After graduating from Robert College at first place in 1967, Nihat Berker received B.S. degrees in physics and chemistry from MIT in 1971. He received his M.S. and PhD degrees in physics from University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in 1972 and 1977, respectively. During 1977–79, he was a postdoctoral research fellow in the department of physics at Harvard University.[1] He was an assistant professor during 1979–82, associate professor during 1982–1988, and professor of theoretical physics during 1988–04 at MIT. From 1999 to 2004, he served as a professor and dean of the School of Sciences and Letters at The Istanbul Technical University. After losing the president (rector) elections in İTÜ,[11] he left the Technical University of Istanbul for a professor position at Koç University. He became emeritus professor of Physics at MIT in 2004. He was an adjunct professor of Boğaziçi University in Bebek, Istanbul between 1996 and 2004, as well. During 2005–2009, he served as a professor of physics at Koç University, Rumelifeneri, Sarıyer, Istanbul. From 2009 until his resignation on 11 September 2016,[12] he was the president of Sabancı University in Tuzla, Istanbul. Currently, he is the acting dean of the faculty of engineering and natural sciences at Kadir Has University.[1]