Boğaziçi University (Turkish: Boğaziçi Üniversitesi) is a public university located on the European side of the Bosphorus strait in Istanbul, Turkey. It has four faculties and two schools offering undergraduate degrees, and six institutes offering graduate degrees. Founded in 1863, it is the first American higher education institution founded outside the United States, having strong ties to the American educational system through Robert College. Boğaziçi University consistently ranks highest in Turkey, having the most number of applicants via the YGS-LYS Turkish university entrance examinations. This allows Boğaziçi University to attract many of the highest scoring students; as well as having the most preferred applied science, education, engineering, and social science programs in Turkey. The language of instruction is English.