November 7, 2025

The Council of Higher Education (CoHE) announces the latest statistics on students and academic staff. In Türkiye, there are a total of 6,715,761 higher education students, including those enrolled in formal, open, and distance education programs.

Among the 3,714,449 students registered in formal education, 2,571,297 are enrolled in undergraduate programs and 1,143,152 in associate degree programs. Of the 3,001,312 students registered in open and distance education, 1,921,032 are in associate degree programs, while 1,080,280 continue their studies in undergraduate programs.

Nearly 2 million people study for a second degree

Out of the 6.7 million students registered in the higher education system, 1,961,195 are studying for a second degree. Among these, 631,542 are enrolled in undergraduate programs, and 1,329,653 in associate degree programs.

When students pursuing a second degree are excluded, the current number of students is 4,754,566. Of these, 3,020,035 are in undergraduate programs and 1,734,531 are in associate degree programs.

Practice-based education becomes more widespread

The number of students enrolled in practice-based education programs has reached 2,009,572. Among them, 1,179,435 are at the undergraduate level and 830,137 are at the associate degree level.

Among practice-based undergraduate programs, the field with the highest number of students is Medicine, with 132,001 students, followed by Nursing with 89,570, and Computer Engineering with 87,788 students.

At the associate degree level, Computer Programming ranks first with 56,615 students, followed by Accounting and Data Applications with 38,729, and Banking and Insurance with 32,156 students.

Women’s participation strengthens in applied health programs

According to the data, women show a particularly strong interest in applied programs in the health field. In the 2025 Higher Education Institutions Exam (YKS), the most preferred undergraduate program among female candidates was Midwifery, while the most preferred associate degree program was Medical Secretary Training.

Newly established associate degree programs, such as Tele-Health Technology and Medical Data Processing Technology, have also become among the fields with the highest number of female students this year.

Academia is getting younger, and the share of women increases

A total of 186,942 academic staff are employed at higher education institutions across Türkiye. Among them, 99,172 are men and 87,770 are women. Thus, the proportion of female academics has reached 47%, up from 43.6% in 2018.

Of the total, 82,579 academics are under the age of 40, while 104,363 are aged 40 and above, meaning 44.2% of academic staff are under 40. Furthermore, 114,207 are under 45 years old, while 72,735 are over 45. Consequently, the proportion of academics younger than 45 has risen to 61.1%.