Bilkent University, Graphic Design,2001

Bilkent University, Graphic Design, 1996

Middle East Technical University, Department of Industrial Design, 1994

Şebnem TİMUR received her undergraduate (BID) degree from Middle East Technical University, Department of Industrial Product Design in 1994, her master's degree (MFA) from Bilkent University, Graphic Design Department in 1996, and  PhD from the same department in 2001. She worked as a research assistant at METU for 7 years; then after finishing her PHD, as a guest researcher, she went to the Department of Anthropology, Material Culture, University College London by a TÜBA scholarship for 6 months. In 2006, she was a visiting researcher at North Carolina State University, Department of Industrial Design.

In 2003, she was appointed as an Assistant Professor at Istanbul Technical University, Department of Industrial Product Design, receiving the titles of Associate Professor and Professor, respectively. In her tenure, she has conducted many theoretical and practical courses and project studios in undergraduate and graduate programs, and in addition to exhibiting their outputs, she took part in organisation of numerous other exhibitions, events, seminars, conferences, as well as holding administrative duties.

Between 2003 and 2023, a total of 4155 students registered for their courses and she contributed to the development of academics in the field by being academic advisor to 12 doctoral and 25 graduate students.

Academically, after being introduced to product design at METU, she expanded into social sciences, semiotics and cultural studies at Bilkent University, and then tried to combine anthropology and ethnographic methods with the knowledge of making in the field of design. Within the theoretical framework she presented in her doctoral course called "Cultural Approaches to Design", she facilitated the analysis of many products, objects, rituals and phenomena that are presented in conferences or published in academic journals.

Prof. Dr. Şebnem Timur has written many national and international articles, reviews, conference papers and book chapters to date. Her research focuses on "Product Design, Graphic Design, Material Culture, Cultural Representation, Objects, Semantics, Semiotics, Visual Culture, Visual Communication, Objects as Cultural Phenomena, Cultural Studies, Ethnography, Design Education, Design Theories, Design Methods".