TÜBİTAK Scholarships for International Students: 2215, 2216, 2221

Contents

1. What are the TÜBİTAK 2215, 2216 and 2221 programs?

2. Which TÜBİTAK programs are open to foreign nationals?

3. What happened to TÜBİTAK 2215?

4. Who can apply for TÜBİTAK 2216?

5. How long is each fellowship and when can you apply?

6. Which program fits which applicant?

7. Why is TÜBİTAK 2215 still listed as available?

8. What are your next steps?

9. Real-World Examples

10. Frequently Asked Questions

11. References

12. Legal Notice

Introduction

Searches for TÜBİTAK scholarships for international students almost always return the same three codes. The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBİTAK) is the country's principal research funding body, and its Department of Science Fellowships and Grant Programmes (BİDEB) operates the numbered programs. Two of the three codes still name live programs. One does not.

The distinction matters because the three serve different people. 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. That person is not the same as a doctoral researcher holding an invitation from a Turkish institution, and TÜBİTAK funds the second far more readily than the first.

Everything here was read from TÜBİTAK's own English and Turkish program pages, the e-BİDEB application system, and the Council of Higher Education (YÖK) statistics bulletin, on 11 September 2026. Application calendars and program status are the parts most likely to change between academic years, so both are given with the date they were checked. Mezun Kampüsü tracks these announcements as universities and institutions publish them.

No payment amounts appear in this article. TÜBİTAK sets and publishes support amounts for each program separately and revises them from call to call.

What are the TÜBİTAK 2215, 2216 and 2221 programs?

The three codes name three different things. TÜBİTAK 2215 was a degree scholarship for international students taking a master's or doctorate in Türkiye, and it was repealed. TÜBİTAK 2216 is a research fellowship for foreign nationals who hold a doctorate or are enrolled in one abroad. TÜBİTAK 2221 funds established scientists invited to Türkiye for a visit or a sabbatical stay.

Program 2215 was the Graduate Scholarship Programme for International Students. TÜBİTAK announced on 16 October 2015 that program 2215 and program 2235, the Graduate Scholarship Programme for Least Developed Countries, had both been repealed by decision of the TÜBİTAK Science Committee.

Program 2216 is the Research Fellowship Programme for International Researchers. TÜBİTAK's program page describes its purpose as enabling international highly qualified PhD students and young post-doctoral researchers to pursue their research in Türkiye. Support under 2216 runs for a maximum of 36 months, and the researcher is expected to begin the research within 12 months of becoming entitled to support.

Program 2221 is the Fellowships for Visiting Scientists and Scientists on Sabbatical Leave. TÜBİTAK's page for program 2221 states that the aim is to contribute to Türkiye's science ecosystem by encouraging leading Turkish scientists and other scientists working in universities or research institutions abroad to come to Türkiye. The invited scientist may run laboratory work, teach part time, organize conferences or prepare joint projects.

One structural difference separates 2221 from the other two: the application is not submitted by the person who receives the fellowship.

Which TÜBİTAK programs are open to foreign nationals?

TÜBİTAK's International Scholarships page listed seven programs on 11 September 2026: 2216, 2216-B, 2216-C, 2216-D, 2221, 2232-A and 2232-B. Program 2215 does not appear on that page. Listing is not the same as an open call, however, and on the same date the e-BİDEB open-programs page showed none of the international fellowship programs accepting applications.

Three of the listed programs are country-linked or partnership routes. Program 2216-B is run with UNESCO-TWAS, The World Academy of Sciences, for nationals of developing countries. Program 2216-C is the TÜBA-TÜBİTAK Uzbekistan Aziz Sancar Research Fellowship Programme, run with the Turkish Academy of Sciences (TÜBA) for citizens of Uzbekistan, and its 2026 call ran from 1 July 2026 to 14 August 2026. Program 2216-D is run with the World Association of Industrial and Technological Research Organizations (WAITRO) for nationals of WAITRO member countries.

