The Hacettepe University Ankara State Conservatory (Turkish: Hacettepe Üniversitesi Ankara Devlet Konservatuvarı), the first conservatory to be founded in the Republic of Turkey, was established in 1936 by a directive of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

The conservatory is part of Hacettepe University.

The roots of the Ankara State Conservatory goes to the School of Music Teachers (Ottoman Turkish: Mûsikî Mu'allim Mektebi), which was established in Ankara by the order of President Mustafa Kemal Atatürk under the Ministry of Education to train music teachers for secondary schools in 1924 right after the proclamation of the Republic. The students were educated in besides music and French language also in other lessons such as Turkish language, history and biology. The teachers were member of the Presidential Symphony Orchestra (Ottoman Turkish: Riyâset-i Cumhûr Mûsikî Hey'eti), later named Turkish: Cumhurbaşkanlığı Senfoni Orkestrası). Starting from 1925, students such as Ulvi Cemal Erkin, Ahmet Adnan Saygun and Necil Kazım Akses, who were sent to Europe on state scholarships for music education, served as faculty at the school after their return home. Inıtially, a hotel in Cebeci quarter of ANkara consisting of three houses built of mudbricks was used as the school building.

In 1928, it was decided to replace this buildings, whose physical facilities could not meet the increasing needs and crowded population, with a new building after its demolition. The new school building was designed by the Austrian-Swiss architect Ernst Arnold Egli (1893–1974), and completed in 1929. It consisted of a concert hall and lobby, a dining hall, dormitory and study rooms in addition to classrooms. Education continued until 1985 in the building, which was expanded with new spaces.

In 1933, a bill was prepared on the "National Music and Theatre" by a commission consisting of the school principal Osman Zeki Üngör (1880–1958) and teachers led by the Minister of Education Hikmet Bayur (1891–1980). It aimed the establishment of an institution called the "State Music Conservatory" or "Theater Academy" to cover all music branches in order to meet all kinds of music needs. It was envisaged that this institution would be structured as an academy consisting of the Music Teachers School, the Presidential Philharmonic Orchestra and the Theatre Department. The bill was enacted in 1934. Thereupon, the students' inspector of the Turkish Government in Berlin, Germany was tasked to find an expert to consult during the implementation of the project. An agreement was signed with German composer and musicologist Paul Hindemith (1895–1963) for the realization the project.

Hindemith went to Turkey several times intermittently between 1935 and 1937, prepared a detailed report consisting of sixteen chapters, and oversaw the implementation of his proposals and designs. It was decided that the institution to be established would include a school for free music education, a school for training music teachers, and a theater school. While Hindemith took over the control of the music classes, the administration of the theatre classes was given to the German theater actor Carl Ebert (1887–1980).

The parts of institution providing music and theatre education formed the State Conservatory in 1936 apart from the School of Music Teachers. The activities of the conservatory started in 1936. The Conservatory shared the same builfing with the School of Music Teachers until 1938, when the latter was transferred to "Gazi Secondary Teachers' School and Education Institute" ("Gazi Orta Muallim Mektebi ve Terbiye Enstitüsü"), which was renamed to "Music Branch of Gazi Secondary Teachers and Education Institute" ("Gazi Orta Öğretmen ve Terbiye Enstitüsü Müzik Şubesi ").

Students of the School of Music Teachers, who passed an examination in May 1936, were to the conservatory. The first students of the conservatory started the education in November 1936. The ceremony of the first graduates took place on 3 July 1941 attended by President İsmet İnönü (1884–1973) and high officials.