Turkey is a great student destination if you want to experience a new culture and be close to both East and West. Apart from the ideal mix between European and Oriental influence, Turkey also has a growing academic reputation with new and old universities working to offer international students competitive education.
So, we decided to check the ‘what’, ‘where’ and ‘who’ about studying in Turkey. Using data from our portal and OECD, we’re here to explore the disciplines and Turkish universities that most international students are interested in, but also where these international students come from.
This information will be helpful if you want to apply for a degree in Turkey as it can inspire you to choose the right degree and university. It will also prepare you for the international student community you are likely to meet when you start your studies in Turkey.
Disciplines international students are interested to study in Turkey
There are over 400 English-taught Masters you can apply to in Turkey. With such a vast, internationally-oriented offer you might have a hard time picking the right programme. Well… first you should consider your background and what you want to do. After that, it doesn’t hurt checking what are the most popular disciplines for international students interested in Turkey.
Our data from 2017 shows that prospective international students are most interested in the following 10 disciplines to study in Turkey:
- Masters in Computer Science in Turkey: 2,927 curious students
- Masters in Civil Engineering in Turkey: 2,041 curious students
- Masters in International Relations in Turkey: 1,964 curious students
- Masters in Psychology in Turkey: 1,735 curious students
- Masters in Electrical Engineering in Turkey: 1,421 curious students
- Masters in Architecture in Turkey: 1,367 curious students
- MBAs in Turkey: 1,299 curious students
- Masters in Health Sciences in Turkey: 1,096 curious students
- Masters in Education in Turkey: 1,087 curious students
- Masters in Physiotherapy in Turkey: 935 curious students
The most popular Turkish universities among international students
Studyportals offers users the opportunity to subscribe to news about the universities they are most interested in. In this way, students get updated about the latest deadlines and programmes at their favourite universities. At the same time, they help us see which universities are most popular.
So without further ado, here are some of the most attractive universities in Turkey:
- Koc University
- Izmir University of Economics
- Yasar University
- Sabanci University
- Istanbul Okan University
- Bilkent University
- Bahcesehir University
- Yeditepe University
- Istanbul Sehir University
- Ozyegin University
- TED University
Where do students interested in Master’s in Turkey come from
When applying to a Turkish university, you will inevitably think about what other international students you are likely to meet, and who else wants to do a degree in the country which gave agriculture to civilisation (and still gives us the most hazelnuts in the world). According to our website traffic data from 2017, people who are most interested in studying in Turkey come from the next countries.
- 3,012 students from India were into Turkey
- 2,237 students from Pakistan were into Turkey
- 1,463 students from Nigeria were into Turkey
- 861 students from the USA were into Turkey
- 688 students from Egypt were into Turkey
- 602 students from Iran were into Turkey
- 602 students from Jordan were into Turkey
- 602 students from Malaysia were into Turkey
- 516 students from Saudi Arabia were into Turkey
- 516 students from Indonesia were into Turkey
Where do students enrolled at Turkish universities come from
It’s good to know where students who want to study in Turkey come from, but it's even better knowing which international students actually started studying in Turkey.
Our data from 2017 tells us that 576 international students enrolled at Turkish universities last year after seeing them on Studyportals. And here’s the top countries they come from:
- Pakistan: 30 happy students
- Iran: 13 happy students
- Azerbaijan: 11 happy students
- Egypt: 8 happy students
- Morocco: 8 happy students
- United States: 8 happy students
- Saudi Arabia: 7 happy students
- United Kingdom: 6 happy students
- Syria: 6 happy students
- Rwanda: 5 happy students
- Iraq: 5 happy students
- Germany: 5 happy students
- Poland: 5 happy students
But in this story, there are not only happy students but also universities that are lucky to have them. Here’s where most international students in Turkey enrolled thanks to Studyportals:
- Istanbul Technical University: 111 international students
- METU Middle East Technical University: 89 international students
- University of Anatolia: 78 international students
- Istanbul University: 60 international students
- Bahcesehir University: 50 international students
- Bilkent University: 46 international students
- Marmara University: 44 international students
- Bogazici University: 37 international students
- Ankara University: 30 international students
- Yildiz Technical University: 28 international students
International students that invest most in studying in Turkey
OECD data is also very revealing in terms of international student community in Turley. According to their data, the international student market was worth over 34 million EUR in 2017. This is money that international students invest in education in Turkey. The highest value to the international student market in Turkey was brought by students from the next 3 countries:
- Germany
- Greece
- Russia
Other students that invest in education in Turkey come from China, USA, Indonesia, France and Netherlands. This suggests that you have a higher chance of studying in Turkey if you come from one of these countries.
