Soysal pursued further education in the United States, where she received her master's (1973) and doctoral (1976) degrees in mathematics from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
[2] She was appointed as a member of faculty in Boğaziçi University's Department of Mathematics as an assistant professor (yardımcı doçent) in 1976.
Soysal also held office as vice dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, and the chairman of the Department of Mathematics.
She also represented Boğaziçi University in the Interuniversity Council (Üniversitelerarası Kurul) and she held board membership for the Turkey branch of UNESCO.
Between 2009-2013, he served as a member of the General Assembly of the Council of Higher Education (Turkey)[3] Soysal was appointed as the president (natively rektor) of Boğaziçi University in 2004, and was the first woman who occupied the office.