Foreign nationals studying in secondary education institutions in Türkiye, Blue Card holders, and citizens of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) are evaluated within the scope of the updates made by the Higher Education Council regarding the principles for admitting students from abroad. Applications under the international student quota are closed for these candidates, and they are required to take the YKS (Higher Education Institutions Examination). To access the most recent official letter issued by the Higher Education Council on this matter, please click here
*The rules specified below were applied during the 2025–2026 academic year. As of the 2026–2027 academic year, these rules will be updated in line with the regulations to be published by the Higher Education Council under the “Admission to Higher Education” section on the egitim.yok.gov.tr website.
Provided that they are in their final year of high school or have already graduated, the following candidates may apply:
- Foreign nationals
- Those who were Turkish citizens by birth but later renounced Turkish citizenship with permission from the Ministry of Interior, and those who can document that they hold the Certificate for the Exercise of Recognized Rights obtained by their minor children registered on the Turkish Citizenship Renunciation Certificate, in accordance with the Turkish Citizenship Law. (Article 7/1 of Law No. 5901 states: “A child born in or outside Türkiye to a Turkish citizen mother or father within a marital union is a Turkish citizen.” Applicants are advised to review the Turkish Citizenship Law when applying under international student quotas.)
- Dual nationals who were foreign nationals by birth and later acquired Turkish citizenship.
- Turkish citizens who continued their secondary education abroad before 01/02/2013 and completed the last three years of high school in a foreign country other than the TRNC (including those who completed their entire secondary education at Turkish schools abroad affiliated with the Ministry of National Education, excluding the TRNC).
- Candidates who started secondary education abroad after 01/02/2013 and completed their entire high school educationin a foreign country other than the TRNC (including those who completed their entire secondary education at Turkish schools abroad affiliated with the Ministry of National Education, excluding the TRNC).
- TRNC citizens residing in the TRNC who completed their secondary education there and hold GCE AL examination results.
- TRNC citizens who enrolled in and studied at colleges or high schools in other countries between 2005–2010 and who hold or will hold GCE AL examination results.
The following candidates may NOT apply:
- Turkish citizens who completed their entire secondary education in Türkiye or the TRNC (except those who completed their entire secondary education in a foreign country other than the TRNC).
- TRNC citizens (except those who completed their entire secondary education at TRNC high schools and hold GCE AL results).
- Dual nationals whose first nationality at birth was Turkish, as defined in Article 5, paragraph 1(b), (except those who completed their entire secondary education in a foreign country other than the TRNC, including Turkish schools abroad affiliated with the Ministry of National Education).
- Dual nationals whose one nationality is TRNC (except those who completed their entire secondary education at TRNC high schools and hold GCE AL results, or those who studied at colleges or high schools in other countries between 2005–2010 and hold or will hold GCE AL results).
- Turkish citizens, or dual nationals whose first nationality at birth was Turkish as defined in Article 5, paragraph 1(b), who studied at schools affiliated with Turkish embassies or at foreign high schools located in Türkiye.
The eligibility criteria for the admission of students from abroad have been updated in accordance with the decision of the Council of Higher Education dated 18 July 2022.
Accordingly, as of the 2022–2023 academic year, foreign national candidates who have received their secondary education in Türkiye, Blue Card holders, and citizens of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) may be placed in higher education institutions only through the YKS (Higher Education Institutions Examination); these candidates do not have the right to apply under the international student quota. To access the most recent official letter issued by the Council of Higher Education on this matter, please click here.
*The rules stated below were applied during the 2025–2026 academic year. As of the 2026–2027 academic year, these rules will be updated in line with the regulations to be published by the Council of Higher Education under the “Admission to Higher Education” heading on the egitim.yok.gov.tr website.
Guidelines to be followed for Blue Card holders, Turkish citizens who completed their high school education abroad (excluding the TRNC), and dual-nationality candidates whose one nationality is Turkish:
The following departments/programs will accept students up to 10% of the main quota of the related departments/programs:
- Teaching,
- Law,
- Medicine,
- Dentistry,
- Pharmacy
EXAMPLE:
Quota of Medicine Department: 90
Quota amended based on the criteria above: 9 (10%)
For detailed information, visit:
https://www.yok.gov.tr/ogrenci/yurt-disinda-kabul-edilecek-ogrenci-kontenjanlari
The decision not to exceed 10% of the quotas for Teaching, Law, Medicine, and Dentistry programs in the student quotas to be accepted from abroad does not cover the students who have dual citizenship by acquiring Turkish citizenship while they were still holding the citizenship of another country.
