Areas of Study

According to the Law on Higher Education, an undergraduate degree is a post-secondary level of higher education covering at least eight semesters (four years, 240 European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) programs. The general principles related to undergraduate programmes have been determined based on the ISCED-F 2013 classification, and these fields are presented in the figure below. 

Figure: General Fields of Undergraduate Programs

Admission Requirements

YKS exam is conducted by ÖSYM in order to select and place students to be admitted to undergraduate programs. YKS is a three-session central exam that has been held since 2018. All candidates applying for YKS are required to attend the TYT. Other sessions are optional. In the first session, a multiple-choice exam is administered in Turkish, Social Sciences, Basic Mathematics and Science. In the second session, candidates are asked questions in Turkish Language and Literature and Social Sciences I (Turkish Language and Literature, History I and Geography I), Social Sciences II (History II, Geography II, Philosophy Group), Mathematics and Science. The third session is reserved for the Foreign Language Test (YDT). Candidates with a calculated TYT score and a calculated score in at least one of the other sessions can choose associate degree or undergraduate programs.

There are two ways to enter undergraduate programs:

Central Selection and Placement: Candidates are placed in undergraduate programs by ÖSYM based on their YKS scores and additional points, if any, taking into account their preferences, quotas and conditions of the relevant programs. There is a success ranking requirement for some programs such as law, engineering, architecture, medicine, teaching, dentistry and pharmacy.

Selection and Placement by Special Talent Exam: Selection and placement are made by special talent exams in order to place students in programs in fields such as sports and fine arts that require special talent. In order to participate in the special talent exams and placement process, it is a prerequisite for candidates to have participated in the first session of TYT and to have scored a base score or higher for programs that accept students with special talent. As of 2024, for the programs in the field of sports sciences, student selection and placement is carried out through the Special Talent Examination (ÖZYES) conducted centrally by ÖSYM, and for other programs,special talent exams are conducted by universities.

Curriculum

According to the Law on Higher Education, universities have academic autonomy in establishing education programs in vocational and academic fields, preparing, providing and evaluating education and research services. The minimum and maximum credits to be taken in each semester; the knowledge, skills and competencies that each diploma program will provide to the person who deserves to receive the diploma; and the registration, attendance, application, thesis and theoretical course contents are determined by the senates of higher education institutions in accordance with the basic principles determined by CoHE.

In higher education institutions, Atatürk’s Principles and History of Turkish Revolution, Turkish Language and Foreign Language (English) are compulsory for all higher education students. According to the Occupational Health and Safety Law, Occupational Health and Safety is a compulsory course in faculties that train graduates who can become occupational safety specialists.

Teaching Methods

There are no national or institutional regulations on the choice of teaching methods. Higher education institutions use different methods and techniques to deliver courses.

Students’ Progress

The progression of students can be divided into two groups: preparatory classes (foreign language) and intermediate classes. Field qualifications and credits have been determined within the scope of the Turkish Qualifications Framework for Higher Education (TQFHE). Within this framework, the rules for passing a course or class, the minimum and maximum credit limits to be taken in each semester, compulsory, elective and prerequisite courses are determined by the regulations issued by each university. A student who achieves the minimum attendance and success grade for a course is considered successful in that course. Failed courses do not prevent the student from moving to the next grade or taking the courses of the upper grade. The student must retake the failed course(s), including elective courses, in the first semester in which they are offered. However, if the repeated courses overlap in the semester course programs, the student may not take one of these courses with the decision of the relevant board of directors.

Students, except for the one-year foreign language preparatory class (preparatory education period is maximum two years), starting from the semester in which the courses related to the program they are enrolled in are given, regardless of whether they register for each semester, they have to complete the undergraduate programs with a maximum of four years of study within a maximum of seven years, the undergraduate programs with a five-year study period within a maximum of eight years, and the undergraduate programs with a six-year study period within a maximum of nine years. According to the Higher Education Law, in order to graduate from the educational institution where they are enrolled at the end of these periods, senior students are given two additional exams for all failed courses. At the end of these exams, those who reduce the number of failed courses to five courses are given three semesters for these five courses, students who fail up to five courses without taking additional exams are given four semesters (two academic years in institutions where education is carried out on the basis of passing the class); Those who fail a course are given the right to take the exams of the failed course without limit without benefiting from the right to be a student. Although they have received a passing grade in all courses required for graduation from the program they are following, the students of the last semester (senior year in institutions where education is based on passing grades), who have been dismissed due to their inability to meet the grade point averages stipulated in the regulations in order to be considered successful, are given the right to take unlimited exams from the courses they wish to raise their grade point averages. Attendance is not required for the courses other than the courses that are applied, practiced and not taken before. Students who do not take the exams to be opened for a total of three consecutive or intermittent academic years are deemed to have given up their unlimited exam right and cannot benefit from this right. Students who have unlimited rights continue to pay the student contribution fee / tuition fee per course in which they take the exam. These students cannot benefit from other student rights other than exam rights. Open education students are not limited to these periods, provided that they benefit from their student rights.

Employability

Although it is a legal obligation to provide vocational counseling services according to the Law on Higher Education, there is no structure that can be generalized to all higher education institutions. The Law on Higher Education stipulates that higher education institutions should cooperate with private and public organizations to assist their graduates in finding a job. Some higher education institutions have established Career Centers to provide these services. Through these centers or by various units, vocational promotion meetings are organized for students and representatives of private sector organizations participate in these activities. In this way, students and employer organizations are brought together.

Student Evaluation

According to the Law on Higher Education Law, the principles regarding the education and training activities carried out in higher education institutions according to the characteristics and needs of the institution, the exams for passing the course and the diplomas awarded based on this are specified in the education and examination regulations to be prepared by each university. Universities can determine the principles of evaluation with a senate decision. All examinations measuring proficiency, placement or course achievements can be held simultaneously on paper or electronically from a question bank that is classified according to field and difficulty level and stored securely, allowing each candidate to be asked different questions at different times.

Certification

Students who meet the requirements for graduation of eight-semester programs of a faculty or college and ten and twelve-semester programs of faculties are entitled to receive a “bachelor’s degree”. However, programs of at least ten semesters are equivalent to a master’s degree. In some programs of some universities, students; In addition to the field in which they are enrolled, completing the difference courses of a close field and obtaining a bachelor’s degree in a second program is called “double major program”. How this practice will be carried out is regulated by the provisions of the “Regulation on the Principles of Transition, Double Major, Minor and Inter-Institutional Credit Transfer between Associate Degree and Undergraduate Programs in Higher Education Institutions”. According to the relevant Regulation, students who successfully complete the double major program are awarded a “Double Major Undergraduate Diploma” in addition to the undergraduate diploma of the major program they are enrolled in. In addition, according to the provisions of the same Regulation, the program in which a student enrolled in a diploma program takes a limited number of courses on a specific subject within the scope of another diploma program within the same higher education institution, provided that they meet the prescribed conditions, is called a “minor program” and only a certificate of achievement (minor certificate) is issued to those who complete the program in question. These documents do not replace a diploma.

Organizational Diversity

Admission to open or distance education associate, bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in higher education institutions is specified in the “Admission Requirements” section of the relevant programs. While the theoretical part of the curriculum of such programs is compatible with formal programs, there may be an application element according to the requirements of the program and courses. In addition, those who have graduated from a higher education institution and those who are still studying in a higher education program can enroll in open education programs without taking the central exam again. Graduates or students of associate degree programs can choose only associate degree programs, while graduates or students of bachelor’s degree programs can choose both associate degree and bachelor’s degree open education programs.