Ankara University Master’s Programs in English: Fees and Admission

Contents

• What English-taught master’s programs does Ankara University offer?

• Who can apply to Ankara University as an international student?

• How do you apply for a master’s at Ankara University?

• What documents do international applicants need?

• When are the Ankara University application deadlines?

• How are tuition fees set for English-taught programs?

• Is ALES required for international applicants?

• What should you do before the next application round?

• Real-World Examples

• Frequently Asked Questions

• References

• Legal Notice

Introduction

Ankara University offers 40 English-taught graduate programs as of its 2025 monitoring report, and international students apply to them through the university’s online system under a separate “foreign” application type. For the fall 2026 intake, the master’s application window ran from 4 May to 12 June 2026. According to Ankara University’s 2026–2027 application guide, international applicants are not asked for an ALES score.

This article covers English-taught master’s programs at Ankara University, the public university in the Turkish capital, not every university in the city of Ankara. It answers four questions: which programs are taught in English, who is eligible, how application and registration run, and how tuition fees are decided. Some readers search for “masters” rather than “master’s”; both refer to the same programs.

The sources are primary wherever possible: Ankara University’s fall 2026 master’s and doctoral application guides, the English programmes list published by the university’s International Students Office in May 2026, a University Board decision on fees dated 25 July 2025, and an amendment to the university’s graduate regulation published in the Official Gazette on 24 April 2026. National context comes from the Council of Higher Education (YÖK).

Calendars, language requirements and fees change each academic year. Every date here refers to 2026–2027 and was checked in October 2026.

What English-taught master’s programs does Ankara University offer?

Ankara University lists 30 English-taught master’s programs with thesis and 5 without thesis in the English programmes list published by its International Students Office in May 2026. The programs sit in several graduate schools, with the largest groups in social sciences, natural and applied sciences, and health sciences. Each program belongs to a graduate school that manages its admissions.

A graduate school is the academic unit within a Turkish university that runs graduate education and manages application and enrolment procedures. At Ankara University, the graduate school is where quotas, program-specific conditions and results are published, so the graduate school website is the first place to check for any English-taught program.

Two program types appear in the May 2026 list. A master’s with thesis is a graduate program completed through coursework and the preparation of a thesis. A master’s without thesis is a coursework-focused graduate program completed with a term project instead of a thesis. Most English-taught options at Ankara University are thesis programs.

The English-taught master’s programs in the May 2026 list cover a wide range of fields:

• Social sciences: International Political Economy, Water Policy and Security, Media and Communication Studies, Intellectual Property Laws, The Sea and Maritime Law, English Language and Literature, American Culture and Literature

• Natural and applied sciences: Biomedical Engineering, Energy Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Food Safety, Dairy Technology, Plant Protection, Artificial Intelligence Technology

• Health sciences: Pharmacology, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Technology, Pharmacognosy, Pharmaceutical Toxicology, Analytical Chemistry, Health Policy, Economics and Management, Physical Activity, Health and Sport Sciences

• Other units: Sociology of Education, Health Physics, Accelerator and Detector Technologies, and Business Administration

The list also names some programs as evening programs, such as The Sea and Maritime Law. Evening programs follow a separate fee structure. Not every English-taught program opens a quota for international applicants in every semester. The quota list published with each application guide decides which programs accept applications in a given round.

Who can apply to Ankara University as an international student?

Foreign nationals apply to Ankara University graduate programs through the “foreign” application type in the university’s online system. According to the 2026–2027 doctoral application guide, the same application type is used by Turkish citizens who completed their entire undergraduate degree abroad and by dual citizens. Eligibility for a specific program then depends on the conditions in the graduate school’s quota list.

An international student is a person who is not a citizen of the Republic of Turkey and who is admitted to a higher education institution under international student status.

