METU History of Architecture Program was established in 1988 as a graduate program providing specialized education and Master’s degree in architectural history within the Department of Architecture. It was integrated into the METU Graduate School of Social Sciences – rather than the METU Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, as it was the case for the other graduate programs within the same Department.  In this respect, METU AH has been the only graduate program in Turkey that offered M.A (Master of Arts) degree in history of architecture. The language of instruction is English.

METU AH, initially founded by four faculty and four research assistants, was directed by Assoc. Prof. Dr. İnci Aslanoğlu in the years 1988-95, by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Suna Güven in the years 1995-98, by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jale Erzen in the years 1998-2001, by Prof. Dr. Suna Güven in the years 2001-2007.  In the founding years, the specific research focus was on “the nineteenth and twentieth-centuries,” yet in a short period of time, the scope became enlarged by the addition of the new faculty with considerable expertise in a number of other periods and fields.  Now, the Program’s area of research covers various fields of history of architectural culture, both in national and international level. 

METU AH launched its doctoral program in 2005 with eight members, Prof. Dr. Suna Güven (director), Prof. Dr. Jale Erzen, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Belgin Turan Özkaya, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ali Uzay Peker, Asst. Prof. Dr. Elvan Altan Ergut, Asst. Doc. Dr. Lale Özgenel, Dr. Sevil Enginsoy and Dr. Namık Erkal. In 2007, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Belgin Turan Özkaya took over chairmanship and held the position until 2010. In the subsequent years, the Program was directed by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Elvan Altan Ergut in the years 2010-13, by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lale Özgenel in the years 2013-16, and by  Prof. Dr. Ali Uzay Peker in the years 2016-2019. As of the year 2021, Assist. Prof. Dr. Pelin Yoncacı Arslan is the director of the Program. Currently, the academic staff consists of four full-time professors, one associate professor, two assistant professors and four research assistants.

The program awarded the first master’s degree in 1990 and the first doctoral degree in 2009. Most of the graduates of the Program engaged in academic careers in various universities in Turkey and abroad. 

METU AH comprises a curriculum composed of must courses and a number of elective courses, each leading towards various research venues into different time periods in history of architecture. This multifaceted education is further supported by regularly held symposiums, seminars and conferences that provide unique opportunities to spread new knowledge on history of architecture.