Programs 2232-A and 2232-B, the International Fellowship for Outstanding Researchers and the International Fellowship for Early Stage Researchers, sit apart from the fellowship codes discussed here. They are structured around bringing researchers into positions in Türkiye rather than funding a defined research stay.

The table below compares the three codes named in most searches. The criteria compared are the target applicant, who submits the application, and the status shown on TÜBİTAK's pages on 11 September 2026.

Table 1. TÜBİTAK 2215, 2216 and 2221 compared by applicant, applicant role and program status

What happened to TÜBİTAK 2215?

TÜBİTAK repealed program 2215 and published the announcement on 16 October 2015. The same announcement covered program 2235, the Graduate Scholarship Programme for Least Developed Countries. TÜBİTAK did not replace either program with another degree scholarship for international students. Instead the announcement directs applicants elsewhere.

2215 Graduate Scholarship Programme for International Students and 2235 Graduate Scholarship Programme for Least Developed Countries were repealed by the decision of TÜBİTAK Science Committee. International students seeking to pursue a graduate degree in Turkey can investigate opportunities of "Türkiye Scholarships".

— TÜBİTAK, 16 October 2015

The Turkish-language version of the same announcement carries the identical decision, attributed to the TÜBİTAK Science Committee. Both versions were read on 11 September 2026 and neither had been amended or superseded by a later notice on TÜBİTAK's announcement pages.

The destination TÜBİTAK names is Türkiye Scholarships, the state scholarship program administered by the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB). Türkiye Scholarships covers associate, bachelor's, master's, doctoral and research levels, which is why TÜBİTAK treats it as the appropriate route for a student seeking a degree scholarship rather than a research fellowship.

For an applicant, the practical consequence is a change of institution, not merely a change of form. A person searching for TÜBİTAK 2215 is looking for the wrong funder. TÜBİTAK funds research activity carried out by people who already hold, or are close to holding, a doctorate. Degree funding for international students at master's and doctoral level sits with YTB and with the universities themselves, whose graduate schools set their own conditions and periods.

Who can apply for TÜBİTAK 2216?

TÜBİTAK's 2216 program page sets four conditions on the applicant: foreign citizenship, doctoral standing, an invitation from an institution in Türkiye, and age. Dual citizens holding Turkish citizenship are excluded. The applicant must be enrolled in a doctoral program abroad having completed the qualifying examination, or already hold a doctorate.

A qualifying examination is the assessment of a doctoral student's subject knowledge and research capability after the coursework stage, and is the condition for proceeding to the thesis stage. For 2216, TÜBİTAK treats passing it as the marker that a doctoral candidate is research-ready. The age condition is tied to a fixed reference point: the TÜBİTAK 2216 page requires that the applicant has not turned 35 as of the first day of the application year.

The invitation requirement is the condition applicants most often underestimate. TÜBİTAK's 2216 page requires an invitation letter from the top official of a university or research institute in Türkiye, which for a university means the rector or an authorized vice-chancellor. A supervisor's willingness is not the same document.

TÜBİTAK evaluates 2216 applications in two stages. A preliminary examination checks that documents are complete and correctly formatted, and a scientific evaluation follows, carried out by expert panelists and consultants against published criteria: the applicant's scientific and research competence, the scientific and technological value of the research proposal, the contribution to the applicant's career and to the host institution, and feasibility.

• Confirm on the TÜBİTAK 2216 page whether a call is open before preparing documents

• Verify your citizenship status against the dual-citizenship exclusion

• Calculate your age against the first day of the application year, not the deadline

• Secure a signed invitation letter from the rector or an authorized vice-chancellor

• Obtain your academic advisor's signed letter giving views on the research proposal

• Prepare the CV and research proposal on TÜBİTAK's own templates

• Arrange two reference letters from referees other than your advisor

• Check whether your research requires ethics committee approval

How long is each fellowship and when can you apply?

