1. Scientific Approach
It is unconditionally accepted that a university's mission is to ensure the understanding of current knowledge and the discovery of new knowledge. On this subject, there should be no hindrance to the discovery and sharing of new knowledge. An environment should be created in which research, creativity and student self-development can be fostered.

2. Academic Freedom
The right to determine how, to whom, and by whom knowledge is taught is paramount. The university is opposed to dogmatic thought and ideas, under the principle of the scientific approach. The right to honest inquiry and legal protest is acknowledged and guaranteed by law.

3. Interdisciplinary Approach
Interdisciplinary education and research are encouraged. The university enables academic staff to work on educational and research projects with educational centres and institutes outside their own academic units.

4. Lifelong Education
The university encourages lifelong education for its own staff, graduates, and people from all walks of life, and provides these people with new scientific knowledge. In order that the people of our country benefit more effectively and efficiently from METU’s experience and culture, the university develops and applies exemplary educational models.

5. The Training of Qualified People
For the good of society, the university aims to develop students with humane and moral values, the skills for leadership, open-mindedness, and the habit of continuously re-educating themselves. Graduates are oriented to employ the skills they have learned at METU in the workplace. Students are encouraged to become scientists, and thus be among the nation’s most important human resources.

6. Student Support
The duty to provide the necessary support in order to prevent those students with material difficulties from being deprived of higher education is acknowledged.

7. Communication with Society
The university aims to continue performing its functions in order to benefit every sector of society and remain in contact with its environment. The university is concerned with the finding and promoting of solutions to the problems of our nation, region and the international community. It plays a prominent role in providing communication in scientific, cultural and social fields.

8. Involved Administration
The university encourages its academic staff, departments and administrative units to prepare, assess and continuously evaluate plans and concrete strategies in order to keep up with rapid change and globalization. To this end, an administrative policy which is based on knowledge, the delegation of duties and responsibilities, democratic principles, involvement, dynamism, flexibility and transparency is pursued. Respect for the individual and tolerance are our foremost concerns.