Prof. Dr. Fikret Şenses graduated from Samsun Maarif College before pursuing higher education in the United Kingdom on a government scholarship. He received his B.A. (Honours) in Economics from the University of Warwick, completed his M.A. at Lancaster University, and earned his Ph.D. in Economics from the London School of Economics. During his doctoral studies, he began his professional career at the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye, where he served as an Economic Research Specialist and Economist. While at the Central Bank, he also taught part-time in the Department of Economics at Middle East Technical University (METU). After leaving the Central Bank in 1980, he joined the METU Department of Economics as a full-time faculty member. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 1985 and to Professor in 1991.
Throughout his academic career, Prof. Şenses held visiting research appointments at several leading international institutions, including Harvard University (1987–1988), the Institute of Development Studies in the United Kingdom (1989), the Institute of Developing Economies in Tokyo (1990), and Columbia University as a Fulbright Visiting Scholar (1997).
In addition to his research and teaching, Prof. Şenses held numerous academic leadership positions at METU. He served as Editor of the METU Studies in Development between 1983 and 1987, Chair of the Department of Economics during 1991–1992, and a member of the METU Senate from 2010 to 2014.
Between 2005 and 2009, he served as a member of the Council of Higher Education (YÖK), appointed by the Inter-University Council. During this period, he was selected by YÖK to join Türkiye's negotiation team for the Higher Education chapter of the European Union Screening Process. He was also among the authors of Turkey's Higher Education Strategy, published by YÖK in 2007. In addition, he served for many years on the Ethics Commission of the Inter-University Council and on various committees of the Turkish Academy of Sciences (TÜBA).
Prof. Şenses made significant scholarly contributions in the fields of development economics, industrialization, stabilization policies, labour markets, poverty, income distribution, and economics education. He authored numerous publications in both national and international journals and received several awards from METU and the Turkish Academy of Sciences (TÜBA) between 1989 and 2004 in recognition of his internationally recognized research. He was also twice honored by the Prof. Dr. Mustafa Parlar Education and Research Foundation with the Educator of the Year Award and the Outstanding Achievement in Education Award. Throughout his career, he served as a referee, editorial board member, and editor for numerous national and international academic journals.
Prof. Şenses retired from METU in May 2014 but continued to teach graduate courses in the Department of Economics. A distinguished scholar, educator, and mentor who made lasting contributions to economics research and higher education in Türkiye, Prof. Dr. Fikret Şenses passed away on 20 January 2023.