Duration separates the three codes as sharply as eligibility does. TÜBİTAK 2216 runs for a maximum of 36 months. TÜBİTAK 2221 splits into two bands: 7 days to 3 months for a visiting scientist, and 3 to 12 months for a scientist on sabbatical leave. Program 2215 has no duration, because TÜBİTAK repealed it on 16 October 2015.

TÜBİTAK 2221 also caps repeat use. The program page states that the visiting or sabbatical scientist can be invited a maximum of 2 times within the year, provided the total invitation period under the program does not exceed 12 months, and must not have been supported for more than a total of 12 months within the last 3 years as of the first day of the application period.

The 2221 calendar is fixed in advance, which makes it the most plannable of the three. The 2216 page gives no forward calendar.

Table 2. Duration bands and 2026 application windows by program

One further timing rule applies to TÜBİTAK 2216: the researcher must start the research within 12 months from the date of entitlement to support. An applicant whose doctoral defense or visa process runs long should count that window before applying.

Which program fits which applicant?

Match the program to your position, not to your ambition. A doctoral candidate or early postdoctoral researcher under 35 with an institutional invitation belongs in TÜBİTAK 2216. An established academic with a doctorate and a colleague in Türkiye willing to host belongs in TÜBİTAK 2221. A person applying to a master's or doctoral program belongs with Türkiye Scholarships or with the university's own graduate school.

The sharpest dividing line is who does the applying. TÜBİTAK's 2221 page states that all processes and communications within the scope of the program shall be carried out by the host scientist. A host scientist is a researcher employed full time at a university or research institution in Türkiye who submits a fellowship application on behalf of an invited scientist and manages the resulting procedures. For TÜBİTAK 2221, the host must be full-time staff at the host institution in Türkiye and hold at least a doctoral degree.

That rule changes what a prospective visitor should actually do. Under TÜBİTAK 2221 there is no application form for the scientist abroad to complete. The productive step is building the academic relationship until a researcher in Türkiye is willing to submit on your behalf.

Career stage decides the rest. TÜBİTAK 2216 is written around a research stay that can run to 36 months, which suits a person willing to relocate. TÜBİTAK 2221 is written around visits as short as 7 days, which suits an academic with a continuing post abroad.

Why is TÜBİTAK 2215 still listed as available?

Program 2215 keeps appearing on scholarship aggregators, university announcement archives and guide pages because the repeal was published as a short notice in 2015 and never generated the traffic the original call pages did. Old call documents from 2013 and 2014 remain online on TÜBİTAK's own file server, which reinforces the impression that the program still runs.

Those archived files are genuine TÜBİTAK documents, which is what makes them misleading. A 2014 call announcement for program 2215 is a real page with a real deadline on it, and nothing on the file itself says the program was later repealed. The repeal lives on a separate announcement page.

There is a second confusion worth separating, because the two states are not the same. Program 2215 was repealed: the TÜBİTAK Science Committee ended it and TÜBİTAK's International Scholarships page no longer lists it. Program 2216 is listed by TÜBİTAK but shows no open call, which is the ordinary condition of a program between calls. Program 2221 is listed with a published four-term calendar for 2026 and was between terms on 11 September 2026, with the next window shown as 2 to 30 November 2026.

A repealed program will not reopen under that code. A program between calls may open again, and TÜBİTAK publishes new calls on its announcements pages and on e-BİDEB. TÜBİTAK's 2216 page gives no forward calendar, so whether a further 2216 call will be issued is not stated on the page, and this article does not predict one.

The practical check takes a minute: open the program's page on tubitak.gov.tr, then open the e-BİDEB open-programs list, and compare. If a code does not appear on TÜBİTAK's own listing pages at all, treat any third-party page advertising it as out of date.

What are your next steps?

Your next step depends on which of the three positions you occupy. Confirm the program's status on TÜBİTAK's own pages first, because a program's status changes independently of everything else in your planning. Then work on whichever input takes longest to obtain, which for research fellowships is almost always the invitation.

