Admission of Foreign Students to the Institutions of Higher Education in Turkey

For Associate’s and Bachelor Degree Programs:

A. General Conditions:

Foreign students are admitted to the institutions of higher education in Turkey on condition that applicants fulfill the requirements for student admission determined by the relevant institution of higher education and approved by the Council of Higher Education.

The applications of

I) foreign students who are either high school graduates or are studying their last year in high school,

II) students with dual nationality who abandoned their Turkish or TRNC citizenship and who complete their entire high school education abroad

III) citizens of TRNC who have completed their entire high school in TRNC and have  GCE A/L result

will be accepted.  

The applications of

I) Turkish citizens,

II) TRNC citizens (except the students who have completed their entire high school in TRNC and have GCE A/L result),   

III) Students with dual nationality one of which is Turkish,

IV) Students with dual nationality one of which is TRNC (except the students who have completed their entire high school in TRNC and have GCE A/L result),   

V) Students with dual nationality who abandoned their Turkish citizenship and who have completed their entire high school education either in Turkey or TRNC,

VI) Students with dual nationality who abandoned their TRNC and who have completed their entire high school education either in Turkey or TRNC (except the students who have completed their entire high school in TRNC and have GCE A/L result),

VII) Students with dual nationality who abandoned either their Turkish or  TRNC citizenship and who graduated from the Mission schools in Turkey

VIII) Students expelled from an in institutions of higher education in Turkey due to disciplinary action

will not be accepted.

B. Institutions of Higher Education:

The criteria for the admission of the foreign students such as

• national examinations,

• international examinations,

• high school grand point average,

• examination held by institution of higher education

will be determined by the relevant institution of higher education and submitted to the Council of Higher Education. Minimum scores for admission are also determined by universities.

The list of the examinations approved by the Council of Higher Education is available in http://www.yok.gov.tr/en/content/view/277

There will be no limitation for the validity period of the Baccalaureate exams such as ABITUR, International Baccalaureate, GCE, Tawjihi which are proposed for the application assessment in admission of the foreign students to the institutions of higher education. However, the results of the university entrance examinations such as ÖSS=YGS/LGS, SAT, TCS, YÖS, GAOKAO, National University Examination of Kazakhstan etc. will be valid for two years. 

Institutions of higher education may issue a pre-acceptance letter or equivalence thereof to the students who have applied for admission for the next academic year. The number of pre-acceptance letters should not exceed one third of the total allocated places for foreign students which was announced previous year.  

Institutions of higher education issue an acceptance letter or equivalence thereof for the admitted students.

Foreign Students’ Turkish language proficiency will be assessed by the relevant institution of higher education according to the required conditions and documents.

C. Tuition fees:

The minimum and maximum amount of tuition fee to be paid annually by foreign students will be determined by the Council of Ministers, without exception among the State universities. Then, the institutions of higher education will decide the amount of tuition fee within the determined limits. 

The amount of the tuition fee to be paid by the foreign students who are admitted to the institutions of higher education established by foundations will be determined by the competent authorities of the institutions of higher education.

Tuition fees will be announced in the web site of the Council of Higher Education (http://www.yok.gov.tr/content/view/35/71)

D. Applicants:

1. “The Guide for Foreign Students for Higher Education Programs in Turkey” is available in the following web sites: www.yok.gov.tr and www.osym.gov.tr

2. The applicants who hold the necessary documents requested by the relevant institution of higher education, together with the exam score obtained from the examination stated by the relevant institution of higher education, will apply for admission within the deadlines specified by each institution of higher education.   

3. Students need to show that they have enough funds to study and live in Turkey during the duration of their studies.

Master’s and Doctoral Degree Programs:

Admission requirements of the foreign students to the Master’s or Doctoral Degree Programs will be considered by the senate of the relevant institution of higher education or of the relevant higher institute of technology. Applicants are able to access the information about the admission requirements to the Master’s or Doctoral Degree Programs in the website of the institution of higher education for which they would like to apply.