Türkiye Bursları — Türkiye Scholarships — is the Turkish government's flagship fully funded scholarship, and it is unusually comprehensive: tuition, a monthly stipend, accommodation, health insurance, a return flight, and a full year of Turkish language training before your degree begins. It is also unusually competitive, because a single central application covers almost every Turkish university. This guide covers the 2027 cycle: what it pays, who may apply, and how the single application works.
What the scholarship covers
Every scholar receives full tuition coverage, a monthly stipend at their level, free university dormitory accommodation, comprehensive health insurance, a one-off return flight ticket, and a free one-year Turkish language course (TÖMER) before the degree starts. Students on the Merit Scholarship Program receive twice the regular stipend. The package is designed so that a scholar needs no other income: the stipend covers daily living costs, the dormitory covers housing, and the language year means you do not need Turkish before you arrive. The practical consequence is that the scholarship suits students who are willing to spend a year learning Turkish and to live in university accommodation — if you plan to rent privately in Istanbul from day one, the budget will not stretch the way the dormitory package does.
Who may apply — the hard filters
The filters are applied strictly, so check them before you spend weeks on the application. You must not be a Turkish citizen or former Turkish citizen. You must be under 21 for a bachelor's degree, under 30 for a master's, and under 35 for a PhD. Your minimum academic average must be 70% for undergraduate, 75% for graduate, and 90% for medicine, dentistry and pharmacy programmes. You must graduate before August of the application year or be in your final year, and students already enrolled at the same level in a Turkish university cannot apply. These are eligibility gates, not preferences: an applicant who misses an age limit by a month or a grade threshold by a point is not competitive, but ineligible.
How the single application works
You apply once, online, through TBBS, and you list up to 12 programme and university combinations in order of preference. YTB — the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities — places successful applicants at one of their choices, based on academic record, profile, and interview result. This is the feature applicants most often misunderstand: you do not apply to a university and then to the scholarship. You apply to the scholarship, and YTB decides the placement. Shortlisted candidates are interviewed between April and June, and results are expected in early August. The application itself is free, and the documents are standard: a valid passport or national identity card, certified academic transcripts, graduation diplomas, and a professional passport-style photograph. Prepare certified translations early — the January to February window is only 41 days, and a missing translation in the final week is the most common avoidable reason for a rushed or incomplete application.
Choosing your 12 preferences wisely
Your 12 preferences are a strategy, not a wish list. List programmes you are genuinely eligible for and genuinely willing to attend — YTB may place you at any of them, and declining a placement is not a route to a better one. Balance the list: a few ambitious choices, several realistic ones, and at least two where your grades comfortably exceed the threshold. Research each university's language of instruction: many programmes are taught in Turkish (after the language year), some in English, and the language of your chosen programme changes what your first year looks like. Finally, write the application in the language you write best, and answer the motivation questions with specific reasons for Turkey and for your field — generic praise for Turkish culture is the weakest possible answer to a question that is really asking why this scholarship, why this field, and why now.
FAQs
When do Türkiye Bursları applications open for 2027? The annual window is 10 January to 20 February; confirm the exact 2027 dates when YTB publishes the call.
How much is the monthly stipend? 6,500 TL for bachelor's, 9,500 TL for master's, 13,000 TL for PhD students.
What does the scholarship cover? Full tuition, stipend, dormitory accommodation, health insurance, a return flight, and a one-year Turkish language course.
What are the age limits? Under 21 for bachelor's, under 30 for master's, under 35 for PhD.
Do I apply to a university first? No — you apply once through TBBS, list up to 12 preferences, and YTB places you.
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Sources and verification: Türkiye Bursları annual window 10 January–20 February, stipend 6,500 TL bachelor's / 9,500 TL master's / 13,000 TL PhD (Merit scholars double), full tuition, dormitory accommodation, health insurance, return flight, one-year TÖMER language course, age limits under 21/30/35, minimum grades 70% undergraduate / 75% graduate / 90% health sciences, up to 12 TBBS preferences, interviews April–June, results expected early August — per YTB published calendar and scholarship guidance. The 2027 call itself had not been announced at the last check, so exact 2027 dates are to be confirmed on turkiyeburslari.gov.tr.