1. Identify your position: degree applicant, doctoral or early postdoctoral researcher, or established academic with a post abroad.

2. If you are a degree applicant, move to Türkiye Scholarships and to the graduate schools of individual universities, and stop tracking TÜBİTAK codes.

3. If TÜBİTAK 2216 fits, check the program page for an open call before preparing anything else.

4. Approach potential host institutions in Türkiye and work toward an invitation letter signed at rector level.

5. If TÜBİTAK 2221 fits, identify a full-time researcher in Türkiye holding at least a doctorate who can submit on your behalf.

6. For TÜBİTAK 2221, set your preparation against the published terms; the fourth 2026 window runs from 2 to 30 November 2026.

7. Check the country-linked variants 2216-B, 2216-C and 2216-D against your nationality before assuming the main 2216 route is your only option.

Two things change between academic years and should be re-checked rather than remembered: application calendars and program status. TÜBİTAK publishes both on the individual program pages. University graduate admission periods run on a separate calendar again, set by each graduate school.

Real-World Examples

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

Farida, master's applicant. Farida finds a page listing TÜBİTAK 2215 with a February deadline and starts collecting documents. Checking tubitak.gov.tr directly, she finds the 16 October 2015 announcement stating that program 2215 was repealed, and sees that the International Scholarships page does not list it. The page she found was an archived call document from an earlier year. She redirects her effort to Türkiye Scholarships, which covers master's level, and separately writes to the graduate schools of three universities whose programs match her field to ask about their own admission conditions and periods.

Amira, doctoral candidate abroad. Amira passed her qualifying examination and wants a research stay in Türkiye under TÜBİTAK 2216. The program page shows no open call on the date she checks. Rather than waiting passively, she uses the interval to secure what takes longest: she contacts a research group whose work overlaps with her thesis, agrees a research question with a potential advisor there, and asks the group to start the internal process for an invitation letter signed at rector level. She also checks her nationality against program 2216-B, which is run with UNESCO-TWAS and may open on a different calendar.

Daniel, associate professor abroad. Daniel has been granted sabbatical leave by his university and wants to spend it in Türkiye. He looks for an application form on the TÜBİTAK 2221 page and finds none addressed to him. The page states that all processes are carried out by the host scientist, who must be full-time staff in Türkiye and hold at least a doctoral degree. Daniel changes approach: he writes to a colleague at a Turkish university, agrees a work plan, and asks whether that colleague will submit. He aligns his leave documentation with the 3-to-12-month sabbatical band.

Kwame, postdoctoral researcher. Kwame holds a doctorate and works in a WAITRO member country. The main 2216 route would require him to be under 35 as of the first day of the application year, and he is older than that. Checking the variants, he finds program 2216-D, run with the World Association of Industrial and Technological Research Organizations, which sets its own conditions and supports postdoctoral researchers for 6 to 12 months. He notes that it requires official acceptance from a research institution in Türkiye and an English proficiency certificate, and begins with the institutional contact rather than the paperwork.

About Mezun Kampüsü
Mezun Kampüsü is a platform that brings together the graduate programs, application calendars and academic announcements of universities in Turkey. For applicants weighing research funding in Türkiye, the platform makes it possible to compare graduate programs through Atlas, identify the departments and research groups that could act as a host institution, follow university application periods as they are announced, and begin a free application through the Universities section.

Legal Notice

This article is general information about TÜBİTAK's fellowship programs for foreign nationals and about program 2215, and it is not personal academic, legal or financial advice. Program conditions, application calendars, quotas and eligibility rules are set by TÜBİTAK and can change between calls and academic years, and university conditions vary by institution and period. The program status described here reflects TÜBİTAK's pages as read on 11 September 2026. These programs rest on TÜBİTAK Science Committee decisions and on the conditions published in each call, rather than on a single named regulation. Before acting, confirm every condition on the relevant TÜBİTAK program page, on e-BİDEB, and with the institution concerned.