Applicants with a degree from abroad also need a recognition document. The fall 2026 master’s guide asks graduates of non-clinical and non-health fields abroad to submit a Certificate of Recognition (Okul Tanıma Belgesi) at the time of application. A Certificate of Recognition is a document confirming that a higher education institution abroad, and the specific program attended there, appear among the institutions recognised by the Council of Higher Education (YÖK); it does not mean the diploma has been declared equivalent to a Turkish qualification.

Applicants to health programs that involve clinical practice face a different rule. For those programs, the guide asks for a Certificate of Equivalence at the time of application. A Certificate of Equivalence is the Council of Higher Education’s formal determination of which Turkish qualification, in which field and at which level, a diploma obtained abroad corresponds to.

The table below compares applicant profiles under Ankara University’s fall 2026 guides; program quota lists can add conditions.

How do you apply for a master’s at Ankara University?

International applicants apply for a master’s at Ankara University online only; Ankara University’s fall 2026 guide states that postal applications are not accepted. The process runs in a fixed order: online application, upload of documents, a program-level scientific assessment, publication of results, and final registration. For the fall 2026 intake, the whole sequence ran from 4 May to 14 August 2026.

The steps below follow the order set out in Ankara University’s 2026–2027 fall master’s application guide:

1. Check the quota list for the round and confirm that the chosen program accepts international applicants and teaches in English.

2. Create an account on the university’s online application system and select the “foreign” application type.

3. Upload the candidate registration form, diploma or graduation certificate, transcript, passport copy, language certificate and recognition document.

4. Submit the application before the deadline; for fall 2026 the window closed on 12 June 2026.

5. Sit the scientific assessment set by the program; fall 2026 assessments took place from 17 to 19 June 2026.

6. Check the results, which the graduate school publishes on its official website; fall 2026 results appeared on 26 June 2026.

7. Complete final registration within the stated window; for fall 2026 this ran from 27 July to 7 August 2026.

A scientific assessment is a written or oral evaluation of subject knowledge administered by a university as part of its graduate admissions; it is not a centralised examination and its scope varies by program. At Ankara University, the department sets the format: an interview, a written test or both.

A candidate may apply to two programs in one round, using the same application type for both. Reserve candidates were announced on 11 August 2026 and registered on 13 and 14 August 2026. Orientation for new graduate students took place on 18 September 2026.

What documents do international applicants need?

International applicants to Ankara University master’s programs submit a standard set of documents online: a candidate registration form, a diploma or graduation certificate, a transcript, a passport copy, a language certificate where required and a recognition document for degrees obtained abroad. Ankara University’s fall 2026 guide also asks for notarized translations of diplomas and transcripts issued abroad.

The list below turns the fall 2026 guide into actions; check each item against the program’s quota list.

• Download and complete the candidate registration form generated by the online system

• Scan your diploma or, if you have not graduated yet, a graduation or student certificate

• Scan your full transcript of records

• Obtain notarized translations of the diploma and transcript if they were issued abroad

• Scan the photo page of your passport

• Apply to YÖK for a Certificate of Recognition, or a Certificate of Equivalence for clinical health programs

• Gather a YDS, YÖKDİL or accepted international language score if your program asks for one

• Obtain a C1 Turkish certificate from TÖMER only if you are applying to a Turkish-taught program

The recognition document often takes the longest, because YÖK issues it rather than Ankara University.

The language certificate rules depend on the program. Under the fall 2026 guide, Ankara University accepts YDS and YÖKDİL, the national language exams run by the Student Selection and Placement Centre (ÖSYM), as well as international exams whose equivalence ÖSYM recognizes. Applicants who completed their entire bachelor’s or master’s education in the language the program requires are treated as exempt from the language requirement. YDS and YÖKDİL results are valid for 5 years under the same guide.

For Turkish-taught programs only, the guide asks international applicants without a Turkish degree for a C1 certificate. TÖMER is the common name for the Turkish language teaching centres attached to Turkish universities, which provide Turkish courses and issue certificates of Turkish proficiency. A Certificate of Turkish Proficiency is the document showing an applicant’s level of Turkish and required for admission to Turkish-medium programs; the accepted level varies between universities.

