Bilkent University was founded on October 20, 1984, by İhsan Doğramacı (1915–2010) and admitted its first students in 1986. Since the admission of the first students, the University has expanded considerably. Buildings and facilities today include faculties and departments, research centres, modern classrooms, state of the art science and engineering laboratories, art studios,  computer and health centres, gymnasiums and a semi Olympic indoor swimming pool, dormitories, faculty housing, cafeterias and restaurants, the Bilkent Concert Hall for the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra, the Odeon outdoor auditorium, which can host up to 4,000 people, elementary and secondary schools, a preschool, and a nursery.

The faculty is comprised of academic staff from over 34 different countries. Most of them worked in prominent universities in North America and Europe when they received offers from Bilkent University. According to ISI Citation Indexes, Bilkent ranks high among universities in Turkey in the number of published papers per faculty member.

Bilkent University ranked 16th in the QS Emerging Europe and Central Asia Rankings (2020) and 82nd in the Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings (2019). Bilkent has also been named one of Turkey’s highest-ranked universities in the QS Graduate Employability Rankings (2020).

With world-renowned scholars among its faculty and top-notch facilities throughout its campus, Bilkent continues to attract many of Turkey’s brightest students and is proud of its 50,000 alumni pursuing successful careers in five continents.

In parallel with Bilkent's aim to promote excellence in research and teaching, Bilkent University Faculty of Law was established in 2002.