Esin Atıl graduated from the American College for Girls in Istanbul 1956 with BA degree.
[1] Atıl continued to graduate-level studies at the University of Michigan[2] where she received her Ph.D. in 1969 with a thesis titled Surname-i Vehbi: An Eighteenth Century Ottoman Book of Festivals under the supervision of Oleg Grabar.
She continued working at the Freer Gallery in the position of Historian of Islamic Art until her retirement in 1993, following which she was appointed as a Research Associate.
[6] The exhibition was acclaimed as a milestone event, receiving both positive academic reviews[7][8] and news coverage.
[9][10][11] The success of this exhibition especially led her to receive an honorary doctorate degree in 1987 from Boğaziçi University, citing her important contributions to the study of Turkish culture and history by means of seminal exhibitions and publications.