When are the Ankara University application deadlines?

Ankara University runs separate calendars for master’s and doctoral admissions. For the fall 2026 intake, master’s applications were open from 4 May to 12 June 2026, while doctoral applications were open from 1 to 6 September 2026. Both calendars led to the same orientation day on 18 September 2026, according to the university’s two fall 2026 application guides.

The table compares the two calendars, using Ankara University’s fall master’s guide (April 2026) and fall doctoral guide (August 2026).

The master’s calendar is long: from the first application day to the end of reserve registration, it covered roughly 15 weeks in 2026 (derived from the dates above). The doctoral calendar fitted into about 11 days in September.

Spring semester admissions follow their own guide. As of October 2026, applicants should check each graduate school’s announcements page for any spring 2027 call, since not every program opens places in both semesters.

Recognition documents, translations and language scores need to be ready by the application deadline, not the registration date, so preparation for a May opening generally starts in winter.

How are tuition fees set for English-taught programs?

Tuition fees for international students at Ankara University are set by the University Board, not by individual programs. A University Board decision dated 25 July 2025 covers international students admitted from the 2025–2026 academic year onward and gives English-taught programs a different fee level from Turkish-taught programs. Fees vary by academic year, so this guide quotes no amounts.

The national framework comes first. A Presidential Decision on fees in Turkish higher education is generally published in the Official Gazette each year. According to TRT Haber’s report on the decision for 2025–2026, published on 9 July 2025, fees for students enrolling within quotas for applicants from abroad are determined by each higher education institution, within the limits the decision sets.

An international student quota is the application quota reserved for international students in higher education programs, separate from the general quota. Ankara University’s 25 July 2025 decision, numbered 40157, applies to students in that quota. It sets the fees for Turkish-taught programs in an annex and links the fees for English-taught programs to those annex amounts at a higher rate.

Evening and distance programs follow separate rules. A University Board decision dated 4 July 2025 sets per-credit fees for listed evening and distance master’s programs in the Graduate School of Social Sciences, including English-taught options in Intellectual Property and Maritime Law.

Scholarships change the picture for some students. Türkiye Scholarships, administered by the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB), place international students at Turkish universities and describe their support this way:

These scholarships cover tuition fees, accommodation, health insurance, and even provide a monthly stipend
— Türkiye Scholarships, Best Scholarships to Study Abroad in Türkiye for Postgraduate Students, accessed October 2026

Applicants who are not scholarship holders should read the fee document published for their intake year before registering.

Is ALES required for international applicants?

No ALES score is requested from international applicants under Ankara University’s 2026–2027 application guides. Both the fall master’s guide and the fall doctoral guide state this for candidates in the “foreign” application type. The same guides still list ALES weights in their general evaluation tables, which confuses many readers.

ALES is the centralised examination administered by the Student Selection and Placement Centre (ÖSYM) and used in applications to graduate programs and in academic staff recruitment in Turkey. For Turkish citizens, the fall 2026 master’s guide weights ALES at 50 percent of the composite score, the undergraduate grade at 20 percent and the scientific assessment at 30 percent.

The evaluation table in the fall 2026 guide does not show a separate formula for international applicants. Applicants should confirm the formula with the graduate school of the program before the scientific assessment, not after results appear.

A second point of confusion concerns Turkish. The C1 Turkish requirement in the guide applies to Turkish-taught programs. An international applicant to an English-taught program is assessed on English, through YDS, YÖKDİL or an ÖSYM-recognized international exam, unless the program’s quota list states otherwise.

How the doctoral guide treats language and ALES

The fall 2026 doctoral guide repeats the ALES exemption for the “foreign” application type. It adds one condition that the master’s guide does not stress: the language score for a doctoral program must come from a foreign language other than the applicant’s native language.

A third misreading concerns program counts. The 2025 monitoring report counts 40 English-taught graduate programs, while the May 2026 English programmes list contains 42 graduate entries (derived by adding its 30, 5 and 7 entries). The list repeats some programs as day and evening versions, so the two figures measure slightly different things.

