Middle East Technical University (METU), founded in 1956, is an International research university, which seeks excellence in serving the country, region and the world. The main campus of METU is located in Ankara, while the two other campuses are as follows: Institute of Marine Sciences Campus, Mersin; and Northern Cyprus Campus, Kalkanlı, Güzelyurt, Northern Cyprus. The language of instruction at all METU campuses is English. METU School of Foreign Languages takes the initiative to teach English to students at Preparatory School. There are a total of 40 undergraduate programs in the five faculties of METU, namely Architecture, Arts and Sciences, Economic and Administrative Sciences , Education, and Engineering. There are 159 graduate programs available in the Graduate Schools of Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, Informatics, Applied Mathematics and Marine Sciences.With these advantages on hand, METU ranks 279 in the top World University Rankings in Times Higher Education 2011-2012.