Do You Need the ALES Exam for a Master's Degree in Turkey?
ALES requirements for a master's at Turkish private universities vary by school, and GRE is not part of Turkey's national exam system. How master's admission differs from a bachelor's.
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Short answer: The ALES requirement for master's admission at Turkish private universities is not standard or uniform — some universities do not ask international applicants for it at all, and the rest set their own criteria. GRE is not part of Turkey's national exam system, and it does not appear as a requirement on any of Homa Study's partner universities' published admission pages. YÖS applies to bachelor's admission only and has no role here. The exact requirement for any given program has to be confirmed with that university directly, and doing that confirmation is part of our free consultation.
A family that has already researched YÖS for a bachelor's degree naturally asks the same question about a master's: "so what exam replaces YÖS here?" The short answer is that no single, centralized exam replaces it — graduate admission works on a fundamentally different basis than undergraduate admission.
What ALES is, and why the requirement is not uniform
ALES is Turkey's domestic exam for graduate-level applicants. State universities generally require it of their domestic applicants, but private universities have no single rule for international applicants: some do not ask for an ALES score at all, and others accept it as one of several acceptable pieces of evidence alongside others. This is exactly the kind of detail that has to be checked program by program, against that university's own official source, rather than assumed from a general rule.
What about GRE?
GRE is not part of Turkey's official exam system — unlike ALES or YÖS, it is a separate international test. Across the published admission pages of our partner universities, none lists GRE as an entry requirement for a master's. We are not stating this as a universal rule for every university in Turkey — only that it does not appear in our own published list — and for any specific program you are targeting, we confirm this directly with the university.
YÖS is not required either
YÖS is Turkey's centralized entrance exam for international bachelor's applicants, run by ÖSYM (Study in Türkiye (opens in a new tab), accessed August 15, 2026). It is built for undergraduate entry and plays no role in master's admission. The full explanation of where YÖS actually applies is in our post Do Turkish private universities require YÖS?.
So what is master's admission actually assessed on?
In place of a centralized exam, master's admission is assessed on your bachelor's degree and its transcripts. That is the main structural difference from bachelor's admission:
| Bachelor's | Master's | |
|---|---|---|
| Basis of review | High-school record and diploma | Bachelor's degree and its transcripts |
| Centralized exam | Usually not required (YÖS applies mainly to state universities) | Neither YÖS nor GRE; ALES depends on the university, with no uniform rule |
| Common extra documents | Language certificate for English-taught programs | Language certificate, and for some programs a statement of purpose, references or an interview |
For English-taught programs, at both levels, a language certificate or a pass in the university's own placement exam is required; more detail is in our post Turkey's English proficiency requirement, explained.
Documents to start a master's file
For an initial review, this is usually enough:
- A passport scan
- Bachelor's degree (or a near-graduation certificate, if the final degree has not been issued yet)
- Complete bachelor's transcripts
- A language certificate, for English-taught programs
If your degree is from an Iranian university, its official translation and certification is a separate step that takes time and is worth starting early.
What this costs you
Nothing — this service is free for the student. Reviewing your eligibility, choosing a university and program, preparing and submitting your file, and following it through to the acceptance letter costs you nothing. You pay tuition directly into the university's own account and no tuition money passes through us; our fee is paid by the partner university after an enrolled student registers. The full structure of this service is explained in Free offer letters from three universities.
Homa Study holds official partnership agreements with more than fifty private universities in Turkey and North Cyprus, every one of them listed in the university directory on this site. To see master's programs and their tuition side by side, our master's degree page is a good place to start.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to take the ALES exam for a master's at a Turkish private university?
The ALES requirement is not standard or uniform in the private sector. Private universities usually apply different criteria to international applicants than to domestic ones, and many do not ask for an ALES score at all. GRE is not part of Turkey's national exam system either, and it does not appear as a requirement on any of our partner universities' published admission pages. The exact requirement for a given program has to be confirmed with that university's own official source — which is exactly what we do in a free consultation.
Is the YÖS exam required for master's admission too?
No. YÖS is the entrance exam for bachelor's-level admission and plays no part in master's admission. If you have read that YÖS applies to graduate study too, that source has confused the two levels — the full explanation of what YÖS actually is and where it applies is in our post [Do Turkish private universities require YÖS?](/en/blog/admission-without-yos-exam)
How does master's admission differ from bachelor's admission?
Bachelor's admission is assessed on your high-school record. Master's admission is assessed on your bachelor's degree and its transcripts instead — not your high-school record — and some programs also ask for a statement of purpose, references or an interview. A centralized entrance exam like YÖS plays no decisive role in either path at a private university.
Can I study an English-taught master's without an IELTS or TOEFL score?
English-taught master's programs usually require an English certificate or a pass in the university's own placement exam; the accepted certificates and score thresholds have to be checked program by program. More detail is in our post [Turkey's English proficiency requirement, explained](/en/blog/english-proficiency-requirement-turkey).
What does applying for a master's through Homa Study cost me?
Nothing — this service is free for the student. Reviewing your eligibility, choosing a university and program, preparing and submitting your file, and following it through to the acceptance letter costs you nothing. You pay tuition directly into the university's own account and no tuition money passes through us; our fee is paid by the partner university after an enrolled student registers. The full structure of this service is explained in [Free offer letters from three universities](/en/blog/free-offer-letter-three-universities).