📘 Introduction to the Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation

Balıkesir University Vocational School of Health Services was established by Law No. 3837, published in the Official Gazette dated 11 July 1992 and numbered 21281. The school began providing associate degree education on 10 September 1992, and later transitioned to undergraduate education as Balıkesir School of Health with the Council of Ministers’ Decision No. 96/685, dated 2 November 1996.

Subsequently, the Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation was founded upon the approval of the Council of Higher Education (YÖK) on 3 February 2012 (Decision No. 5765). The Faculty of Health Sciences was established by the Council of Ministers’ Decision No. 2018/11959, published in the Official Gazette dated 14 June 2018 and numbered 30451.

The Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation began developing its academic staff and infrastructure in 2012 and accepted its first students in the 2020–2021 academic year. The department, operating under the Faculty of Health Sciences at Balıkesir University, aims to train physiotherapists who are modern, productive, ethically principled, competent, and visionary, who embrace the principle of lifelong learning, and who are aware of and capable of applying their professional rights and responsibilities.

Our students receive education designed to equip them for the evolving roles of physiotherapists in the management of chronic diseases, health promotion, acute care, and specialized clinical practices.

The curriculum has been developed in accordance with the National Core Education Program for Undergraduate Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Education, as well as the standards of leading institutions worldwide. The faculty admits students through the Higher Education Institutions Examination (YKS) based on quantitative scores determined by ÖSYM.

With an academic staff of 10 members who possess national and international experience in their field, the department strives to provide high-quality education and to graduate physiotherapists with global competencies.

The department currently employs 2 associate professors, 2 assistant professors, 1 lecturer, and 1 research assistant. Our undergraduate education emphasizes interactive and practice-based learning, offering students a broad range of clinical and laboratory applications.

Courses in basic sciences are delivered through specialized curricula, taught by faculty members from the School of Medicine, providing hands-on experience with cadavers and anatomical models.

Furthermore, the faculty is preparing to establish Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Laboratories and a Physiotherapy, Rehabilitation, and Healthy Living Center, with all necessary groundwork currently underway.