Turkey, whose official name is Turkiye, runs a two semester academic year, with the main intake in the autumn (Guz, usually late September or October) and a smaller spring intake (Bahar, usually February). Higher education sits under the Council of Higher Education (YOK), which sets the framework every public and foundation (vakif, a private non-profit type) university works within, while each university still sets its own admission rules, fees and English or Turkish teaching mix inside that framework.
International undergraduate admission does not go through the same national exam Turkish citizens sit. Applicants are instead assessed on a foreign student exam, generally called YOS (Yabanci Ogrenci Sinavi), in place of or alongside accepted international results such as the SAT, GCE A Level, the International Baccalaureate or a recognised national school leaving certificate. Universities differ in which route they actually require: some look only for SAT or an equivalent and do not accept YOS, while others run and require their own YOS exam. A national TR-YOS also exists and is accepted by a large number of universities as an alternative to a university's own exam. Graduate admission runs through each university's own graduate school and generally asks for a relevant bachelor's or master's degree, transcripts and, for some fields, GRE or GMAT scores.
State university tuition for international students is set on a per year basis and is usually low by international standards, commonly in the low thousands of US dollars a year or less, though the exact figure varies by university and by faculty; engineering and medicine typically cost more than humanities and social science within the same university. Private foundation universities such as Bilkent, Koc and Sabanci set tuition independently of the state schedule and it runs far higher, commonly in the five figure US dollar range per year, though these universities also award their own merit scholarships that can cover part or all of that cost for admitted students.
Many programmes are taught in English, particularly in engineering, business and medicine at both state and foundation universities. Universities that teach in English usually accept IELTS or TOEFL but also run their own English proficiency exam, and a student who does not meet the minimum on arrival is normally placed in a one year English preparatory programme before starting the degree itself. Programmes taught in Turkish instead ask for a Turkish proficiency certificate, commonly from a TOMER centre.
Living costs vary a great deal by city, and Istanbul and the other largest cities cost more than smaller university towns. International students may work part time once they hold a residence permit, though undergraduates can only start after their first year of study, and any job needs its own work permit sponsored by the employer and applied for through the Ministry of Labour and Social Security; a student residence permit does not by itself carry the right to work. After graduation, a graduate of a Turkish university can apply, within six months of graduating, for a one year residence permit to look for work, separate from the student permit, and this may be applied for again after each higher level of graduation.
Student visa
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