardin, and Dr. Rıdvan Özker while the substitute members were Dr. Mediha Eldem and Dr. Necat Erder. The documents show that Prof. Arif Payaslıoğlu was elected as a member by the Science Center. In time, there have been changes in the board’s make-up. The Institute’s administration is now carried out by the board of management and an executive board. The latter is made up of a director, deputy director, general secretary, a financial affairs officer, and a program officer.

The remarks made during the Plenary Session give clues regarding the identity and philosophy of the organization that was being created. For instance, there is a wish for the Institute to collaborate closely with the State Planning Organization, volunteer organizations, and related associations. These remarks suggest that there was "a lack of serious research regarding population" and that "such research was especially needed in developing countries". Also, they emphasize the need to “prioritize education on demography.” These statements would later become the cornerstones of the Institute.

The Hacettepe Institute of Population Studies Working Report of 1967 indicates that the Institute was legally founded on July 3, 1966. The first Plenary Session came one month after that in August 1966. On July 8, 1967, the establishment of Hacettepe University was complete; and on December 28 of the same year, the University Senate approved the Institute statute. The Institute’s statute was published in issue 13898 of the Official Gazette on July 17, 1971. Later, when Turkey’s higher education system changed during the 1980s, the Institute adapted its administration accordingly. 

The Institute of Population Studies planned its activities around the three fundamental goals outlined in its foundational mission. These activities were separated into education, research, and dissemination of information; and the institute’s structure was set in this direction. First, as indicated in the documents, the emphasis was placed on gathering and disseminating knowledge in population issues and educating the public in these topics. Accordingly, a Communication and Documentation Center was established within the Institute as well as the Public Education and Social Research departments.

It was decided that the Institute would directly administer the Communication and Documentation Center and other common education services; and the research and scientific education functions would be handled jointly with the Hacettepe School of Medicine and Health Sciences Postgraduate School.

Today, the Documentation Center continues to serve its purpose of collecting all domestic and international material on population and related topics. It is still the only documentation center that serves this purpose in the field of demography. Its content is cataloged using a sorting system designed specifically for the Center and moved to the digital space in 1999. However, the need to modernize the Documentation Center using technology remains unaddressed. In the Center, more than 7000 books and documents on population and related subjects, as well as masters and doctoral theses written in the Institute of Population Studies, have been cataloged.

Initially, the Institute offered the master’s degrees under “Population Dynamics.” Later, demography was registered as a separate science discipline in the higher education structure. This registration was made under two departments titled “Technical Demography” and “Economic and Social Demography”. This structure changed in 2013. The demand for social scientific research from various organizations, the increased importance and widespread use of data-based decision-making processes, and needs for policymaking necessitated a restructuring of the Institute. Accordingly, the departments of "Technical Demography" and "Economic and Social Demography" were merged into the Department of "Demography". Furthermore, in order to train scientists specialized in research methods, the Department of Social Research Methodology was established based on the Institute’s accumulated knowledge on research. With the establishment of the Department of Social Research Methodology, the Institute began training experts in research design, application and data analysis through quantitative and qualitative research methods. Among the Demography, Social Research Methodology, and Policy and Strategy Studies departments, only the first two remain active today. The language of instruction at the Institute is English. 

For more detailed information, please review our Institute's booklet.