When I applied to the Türkiye Scholarships programme one year ago, I had no idea what an adventure I had ahead of me. In fact, I wasn’t hoping for much at all: back then I knew little about Turkey, let alone about education here. A few months later I received an offer to pursue a Master’s degree in Journalism at Istanbul University, and I plan to start this September after having completed the required Turkish language course.
So far I’ve been living in Istanbul for six months. Of course there were moments when I regretted coming, mostly when dealing with bureaucracy and struggling with my Turkish, but in general living and studying in Turkey is a worthwhile life experience. It’s a perfect place for learning about new cultures and meeting people literally from all over the world. It must be particularly interesting for those who study art, history, and all kinds of Islamic and Middle Eastern studies.
Türkiye Bursları is a graduate and postgraduate scholarship programme funded by the Turkish government for “highly motivated students with academic performance above average” – international students from any country can apply. It offers 12,000 scholarships at 105 universities in 55 Turkish cities. If you plan to apply for postgraduate studies, you may choose from the following programmes:
- Ali Kuşçu Science and Technology Scholarship Programme
- İbni Haldun Social Sciences Scholarship Programme
- Yunus Emre Turkish Language Scholarship Programme
- Islamic Theology Scholarship Programme
Previously, applicants had to prove their knowledge of the Turkish language before being accepted into the programme. Now students who wish to study in Turkey but don’t know Turkish well enough are provided with the opportunity to take a one-year language preparatory course for free.
Graduate courses in most Turkish universities are taught in Turkish. However, some departments offer programmes in English, French or German. To study in these languages you will need to have an internationally recognized certificate to prove your language proficiency (IELTS, TOEFL, DELF, etc.), so check the websites of the universities before choosing a field of study.
You can apply to most majors, except for Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy, which are not open this year.
The scholarship covers:
- Monthly stipend (approx. 400 USD for Master’s, 550 USD for Doctorate)
- Full tuition fees
- One-year Turkish language course
- Accommodation at a state-run dormitory
- Round-trip air ticket
- Health insurance
In addition you’ll receive a residence permit in Turkey and get an account in state-owned Vakıf Bank. Those who don’t want to or can’t stay in dormitories are free to live anywhere they’d like (e.g. relatives, friends, rented apartments), but must do so at their own expense.
As for me, I spent first my months in a newly-built dorm, but as soon as I settled into the local way of life I moved to a flat. In this sense, the programme is quite flexible and offers a fair amount of freedom.
To be eligible for Türkiye Bursları you must;
- be a citizen of a country other than Turkey (anyone holding or who has ever held Turkish citizenship cannot apply)
- not already be a registered student at a Turkish university
- be a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree holder by 30 July 2014 the latest
- be under the age of 30 for Master’s programmes (no earlier than 1 January 1984)
- be under the age of 35 for Doctorate programmes (no earlier than 1 January 1979)
- have at least a 75 % cumulative grade point average or diploma grade over their maximum graduation grade or have at least 75 % success in any accepted national or international graduate admissions test
- be in good health (medical examination required)
The application process is not difficult. Before filling out an online application form at the Türkiye Bursları website, have a look at the application demo or guide, and prepare scanned copies of your diplomas, university transcripts, valid ID or passport, and photo.
Honestly, as a person who has filled out countless types of applications, I can’t remember any programme explaining the application process so thoroughly.
The application deadline 31 March 2014, but don’t leave it until the last moment, because the online system usually gets strained a few days before deadline.
Good luck to everyone!
Hello dear. When receive the result for us? we applied for this program last night and after deadline , the result has been sent to our Email Add but it his year in all new s and advertisement didnt write about time of result with a way of it … ??? please help me …
when i receive the interview result for 2014 scholarship
when the result of graduate applicants of 2014 announced for turkiye scholarsahip?
Thanks for this information! I’m interested in doing a phd in Istanbul although I don’t have the required information as to which university would match my interest, which professor could supervise me, or how the system works in general. This article is very helpful to me. If anyone here is a foreign phd student who could help me out, that would be even more helpful! PS: My master’s is in anthropology with a specialization in religion (Hinduism/Islam in India) although I have a bachelor’s in psychology and a background in sociology and philosophy as well
it is good information so i am hope to win this progaram in sha alla
I fully agree with this term & condition as mention above, such as it we’ll be very helpful for every international students, but i we’ll have a one request to the authority, pls pls pls make it more easy,,, particularly for unprivileged Muslims country, like Bangladesh.
I have a bachelor’s degree in Photography with a year experience of working as a journalist. Now I want to apply for postgraduate program in journalism field. Does my undergraduate degree restricts my chance to get the scholarship?
Thanks
thans for your information.