How Much Does It Cost to Study in Turkey in 2026/27? From $1,600 a Year at a State University to $36,500 at a Private One

The short answer

Fees in Turkey differ by a factor of twenty between universities. At METU (ODTÜ), a state university in Ankara, an international bachelor's student pays $1,600 or $2,400 a year. At private Bilkent, students admitted in 2026 pay $18,400, and at Sabancı in Istanbul $36,500.

Living in Ankara costs 12,000 to 18,000 lira a month, according to METU's 2026 estimate, if you live in a campus dormitory and spend carefully.

We took the figures from the universities' official 2026/27 tables on 8 November 2026. Fees depend on the university, programme and intake year.

Why prices in Turkish news do not apply to you

When Turkish media write about university fees, they usually quote prices for Turkish applicants, in lira. An international student is admitted through a separate quota and pays from a separate table, usually in dollars.

An example from Bilkent: a Turkish student admitted through the YKS exam pays 1,295,000 lira in 2026/27. The same university charges international students a separate price in dollars.

So you cannot plan a budget from articles like "private university fees 2026". You need the table for international students, for your intake year.

Three universities, 2026/27 fees

This is tuition for international students. Housing and living costs follow below.

• METU (ODTÜ), state, Ankara: engineering, architecture, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and statistics cost $1,200 a semester, or $2,400 a year. Sociology, psychology, history, philosophy, economics and administrative sciences, and education cost $800 a semester, $1,600 a year. Master's and doctoral programmes cost $375 a semester.
• Bilkent, private, Ankara: $18,400 a year for students admitted in 2026, including 10% VAT. Paid in two equal instalments before each semester.
• Sabancı, private, Istanbul: $36,500 a year for a bachelor's. The dormitory is separate: 229,650 to 380,950 lira a year depending on the room, plus a 34,000 lira deposit returned when you move out.

What the small print says

METU sets the fee in dollars, but you pay in lira. The amount is converted at the Central Bank of Turkey's rate one week before the semester's payment period opens. This fee applies for the normal length of the programme plus two semesters. If you study longer, you pay 1.5 times as much.

At Bilkent, the fee depends on your intake year. In 2026/27, students admitted before 2023 pay $16,300, in 2023–2024 $16,950, in 2025 $17,600, and in 2026 $18,400. Each new intake pays more than the last.

Sabancı offers fee waivers. The university reduces tuition by 25, 40, 50, 60 or 75%. You do not apply separately: all international candidates are assessed on academic performance during admission. Do not count on a waiver in your budget in advance.

Almost nobody pays for a research master's at Sabancı. The fee is the same $36,500 a year, but almost all students admitted to academic master's programmes receive a full tuition waiver. This does not apply to professional programmes.

Living costs in Ankara

METU publishes an estimate of student costs for 2026. Treat it as a guide, not a promise: prices in Turkey rise fast.

• Campus dormitory, careful spending: 12,000–18,000 lira a month for everything.
• Shared flat: 20,000–35,000 lira a month.
• Living alone or spending freely: from 40,000 lira a month.
• Food, transport and the rest without housing: about 8,000–15,000 lira a month.
• Lunch in the university cafeteria: 80–120 lira. A student transport pass costs 400–600 lira a month, and the METU campus shuttle is free.

What a year comes to: three examples

This is our own calculation: tuition plus 12 months of living costs from METU's estimate. We did not add dollars and lira together, because the lira moves too fast.

• METU, engineering, campus dormitory: $2,400 tuition and 144,000–216,000 lira for living.
• METU, economics or psychology, shared flat: $1,600 and 240,000–420,000 lira.
• Bilkent, shared flat in Ankara: $18,400 and 240,000–420,000 lira.

Residence permit

To study in Turkey you need a student residence permit. The card itself costs 964 lira in 2026. It is a document fee, and according to Turkey's migration authority no nationality is exempt from it.

There can also be a separate permit fee. It depends on your citizenship and the type of permit, so we calculate it for each student. You also need health insurance.

Common mistakes

• Budgeting with prices for Turkish students. International students have their own table, usually in dollars.
• Forgetting the English preparatory year. If your English is not proven, you start with a preparatory year. At METU it costs the same as a year in the faculty, another $1,600–2,400.
• Using last year's fee. At Bilkent each new intake pays more: $17,600 in 2025 and $18,400 in 2026.
• Counting on a waiver in advance. Sabancı grants waivers after selection, not on request.
• Preparing for the wrong exam. There is no single exam, and each university publishes its own list. We explain this in our article on TR-YÖS.

What you can do yourself, and what we take on

You can choose a city and a field yourself. The harder part is finding the fee for international students for your intake year, knowing which exams the university accepts, and meeting its deadline. That is where we come in: we shortlist universities for your budget, check your documents and handle the application. Our work for one university in Turkey costs $269. You pay the university's own fee directly on its invoice, with no markup from us. For 3–4 universities there is a 5% discount.

If you want to study without tuition, there is the Türkiye Bursları government scholarship. We prepare applicants for it as a separate service for $260. The scholarship is awarded by the organiser, and we do not promise the result.

What to do today

Decide what matters more to you: the price, or the English-taught programme and campus of a private university. Write down two or three universities and find each one's fee table for international students for 2026/27. Add 12,000–35,000 lira a month for living, and a preparatory English year if you need one.

Then look at universities in Turkey and scholarships in Turkey. If you would like us to work out your case, fill in the form.

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