Turkiye
Welcome to Turkey, a captivating destination for foreign students seeking to pursue their degrees in a vibrant and diverse academic environment. Nestled at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, Turkey offers an enriching blend of ancient heritage and modern innovation. From the bustling streets of Istanbul to the serene landscapes of Cappadocia, students will find themselves immersed in a culture that celebrates both tradition and progress. With world-class universities, state-of-the-art facilities, and a welcoming community, Turkey provides an ideal setting for academic excellence and personal growth. Embark on a transformative journey of learning and discovery in the heart of Turkey.
Cities
Culture
Turkey is a bridge between Asia and Europe, not only in terms of geographical location but also in cultural, social and political aspects. Due to this unique position in the country's territory spread across Anatolia (Asia) and Thrace (Europe), many great civilizations have risen throughout history, and these civilizations have been a home to cultural and ethnic wealth and diversity. Many things in Turkey contain a mixture of the West and the East, the old and the new, the traditional and the modern. When you visit even the smallest city in Turkey no matter how little its population is, you will find that different cultural elements, traditions, beliefs, languages or dialects live.
Climate
In Turkey, one of the major determinants of social, economic, cultural and political life is the location of the country on the world map. The country is located at the point where Asia and the European mainland meet and is unique as of this location. Turkey is located at the intersection of the Balkans, the Caucasus, the Middle East and the Mediterranean basin. As a result of this location, for example, it is possible to fly to all of the following countries from Istanbul in periods below 4 hours: Finland, Morocco, Spain, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Russia, Turkmenistan, England. It is important to note that Turkish Airlines is the airline with having direct flights to world's most destinations !
Food Culture
In Turkish society, daily life is shaped around meals and long meal time. Center of house life is kitchen. Even in big cities, families often prefer to dine together and at home. Especially after the guests are welcomed, the table is not cleared immediately. People have long conversations, listen to music and have fun.
Turkish cuisine is world famous with its rich ingredients and dishes made with intensive labor. You can taste these unique flavors in restaurants or in a house where you are a guest. Cooking at home is very common. You can buy fresh food from grocery stores, supermarkets or bazaars established on certain days.
Although it is common to eat at home in Turkey, there are varied and satisfying choices from traditional dishes to simple sandwiches to have your meal. Restaurants and cafés serving red/white meat and seafood dishes and vegetarian alternatives are easily found in all major cities.
A variety of snacks and appetizers are offered before the meal you ordered in the restaurants. Decide on your order by considering the treats. Remember! Refreshments and water served in the jug are free; the bottle of water is chargeable!
Transportation
You can travel easily by road and air from Turkey to many cities of Europe and central/close Asia, and take advantage of transportation options suitable for all budgets. Especially in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and Antalya, airports are today a base that provides connection flights to many capitals and major cities around the world.
State-sponsored railway transportation is also common, comfortable and affordable. There are high speed trains in Ankara-Konya-Ankara, Konya-Eskişehir-Istanbul (Pendik)-Konya and Ankara-Eskişehir-Istanbul (Pendik)-Ankara lines and conventional trains on other lines. Works are underway for new high-speed train lines,
Life Expenses
Although it varies according to your lifestyle and preferences, life is quite affordable for students in Turkey. On this page, you will find answers to possible questions that may arise in your mind about main expenditure items of an international student.
Tuition Fee/Contribution
Turkey is a unique country in terms of offering high quality education options with very low tuition fees compared to many leading countries in higher education. The lower and upper limits of the amount of contributions to be received from international students are determined by the government and net amounts are left to the initiative of universities. For this reason, the tuition fees in Turkish universities vary according to the type of university (state or foundation), the level of the program (undergraduate or graduate), faculty (medicine, dentistry, engineering, law etc.) and the duration of education. The prices are affordable in comparison to universities of similar quality in Europe or America.
Tuition fees are paid before course registrations at the beginning of each semester. Each academic year consists of two semesters. Depending on your academic achievement situation, you can receive discounts or full exemptions at various rates. For contribution allowance/exemption opportunities, be sure to contact the
General Health Insurance payment is 1059 TL per year as of 2020. With this insurance you can get free health services in all state hospitals. In private hospitals you will need to pay varying amounts of contribution.
