Türkiye Scholarships

A full-time scholarship places the scholar in a university department and pays tuition fees, accommodation and health insurance. The monthly stipend is 6,500 Turkish lira for undergraduates, 9,500 lira for master's students and 13,000 lira for doctoral students. Scholars also receive a flight at the start of their studies and one home after graduation; the return ticket must be applied for within six months of graduating, with proof of graduation and at least 15 days' notice.

Merit Scholarship holders, selected for outstanding grades and high scores in international language and academic tests, receive twice the usual stipend. The merit criteria include a grade average of 90 percent and, depending on level, SAT or IB scores for undergraduates and ALES or GRE scores for graduate students, with TOEFL or IELTS results.

Citizens of all countries can apply, including those who will graduate before August of the application year. Turkish citizens, people who have lost Turkish citizenship, and anyone already enrolled at a Turkish university at the level they are applying for cannot. Minimum grades are 70 percent for associate and bachelor's candidates, 75 percent for graduate candidates and 90 percent for candidates in medicine, dentistry and pharmacy.

Age limits apply at every level: under 21 for associate and bachelor's programmes, under 30 for master's, under 35 for PhD, and under 50 for the research scholarship. The graduate programme offers master's and doctoral places in the social sciences, humanities, natural sciences and engineering, and does not award graduate scholarships in the health sciences.

Every scholar without a C1 Turkish certificate takes a one-year preparatory course in their first year, even if their degree is taught in English, Arabic or French. The course runs to 960 hours of general Turkish and 140 hours of academic Turkish, and it is completed by earning a C1 certificate. Scholars who already hold a C1 certificate from the Yunus Emre Institute or a Turkish university language centre are exempt, and the Directorate may let students in foreign-language programmes start their degree directly, on condition that they prove the required level before finishing.

Attendance counts. More than 20 hours of absence in a month cuts the stipend by a quarter, and more than 100 hours of unexcused absence in total cancels the scholarship. A student who fails the preparatory year has the scholarship frozen until they submit a certificate and start their degree, and loses it if they have not reached the required level by the end of the second year.

Many Turkish university programmes are taught in Turkish, and some in English or other languages. For those, applicants need an internationally recognised language certificate that the university accepts, and many also ask for GRE, GMAT or SAT results. The application system shows the language of instruction for each programme, and candidates can only choose from the universities and departments the system offers them, which depend on their educational background.

The Art Scholarship Programme offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral places in music, performing arts and fine arts at three universities: Ankara Music and Fine Arts University, Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University and Istanbul Technical University. Before applying, candidates should check that their chosen field will be recognised in their own country.