The Faculty Development Program (FDP) was established to address the need for qualified faculty members in our country. It combines Articles 33 and 35 of Higher Education Law No. 2547, which pertain to both domestic and international doctoral studies. This program aimed to produce advancements in science and technology at our universities while simultaneously training faculty members. A key feature of the domestic-international doctoral model was that graduates would return to their home universities with a research project prepared in consultation with their thesis advisors, allowing them to continue collaborative research there.

The implementation of FDP involved framework protocols between universities and was carried out by joint commissions and juries composed of faculty members and administrators from participating institutions. Funding was provided by the Ministry of Development (formerly the State Planning Organization-SPO) and YÖK (The Council of Higher Education). The primary goal of the program was to train qualified faculty members to address Turkey's faculty shortage and to ensure that other universities could benefit from the expertise of institutions strong in specific fields. The program was conducted at METU between 2002 and 2010, and by YÖK from 2010 to 2020, with financial support from the Ministry of Development and administrative assistance from YÖK staff. Below are tables detailing the number of students enrolled in the programs.