Mersin University was established by Law No. 3837 adopted by the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye on 3 July 1992 and began operating on 10 November 1992.
Having completed its thirty-first year in the 2023-2024 academic year, our University graduated its first students in June 1997.
In the 1993-1994 academic year, Mersin University began teaching by admitting students to the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the Faculty of Fine Arts, the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, the Faculty of Engineering, the School of Tourism and Hotel Management, Mersin Vocational School, Gülnar Vocational School, Mut Vocational School, and the Institutes of Social Sciences and Natural Sciences.
The Faculty of Fisheries became operational in the 1995-1996 academic year and the Faculty of Medicine in the 1998-1999 academic year. On 15 March 1999, the Faculty of Medicine Research and Application Center (Hospital) was opened.
Adding the Faculties of Education and Architecture in 1999, the Faculty of Pharmacy in 2000, and the Tarsus Faculty of Technical Education and the Faculty of Communication in 2001, the university raised its number of faculties to 11. Following subsequent closures, transfers and new establishments — including the Faculty of Technology (2009), the Faculty of Tourism (2011), the Faculty of Maritime Studies (2012), the Faculties of Dentistry and of Aviation and Space Sciences (2015), the Faculty of Islamic Sciences (2016), the Faculty of Nursing (2017) and the Faculty of Sport Sciences (2019), as well as the transfer of two faculties to the newly founded Tarsus University in 2018 — the current number of faculties is 19.
The faculties within Mersin University are: Denizcilik Fakültesi, Diş Hekimliği Fakültesi, Eczacılık Fakültesi, Eğitim Fakültesi, Fen Fakültesi, Güzel Sanatlar Fakültesi, Hemşirelik Fakültesi, İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi, İlahiyat Fakültesi, İletişim Fakültesi, İnsan ve Toplum Bilimleri Fakültesi, Mimarlık Fakültesi, Mühendislik Fakültesi, Müzik ve Sahne Sanatları Fakültesi, Sağlık Bilimleri Fakültesi, Spor Bilimleri Fakültesi, Su Ürünleri Fakültesi, Tıp Fakültesi and Turizm Fakültesi.
The current number of schools (yüksekokul) is 4: Anamur Uygulamalı Teknoloji ve İşletmecilik Yüksekokulu, Erdemli Uygulamalı Teknoloji ve İşletmecilik Yüksekokulu, Silifke Uygulamalı Teknoloji ve İşletmecilik Yüksekokulu and Yabancı Diller Yüksekokulu.
Starting with 4 vocational schools at its founding, the university today has 10 vocational schools: Anamur, Aydıncık, Denizcilik, Erdemli, Gülnar Mustafa Baysan, Mut, Silifke, Sağlık Hizmetleri, Sosyal Bilimler and Teknik Bilimler Vocational Schools.
In addition to the Institute of Social Sciences, the Institute of Natural Sciences and the Institute of Health Sciences, the Institute of Educational Sciences and the Institute of Fine Arts became operational in the spring semester of 2010-2011, bringing the total to 5 institutes offering graduate and doctoral education.
The number of research centers at our University has risen to 40, in diverse fields, led by the Advanced Technology Education, Research and Application Center, the Young Entrepreneur Application and Research Center, the Youth Science and Art Application and Research Center, the Continuing Education Application and Research Center and the Career Center.