Türkiye: Higher Education

Higher Education

Overview

Information on key aspects of a country’s education system, including governance, instructional language, and other structural features defined by national or regional regulations.

Ministry Responsible

Council of Higher Education (YÖK, Yükseköğretim Kurulu)

Language of Instruction

English, Turkish

Academic Calendar

2 semesters

September to June

Quality Assurance and Accreditation

The principal quality assurance and accreditation bodies.

N/A

Admissions

No.	Institution Type	Entrance Examination	Administering Body
1	Public universities	Yükseköğretim Kurumları Sınavı (YKS, Higher Education Institutions Examination) Öğrenci Seçme ve Yerleştirme Sistemi (ÖSYS, Student Selection and Placement System)	Ölçme, Seçme ve Yerleştirme Merkezi (ÖSYM, Measuring, Selection and Placement Center)
2	Medical schools (for post-graduate specialization, residency)	Tıpta Uzmanlık Eğitimi Giriş Sınavı (TUS, Medical Specialization Education Entrance Examination)	Ölçme, Seçme ve Yerleştirme Merkezi (ÖSYM, Measuring, Selection and Placement Center)
3	All universities (for master’s degree, doctoral degree admission, and academic staff)	Akademik Personel ve Lisansüstü Eğitimi Giriş Sınavı (ALES, Academic Personnel and Postgraduate Education Entrance Examination)	Ölçme, Seçme ve Yerleştirme Merkezi (ÖSYM, Measuring, Selection and Placement Center)

Institutions

Types and number of officially recognized institutions providing secondary education.

No.	Institution Type	Number of Institutions	Qualifications Offered	Quality Assurance and Accreditation
1	Public (state) universities	129 (2026)	Bachelor’s degree Master’s degree Doctoral degree	Yükseköğretim Kurulu (YÖK, Council of Higher Education) Yükseköğretim Kalite Kurulu (YÖKAK, Turkish Higher Education Quality Council, THEQC)*
2	Private universities	74 (2026)	Bachelor’s degree Master’s degree Doctoral degree	Yükseköğretim Kurulu (YÖK, Council of Higher Education) Yükseköğretim Kalite Kurulu (YÖKAK, Turkish Higher Education Quality Council, THEQC)*
3	Higher vocational schools	4 (2026)	Associate degree	Yükseköğretim Kurulu (YÖK, Council of Higher Education) Yükseköğretim Kalite Kurulu (YÖKAK, Turkish Higher Education Quality Council, THEQC)*
4	Public vocational schools	914 (2026)	Certificate Vocational diploma	Millî Eğitim Bakanlığı (MEB, Ministry of National Education)
5	Private vocational schools	105 (2026)	Certificate Vocational diploma	Millî Eğitim Bakanlığı (MEB, Ministry of National Education)

*YÖKAK/THEQC is registered with the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR) as of June 2025

Source: YÖK Higher Education Statistics Portal

Academic Qualifications

Not all awards or study patterns are included.

No.	Degree Name	Admissions Requirements	Length of Program	Graduation Requirements	Post-graduation Pathways
1	Bachelor’s degree	Lise Diploması (High School Diploma) or equivalent Yükseköğretim Kurumları Sınavı (YKS, Higher Education Institutions Examination) Program-specific requirements	4 years	240 ECTS credits Internship or project (varies by program)	Access to: master’s degree doctoral degree
2	Postgraduate diploma	Bachelor’s degree Entrance examination for some programs Relevant work experience for some programs Interview for some programs	1 to 2 years	30 to 60 ECTS credits Thesis, project, and/or final examination	Access to:
3	Master’s degree	Bachelor’s degree (in relevant field) Entrance examination for some programs Relevant work experience for some programs	1.5 to 2 years (thesis), or 2 years (non‑thesis)	60 to 120 ECTS credits Research, thesis, and/or project Publication requirements, language competency, or examinations (varies by program)	Access to: doctoral degree
4	Doctoral degree	Master’s degree (from a relevant field) Akademik Personel ve Lisansüstü Eğitimi Giriş Sınavı (ALES, Academic Personnel and Postgraduate Education Entrance Examination) Interview	3 to 4 years	Coursework Comprehensive examinations Research, dissertation, and defense	Access to:

Technical Qualifications

Not all awards or study patterns are included.

