From its founding in 1863, Robert College has sought to promote educational excellence in Turkey. Today Robert College seeks to graduate young men and women with the skills, insights, and determination to function as leaders and contributing citizens in a wide range of social and cultural roles, both locally and internationally. To achieve this end, Robert College has created an academic program designed to enable talented, highly motivated students to pursue academic excellence and acquire fluency and literacy in English and Turkish. It seeks to develop in students the desire and ability to communicate openly, candidly and constructively, and to foster in them a broad international outlook. Students are also encouraged to be life-long learners, to develop creative and critical thinking skills, as well as to acquire knowledge vital for success in the 21st-century world. Both within and beyond the classroom, Robert College teaches its students to value integrity and to understand that democratic freedom entails responsibility as well as sensitivity to and respect for the needs, rights, and property of others. Through academic and co-curricular activities, students develop the individual interests and aptitudes that will allow them to contribute to society in areas such as education and research, technology, government, social services, commerce, and the arts.