| Restaurants | |
| Meal, Inexpensive Restaurant | 3.46 $ |
| Meal for 2 People, Mid-range Restaurant, Three-course | 14.42 $ |
| McMeal at McDonalds (or Equivalent Combo Meal) | 3.46 $ |
| Domestic Beer (0.5 liter draught) | 2.02 $ |
| Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle) | 2.59 $ |
| Cappuccino (regular) | 1.47 $ |
| Coke/Pepsi (0.33 liter bottle) | 0.61 $ |
| Water (0.33 liter bottle) | 0.25 $ |
| Markets | |
| Milk (regular), (1 liter) | 0.89 $ |
| Loaf of Fresh White Bread (500g) | 0.36 $ |
| Rice (white), (1kg) | 1.09 $ |
| Eggs (regular) (12) | 1.41 $ |
| Local Cheese (1kg) | 4.76 $ |
| Chicken Fillets (1kg) | 3.93 $ |
| Beef Round (1kg) (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) | 8.64 $ |
| Apples (1kg) | 0.70 $ |
| Banana (1kg) | 1.37 $ |
| Oranges (1kg) | 0.67 $ |
| Tomato (1kg) | 1.23 $ |
| Potato (1kg) | 0.55 $ |
| Onion (1kg) | 0.36 $ |
| Lettuce (1 head) | 0.77 $ |
| Water (1.5 liter bottle) | 0.24 $ |
| Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range) | 5.77 $ |
| Domestic Beer (0.5 liter bottle) | 1.55 $ |
| Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle) | 1.96 $ |
| Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro) | 1.61 $ |
| Transportation | |
| One-way Ticket (Local Transport) | 0.37 $ |
| Monthly Pass (Regular Price) | 22.49 $ |
| Taxi Start (Normal Tariff) | 0.43 $ |
| Taxi 1km (Normal Tariff) | 0.35 $ |
| Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff) | 2.88 $ |
| Gasoline (1 liter) | 1.28 $ |
| Volkswagen Golf 1.4 90 KW Trendline (Or Equivalent New Car) | 34,598.73 $ |
| Toyota Corolla Sedan 1.6l 97kW Comfort (Or Equivalent New Car) | 28,318.36 $ |
| Utilities (Monthly) | |
| Basic (Electricity, Heating, Cooling, Water, Garbage) for 85m2 Apartment | 55.43 $ |
| 1 min. of Prepaid Mobile Tariff Local (No Discounts or Plans) | 0.05 $ |
| Internet (60 Mbps or More, Unlimited Data, Cable/ADSL) | 7.97 $ |
| Sports And Leisure | |
| Fitness Club, Monthly Fee for 1 Adult | 19.33 $ |
| Tennis Court Rent (1 Hour on Weekend) | 11.01 $ |
| Cinema, International Release, 1 Seat | 2.59 $ |
| Childcare | |
| Preschool (or Kindergarten), Full Day, Private, Monthly for 1 Child | 191.32 $ |
| International Primary School, Yearly for 1 Child | 4,665.19 $ |
| Clothing And Shoes | |
| 1 Pair of Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar) | 33.27 $ |
| 1 Summer Dress in a Chain Store (Zara, H&M, ...) | 27.36 $ |
| 1 Pair of Nike Running Shoes (Mid-Range) | 62.95 $ |
| 1 Pair of Men Leather Business Shoes | 42.36 $ |
| Rent Per Month | |
| Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Centre | 184.98 $ |
| Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre | 126.10 $ |
| Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Centre | 342.53 $ |
| Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Centre | 200.48 $ |
| Buy Apartment Price | |
| Price per Square Meter to Buy Apartment in City Centre | 737.44 $ |
| Price per Square Meter to Buy Apartment Outside of Centre | 515.54 $ |
| Salaries And Financing | |
| Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax) | 346.33 $ |
| Mortgage Interest Rate in Percentages (%), Yearly, for 20 Years Fixed-Rate | 19.96 |
Tips For Students
Each university has student clubs where students share various interests and organize events. This is sometimes an astronomical community that follows the eclipse of the sun, and sometimes it is a photography community that travels every one of the streets in the city. You can be a member of an archaeological community that organizes tours to countless archaeological sites in Turkey, and you can show off your hidden talents by entering a jazz community. Or you can enjoy a gastronomic community to explore not tastes of Turkey not at hand. If you are a cinema enthusiast, you may have a group that will follow classics of World and Turkish cinema and today's movies. If you're a notorious Harry Potter fan, you might even be able to play Quidditch. Just ask and be a participant!
Learning Turkish
While the language of instruction in some of the universities in Turkey is English, Turkish is the main language of instruction in most universities. Although Turkish language proficiency is a prerequisite in terms of admission to many academic programs, you can also be admitted to universities without knowing Turkish. After admission to undergraduate or graduate programs at many universities, international students are given the opportunity to attend Turkish preparatory courses. For a reasonable fee, or in some cases, for free you usually get 4-6 hours of language lessons per day at different levels. At the end of the preparatory school, all students take the exam and begin the program at the university where they are admitted in the case of a certain level of language proficiency. Please also check that you are provided with supportive Turkish language courses separately from the preparatory school at the school where you are admitted.
Students who are admitted to a university within the scope of Turkish scholarships that meet the expenses such as university contribution, dorm fee and general health insurance are also able to receive free Turkish education for an academic year. At the end of preparatory class, students are expected to receive Turkish proficiency certificate at level C1. Students who have a C1 certificate continue their university education. Students who fail are entitled to additional time and examination until the beginning of the next academic year.
UNIVERSITIES AT Turkiye
Bilkent University
Ankara, 2 Faculties
- First private university in Turkey.
- Established in 1984.
- 12.000 students.
- 29 undergraduate and 59 graduate programs.
- Exchange agreements with 345 universities from 50 countries.
- 6% international students
- teaching staff from 37 countries.
- 25.55% international teaching staff
- Library's collection 513.060 printed books, 1.075.245 electronic books, 341 printed journals, 81,084 electronic journals and 218 database
- The capacity of the dormitories is 4,600 people.
Social Sciences University of Ankara (ASBU)
Ankara, 1 Faculties
Boğaziçi University
İstanbul, 1 Faculties
Boğaziçi University, also known as Bosphorus University, is a major research university in Istanbul, Turkey. Its main campus is located on the European side of the Bosphorus Strait. It has six faculties and two schools offering undergraduate degrees, and six institutes offering graduate degrees. Traditionally, the language of instruction is English.
Boğaziçi University consistently ranks as one of Turkey's top universities and has the greatest number of applicants via the Turkish university entrance examinations, making it the most selective university in Turkey.