Turkey is one of the most attractive country to study for the students in the region. According to official body OSYM- (Turkish Universities Examination and Placement Board) statistics. Turkmenia is the number one country to send students to Turkey. Turkmen students number is 6,861 followed by Azerbaijan 6,703 and then Iran 4,266.
Turkey had around 31,000 international students in 2002, after 12 years it reached to 54,000. The Turkish government is targeting to reach 200,000 international student by 2020. Turkey is very keen on to be in the top 15 countries by 2020, when the international students mobilty reach over 8 million by 2020 according to UNESCO reports.
There are 184 universities in Turkey, around 110 of them belong to state and the rest of 74 are private foundation universities. Only 10 years ago Turkey had 25 private foundation, and less than 70 state universities.
Turkish universities have a total of 5,439,300 students, 54,000 of them are international students which is only 1% of total. While this percentage reaches almost 10% in many OECD countries such as USA, UK, Australia, Canada, Germany and France.
The largest universities in Turkey in terms of total students numbers;
İstanbul Üniversity; Gazi Üniversity; Marmara Üniversity, Turkish universities have 54,000 international students from 93 different countries. Istanbul University has around 4,519 international student, followed by Ankara University (2,439) and Marmara University (2,439).
After Turkmenia, Iran and Azerbaijan, the following countries sending students to Turkish Universities;
Following documents may be required to submit to the Admissions Office.
Please note that YOS (International Student Examination) exam, of which scores are valid for two years, will be applied by some of the universities. They will prepare YOS on their own terms. The others might use a different set of admission criteria.
Instead of YOS, they might ask the above mentioned exams. You should follow the latest announcements at studyinturkey.com or the official websites of the universities.
Please make sure to send your application to each university well before the application deadline.
All documents regarding the application should be submitted to the Admissions Office before the specific dates stated at the websites of the universities. Common deadline for undergraduate applications is before the 1st of August.
Quotas for international student applications for the Academic Year 2019-2020 will be announced when it is determined by the Council of Higher Education (YOK). There are limited quotas for international applicants to each of the undergraduate programs in any university. Faculties have the right not to fulfil the quotas.
For the pre-Masters courses, typical entry requirements are at least 3 years of higher education and UKVI IELTS 5.5 (minimum of 5.0 in all skills).
If you do not meet the English language entry level but have at let UKVI IELTS 4.5 (minimum 4.0 in all skills) you can do a course that includes extended English and skills (EES).
Intake: Students may be able to start in spring (January – April), summer (May – August) or autumn (September – November)
Each Turkish University sets its own admission criteria and decides which applicants meet those criteria. Therefore applications by degree-seeking international students to an undergraduate program must be made directly to the Student Affairs Office of the respective university.
Upon receiving the necessary documents from the applicant, the faculty boards evaluate the application status of each applicant. Interviews may be arranged with the candidate via e-mail or telephone if necessary. Upon acceptance of the application, the applicant obtains the right to study at the university and to register for the upcoming semester.
Study in Turkey team recommends you to intensively search for a suitable program via the program search engine at StudyInTurkey.Com. You will learn more about the universities that interest you, and choose the right program for you by the help of this search engine. After you shortlist the programs you favour, you should investigate further the university, faculty and program at their official web pages. Please do not forget to mention that you learned about the school from Study in Turkey.
In 2010, YOK (Higher Education Institute) made new arrangements for Foreign Student Examination called YOS and foreign students studying at universities in Turkey.
According to these new regulations starting from 2011, the YOS exam will no longer be centrally made by OSYM. Instead, universities will set their own criteria about admissions of international students and organize Examinations for Foreign Students (YOS) in their own terms.
Therefore, prospective students should apply separately to each university. Before applying to any program, it is strongly advised that you should contact the Admissions Office to figure out which documents or exams are required by the selected program.
Not all, but some universities provide students with the amenities of online application and registration system. To ensure, please check out the university's official website. Yet, most schools require students to submit applications in person.
Tuition fees for higher educational degree programs are set by the government at the beginning of each academic year. The tuition fees for international students vary depending on the nature of the program. Approximate annual tuition fees are as follows:
5.000 – 20.000 USD
5.000 – 20.000 USD
Students from Turkic republics and countries (Azerbaijan, Bashkortostan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dagestan, Karachay-Cherkessia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Mongolia, Moldova, Nakhchivan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Tatarstan, Turkmenistan, and Ukraine) pay their tuition fees as Turkish nationals at state run universities.
An average international student in Turkey will spend about 400-500 USD a month on accommodation, food, clothing, entertainment, transportation and telephone costs. Books and administrative fees are approximately 100-150 USD per semester. Remember, though, that this figure depends on your location, lifestyle and which degree course you attend. You should seek further information on living costs from your institution directly.
Obtaining a student visa before departing your home country is a requirement for formal registration as a student at a Turkish university. Therefore, students who come to Turkey without a student visa will neither be allowed to register as a student at the university nor receive a residency permit once in the country.
Student visas must be obtained from a Turkish consulate, generally the one nearest your place of residence in the country of your nationality. Student visas CANNOT be issued from within Turkey. You must take or mail a copy of your "Letter of Acceptance" from a Turkish university and a completed visa application form to the appropriate Turkish Consulate. Consulate staff can provide you with an application form upon request. Please note that it generally takes around eight weeks from the time you submit your application until you receive your visa. The student visa will be stamped in your passport.
Although a time limit will be indicated on your visa, your student visa remains valid as long as you are enrolled at school.
Note that rules seem to change regularly, so see konsolosluk.gov.tr and the Turkish Embassy or Consulate in your home country for the latest information about visa requirements.
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