The above-mentioned decision covers candidates who are Turkish citizens by birth and lost their Turkish citizenship by obtaining permission from the Ministry of Interior to renounce Turkish citizenship, candidates who certify that they have a Blue Card given to those who have lost Turkish citizenship upon their request, applicants with Turkish citizenship or dual citizenship (one of them being Turkish citizenship), and those who completed their high school education in a foreign country except TRNC (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus).
Guidelines to be followed only for diplomas obtained through distance education by individuals who are not citizens of the Republic of Turkey and who reside abroad.
With the letter on “Turkish Citizens who Benefitted from International Student Admission Quota” sent by the Council of Higher Education to all higher education institutions on 06 November 2020, it is decided:
- That the applications of candidates who receive a diploma from a high school abroad through distance education without being abroad will not be accepted within the framework of the international student acceptance quotas.
- Not to process applications, in the context of diplomas obtained through formal education from a high school abroad, if the period of stay in the relevant country does not support the formal education of high school after checking the entry and exit stamps from the passport or police records to the country where the diploma was obtained.
The duration of stay in the relevant country will be evaluated by the "Istinye University International Student Recruitment Commission", which will support the formal education of high school.
- To seek the conditions for Transfer Procedures from Higher Education Institutions Abroad to Higher Education Institutions in Turkey published in the Student Selection and Placement System Guidelines for the relevant year in order to benefit from the provisions of the Regulation on the Principles of Transition between Associate and Bachelor's Degree Programs, Double Major, Minor, and Inter-Institutional Credit Transfer in the relevant year, and the conditions regarding the Transfer Procedures from Higher Education Institutions Abroad to Higher Education Institutions in Turkey, published in the Placement System Guidelines in case they start their university education abroad by studying in a high school abroad with the distance education system without being in the relevant country.
For the candidates whose applications will be evaluated within this scope, the rules to be followed/the documents to be requested by our university are as follows:
- In order for the candidate to get high school equivalency, he/she should not hold high school graduation in Turkey. In this context, a document showing the graduation status via the e-devlet system.
- Passport entry-exit stamps showing the candidate's active education abroad (minimum two-thirds of the total education period) and the current international exit letter to be obtained via the e-devlet system.
- Signed/stamped document showing that "formal education" is given by the school that has awarded the diploma.
Click here for the document sample.
Guidelines to be followed by graduates who are citizens of the Republic of Turkey and who have obtained their degrees from abroad.
Candidates who are only Turkish citizens and have completed their entire high school education abroad will be required to submit their high school graduation status in our country so that their applications can be evaluated as international students. The relevant document can be obtained from the High School Graduation Certificate Inquiry area in the e-devlet system.
If the documents mentioned above cannot be submitted during the application, the application of the candidate will be considered invalid.
Application Criteria for Associate Programs and Undergraduate Departments:
1) Application with High School Diploma and Transcript:
For high school diplomas and transcripts, a minimum success rate of 70% is required for admission to the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, while a minimum success rate of 50% is required for admission to Faculty of Pharmacy and other departments/programs.
*Candidates who meet the high school diploma grade requirement are not required to submit an international exam result.
Applicants to the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmacy must also have completed a minimum of one semester of chemistry or biology in addition to meeting the GPA requirement.
2) Application with International Examination Results:
Candidates who have obtained the following exam types and scores are not additionally required to submit a high school diploma and grade point average.
| EXAM TYPE | FACULTY OF MEDICINE, DENTISTRY, PHARMACY | OTHER DEPARTMENTS/PROGRAMS |
| SAT I (Scholastic Aptitude Test) | SAT (Evidence- Based Reading/Writing/Math): 1200 points in total and at least 600 points for maths | SAT (Evidence- Based Reading/Writing/Math): 1000 points in total |
| GCE A LEVEL | At least grade A is requested for Physics, Chemistry, Biology,Mathematics for A Level Courses | Grade D for 2 A Level courses, at least one of them should be related to the department that the candidate applies for |
| ACT | 24/36 | 21/36 |
| IB (INTERNATIONAL BACCALAURATE) | 30/45 | 28/45 |
| MATURA | 2.5/5 | 3.5/5 |
| FRENCH BACCALAURATE | 15/20 | 12/20 |
| ABITUR | 2.5/6 | 3.5/6 |
| TR-YÖS | 75/100 | 60/100 |
In addition to the application criteria, certain admission conditions are required in order to practice the profession after completing the education for the following programs:
Civil Aviation Cabin Services:
1) No criminal record or criminal archive record.
2) For women, a height between 160 cm and 180 cm (weight should be at most 5 kilograms more or 15 kilograms less than the last two digits of the value expressed in centimeters).
3) For men, a height between 170 cm and 190 cm (weight should be at most 5 kilograms more or 15 kilograms less than the last two digits of the value expressed in centimeters).
4) Health status suitable for flight (a report from the health institutions authorized by the General Directorate of Civil Aviation, indicating that health status is suitable for flight, is required). Click here to see the health institutions.