No.	Degree Name	Admissions Requirements	Length of Program	Graduation Requirements	Post-graduation Pathways
1	Önlisans (Associate degree) (accounting, health tech, logistics, mechatronics, etc.)	Lise Diploması (High School Diploma) (general academic or vocational) Yükseköğretim Kurumları Sınavı (YKS, Higher Education Institutions Examination), (YKS – TYT stage) for university-run vocational schools (vocational high school graduates can access without examination via direct placement	2 years	120 ECTS credits Practical training, lab work (varies by program) Internship, practical placement typically required in final semester	Access to:
2	Professional bachelor’s degree (nursing, education, engineering, etc.)	Lise Diploması (High School Diploma) Yükseköğretim Kurumları Sınavı (YKS, Higher Education Institutions Examination), TVT and AYT Competitive ranking for each field Program-specific requirements (e.g., interview, portfolio submission)	4 years 5 years for some fields (e.g., architecture)	240+ ECTS credits Internship or project (varies by program) Professional examination, licensure (varies by program)	Access to: professional examination, licensure (varies by program) national bar examination (law)
3	One-tier professional bachelor’s degree (dentistry, medicine, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, etc.)	Lise Diploması (High School Diploma), science stream Yükseköğretim Kurumları Sınavı (YKS, Higher Education Institutions Examination), with very high AYT score and science prerequisites	5 to 6 years (varies by program)	300 to 360 ECTS credits Clinical training Final year rotating internship (medicine)	Access to: professional licensure residency, specialization (medicine)
4	Master’s degree (in professional fields, such as business, education, public health, etc.)	Bachelor’s degree University-specific requirements, such as: minimum GPA requirements Akademik Personel ve Lisansüstü Eğitimi Giriş Sınavı (ALES, Academic Personnel and Postgraduate Education Entrance Examination) Interview	1.5 to 2 years	60 to 90 ECTS credits Final project (no thesis) Often part-time or modular formats	Access to:

Grading System

Examples of the most commonly used grading scales.

No.	Percent Range	Letter Grade	Descriptor
1	90 to 100%	AA	Pekiyi (Excellent)
2	85 to 89%	BA	İyi/Pekiyi (Very Good)
3	80 to 84%	BB	İyi (Good)
4	70 to 79%	CB	Orta/İyi (Average/Good)
5	60 to 69%	CC	Orta/Geçer (Average/Pass)
6	50 to 59%	DC	Koşullu Geçer (Şartlı) (Conditional Pass)
7	45 to 49%	DD	Koşullu Geçer (Şartlı) (Conditional Pass)
9	0 to 44%	FF	Başarız (Fail)

Enrollment

Total Enrollment

Total enrollment in a specific level of education, regardless of age.

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics

Gross Enrollment Ratio

Total enrollment in a specific level of education, regardless of age, expressed as a percentage of the eligible official school-age population corresponding to the same level of education in a given school year.

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics

International Benchmarks

Academic Ranking of World Universities

Türkiye

11 institutions in the top 1,000

Global Rank

18 of 63

Source: ShanghaiRanking Consultancy

QS World University Rankings

Türkiye

11 institutions in the top 1,000

Global Rank

19 of 90

Source: QS Quacquarelli Symonds

Times Higher Education World University Rankings

Türkiye

15 institutions in the top 1,000

Global Rank

16 of 74

Source: Times Higher Education

Higher Education

Overview

Council of Higher Education (YÖK, Yükseköğretim Kurulu)

English, Turkish

2 semesters September to June

Quality Assurance and Accreditation

Admissions

Institutions

Academic Qualifications

Technical Qualifications

Grading System

Enrollment

Total Enrollment

Gross Enrollment Ratio

International Benchmarks

Academic Ranking of World Universities

11 institutions in the top 1,000

18 of 63

QS World University Rankings

11 institutions in the top 1,000

19 of 90

Times Higher Education World University Rankings

15 institutions in the top 1,000

16 of 74

2 semesters

September to June