Master's Study in Türkiye: Choosing a University and a Programme

Choosing a master's in Türkiye is less a choice of country than a choice between several quite different academic structures. Two programmes with the same name at two universities can differ in length, in whether they end with a thesis, in the language they are taught in, and in what they cost.

This page exists for that comparison. Every figure and count in the tables below is read from the same tuition list that powers the pricing page — nothing has been re-typed into prose where it could quietly fall out of date.

The order below is the order the decision is best made in: structure first, then length, then language, then admission, then cost. Follow it and the list of universities that genuinely suit you usually shortens on its own.

Turkish higher education defines master's programmes in two structures: tezli (with thesis) and tezsiz (non-thesis).

A tezli programme ends with writing and defending a thesis. It is the conventional route for anyone who may later want a doctorate or a research career. A tezsiz programme replaces the thesis with a final project, usually carries more taught credits, and is shorter; it is the more common choice for someone aiming to return to work sooner.

Take the difference seriously: if you take a non-thesis programme and later apply for a doctorate, the receiving university may require you to make up the thesis requirement first.

In the data we publish, a programme's structure is known only when it is stated in the programme's official name — "(With Thesis)", for example. Where no such marker exists we do not guess: the structure is shown as not stated, and it is something to confirm with the university before you enrol.

On the subject of the "one-year master's", plainly: in the list this page is built from, no master's programme is recorded with a formal length of one year.

The shortest programmes available are one and a half years — three semesters — and the most common structure is a two-year programme with a thesis. The exact distribution of lengths is in the table in this section.

The part that marketing usually leaves out: the length a university publishes is a minimum, not a promise that you will finish within it. Actual time to completion depends on which courses run in a given semester, on your own progress, and in thesis programmes on the approval and defence process.

Language of instruction is the first filter that meaningfully shortens your list.

Most master's programmes in Türkiye are taught in Turkish, though a substantial number are taught in English; the split is shown in the table on this page. If you do not speak Turkish, you are in practice choosing among the English-taught programmes, or planning for a Turkish preparatory year that adds a year to your studies.

English-taught programmes normally require a language certificate. Which certificates are accepted, what score is required, and whether the university's own exam can replace them all vary by university and have to be checked individually.

Admission requirements are set by each university, but a few things can be said about the system as a whole.

First: YÖS is an undergraduate entrance exam and is not a master's admission criterion. Anything telling you to sit YÖS for a master's has confused the two levels.

Second: ALES is Türkiye's national exam for graduate applicants. Private universities commonly apply different criteria to international applicants than to domestic ones, and the ALES requirement is not uniform — this is exactly the kind of detail to verify per programme against the university's own official source.

Third: what is almost always required is your bachelor's degree and transcripts, translated and certified. If your degree is from Iran, the official translation and certification route is a separate process covered in its own guide.

We publish a university's admission requirements on its page only where we can cite that university's official source.

The tuition on this page is annual, read from the same list that powers the pricing page.

Two things to note before comparing. Some programmes are quoted in dollars and some in euros, so comparing two figures without checking the currency is misleading. And the published tuition is usually not the whole cost: deposits, language preparatory fees and administrative charges are billed separately, and the pricing table has columns for them.

To see every master's programme with filters for university, field and language, use the full tuition table.

The universities offering the most master's programmes are not necessarily the right fit for you; the list below is ordered by catalogue breadth, not by quality.

The right criterion is usually a combination: does it teach my field at master's level, in which language, in which structure, and in what tuition range. The table below puts those four columns side by side so you can build your own shortlist.

A few practical points apply to Iranian applicants regardless of which university they choose.

Iranian academic documents need official translation and certification before they can be used in Türkiye, and the process takes time; it is best started well before application deadlines approach.

Whether a given university's degree is recognised in Iran is a separate question governed by the ministries' own lists. We state recognition status only for universities where we have checked and recorded it; where we have written nothing, it means we have not verified it — not that it is unrecognised.

To turn this page into a real shortlist, this order is usually fastest:

Filter the tuition table by your field and language to see which universities teach it at master's level. Then set the tuition range that is realistic for you. Finally, for the two or three options left, check the admission requirements and programme structure against that university's own official source.

If you would rather do that with us, checking your eligibility and applying is free for the student.