5) When wearing the flight attendant uniform, tattoos, scars, etc. must not be visible on the exposed parts of the body.
Aircraft Technology:
1) No criminal records or criminal archive records that would prevent receiving an airport entry card.
2) A committee report (covering color blindness, hearing loss/deficiency, vision loss/deficiency, etc.) obtained within the last 6 months from a full-fledged hospital, indicating that there are no health problems that would prevent performing the profession and/or duty.
Application Criteria for Graduate Departments:
1) Graduate applications are accepted with an undergraduate diploma and transcript.
2) A minimum of 60% success in the undergraduate/graduate diploma is required for the acceptance.
3) Academic Personnel and Graduate Education Entrance Examination (ALES) scores are not required from candidates within the scope of international students.
4) For master's and doctoral programs with a thesis, it is compulsory to submit one of the English exam types and scores listed below, regardless of the language of instruction of the program.
Please click here for admission criteria of our graduate degree programs.
Applications are made by filling out the online application form on our website.
Upload the required documents for the application to the system.
Wait for your application to be evaluated. (Applications are evaluated within 2 working days on average.)
Review the conditional acceptance letter sent to the e-mail address you provided in the application form.
Pay the pre-registration fee mentioned in the conditional acceptance letter and upload your payment receipt to the system or send it to international@istinye.edu.tr. (Do not forget to add your application number from the conditional acceptance letter in the explanation section of your payment receipt.)
Once your payment has been transferred to our university accounts, the official acceptance letter will be sent to you via the e-mail address you provided in the application form. You can use this letter for via application procedures.
Visit Istinye University’s International Office to complete your registration; with the necessary documents specified in your official acceptance letter. before the registration deadline. Complete your final registration procedures and receive your student certificate and student card.
If you do not have a language exemption, take the language proficiency exam according to the language of instruction of the department/program you are enrolled in.
If you are staying in Turkey with a residence permit, complete the student residence application procedures by following our web page linked below. (After receiving your student residence permit, do not forget to submit a copy to the Registrar's Office and update your temporary ID number with your current ID number.)
https://ikamet.istinye.edu.tr/
Candidates must scan and upload the documents listed below on the application form.
Associate and Undergraduate Applications:
- Photocopy of the identity page of the passport (In case of dual nationality, passports of both nationalities must be uploaded).
- Copy of high school diploma with Turkish or English translation.
- Copy of high school transcript with Turkish or English translation.
- 1 passport-size photograph.
- National/international exam result (if any).
- Language exemption document (if any). Click here for language exemption documents accepted by Istinye University.
- Residence permit (if available).
Graduate Applications:
- Photocopy of the identity page of the passport (In case of dual nationality, passports of both nationalities must be uploaded).
- Copy of the undergraduate diploma with Turkish or English translation.
- Copy of the undergraduate transcript with Turkish or English translation.
- 1 passport-size photograph.
- Certificate of Equivalence or Certificate of Recognition.
What is a Recognition Certificate? What is an Equivalency Certificate?
Recognition Certificate: A document that shows that the higher education institution where the education was/is being received is recognized by the Higher Education Council of the Republic of Turkey (YÖK).
Any individual with a Turkish Republic identification number can obtain this document through the Turkish Republic e-Government system.
This verification is also carried out by our application evaluation team during the application stage.
For higher education institutions that cannot be verified through the e-Government system, the applicant must apply to the Higher Education Council of the Republic of Turkey with a petition.
Equivalency Certificate: A document that shows that the education received at a higher education institution recognized by the Higher Education Council of the Republic of Turkey (YÖK) is equivalent to the education in Turkish higher education institutions.
When should a Recognition Certificate be submitted, and when should an Equivalency Certificate be submitted?
For applications to any program in the fields of Social and Applied Sciences, a Recognition Certificate must be submitted during the application stage.
For applications to any program in the field of Health Sciences, an Equivalency Certificate must be submitted by the beginning of the project/thesis period; otherwise, the project/thesis period education cannot commence.
- Language exemption document (if any). Click here for language exemption documents accepted by Istinye University.
- Residence permit (if available).
The following documents must be submitted during registration:
- Passport or identity document (If in Turkish or English, the original; if in other languages, a notarized or consulate-approved copy of the page showing identity information translated into Turkish or English)
- The original and certified Turkish or English copy of the high school diploma and transcript for Associate Degree and Undergraduate enrollment.
- For graduate registration, the original and certified Turkish or English copy of the undergraduate and/or graduate diploma and transcript (Certificate of Recognition and/or Equivalence must be submitted).
- 6 passport-size photographs.
- National/international exam result (if available).
- Bank receipt showing that at least half of the tuition fee has been paid.