What should you do before the next application round?https://mezunkampusu.com.tr/en/announcements

Before the next Ankara University application round, applicants can prepare the documents that take the longest, shortlist English-taught programs, and set alerts for graduate school announcements. Ankara University publishes a new guide and quota list for each semester, so the 2026–2027 rules described here are a reference point, not a promise about the next intake.

A practical order helps, because some steps depend on others:

• Shortlist two English-taught master’s programs, since Ankara University allows two applications in one round

• Start the YÖK Certificate of Recognition application, or the Certificate of Equivalence for clinical health programs

• Book a YDS, YÖKDİL or recognized international language exam early enough for results to arrive before the deadline

• Request notarized translations of the diploma and transcript

• Read the fee document for the intake year and check whether a Türkiye Scholarships application fits your plans

• Follow the graduate school’s announcements page for the new guide and quota list

The YÖK Higher Education Statistics bulletin for 2025–2026, published on 27 March 2026, counts 330,464 master’s students and 89,665 doctoral students in Turkey. Ankara University is one of 208 higher education institutions in that count.

The 2025 monitoring report records 40 English-taught graduate programs, up from 34 in 2022 and 37 in 2024. The report sets the 2028 target at 40 graduate programs, a level reached in 2025. Programs can still be added, merged or renamed between rounds, so every new guide deserves a fresh read.

Dates, quotas, language requirements and fees can change between semesters and academic years. Treat the official guide for each round as the binding document, and contact the graduate school when two sources disagree.

Real-World Examples

The examples in this section are illustrative scenarios created to explain situations applicants may encounter.

Amina and the recognition certificate. Amina holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from a university abroad and wants to apply to the English-taught Analytical Chemistry master’s at Ankara University. In March she realizes the application guide asks for a Certificate of Recognition at the time of application, not at registration. She starts the YÖK process immediately and orders notarized translations of her diploma and transcript in parallel. When the window opens in May, her documents are ready and she can focus on the scientific assessment.

Daniel and the two-program rule. Daniel is interested in both International Political Economy and Media and Communication Studies, which are English-taught at Ankara University. He learns that the university allows two applications in one round, as long as both use the same application type. He applies to both under the “foreign” application type and prepares separately for each program’s scientific assessment, since each department sets its own format. Applying to two programs gives him a second option if one program’s quota fills quickly.

Leyla and the Turkish-taught alternative. Leyla finds that the program she wants most is taught in Turkish, while a related English-taught program also exists at Ankara University. She compares the requirements and sees that the Turkish-taught program asks international applicants for a C1 Turkish certificate from TÖMER. She has a B2 level, so she decides to apply to the English-taught program for the fall round. She continues Turkish courses in parallel.

Omar and the doctoral calendar. Omar finishes an English-taught master’s and plans to continue straight into a doctorate. He assumes the doctoral calendar matches the master’s calendar and waits for May. When he checks the graduate school website in July, he finds the fall doctoral guide sets applications for early September, with only a few days between application and registration. He uses July and August to update his language score and gather documents for the short September window.

Frequently Asked Questions

About Mezun Kampüsü
Mezun Kampüsü is a platform that brings together the graduate programs, application calendars and academic announcements of universities in Turkey. Applicants interested in English-taught master’s programs at Ankara University and other Turkish universities can compare programs through Atlas, follow application periods and graduate school announcements, and start a free application through the Universities section.

Legal Notice

This article provides general information about English-taught master’s programs at Ankara University and is not personal academic, legal or financial advice. Admission conditions, application calendars, language requirements, recognition procedures and fees can change between semesters and academic years, and conditions vary between programs and graduate schools. The article draws on the Ankara University Graduate Education Regulation as amended in the Official Gazette on 24 April 2026, Ankara University’s 2026–2027 application guides and the University Board decisions listed in the references. Applicants should confirm every detail with Ankara University’s relevant graduate school and with the Council of Higher Education (YÖK) before applying.