Scholarships to Study in Türkiye for African Students 2027

Best scholarships to study in Türkiye

Türkiye has one national scheme worth building a plan around: Türkiye Bursları (Türkiye Scholarships), run by the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB). It pays your tuition at the university that places you, adds a monthly stipend of TRY 4,500–9,000 per month depending on level, and gives you a state dormitory place, health insurance, a flight in and a flight home, and a full year of Turkish language teaching. It covers bachelor, master, phd, research-stay, short-course, and YTB makes about 5,000 awards a year. The window is fixed: 10 January 2026 to 20 February 2026, with interviews from April to June and results in early August. You do not need a university offer first — YTB places you. Our Türkiye Scholarships guide sets out the paperwork.

The second full-degree route is Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters, paid by the European Commission. Tuition is covered in full, the stipend is €1,400 per month, and the course runs 12, 18 or 24 months (60, 90 or 120 ECTS); the scholarship runs for the full programme duration. You apply to a consortium of universities in at least three countries, not to Türkiye directly, and only for a master’s.

Universities add their own money, and it is nearly all partial. Bilkent, Koç, Sabancı and İstanbul Aydın run tuition waivers for international entrants that range from a discount to the whole fee; Koç and Sabancı also fund thesis master’s and PhD places. Medipol and Bahçeşehir give smaller percentage discounts, including for siblings. METU and Ankara University reduce fees for strong results. Amounts sit on our Turkish university pages.

The honest point: what tuition really costs without a scholarship

Türkiye is cheap by European standards, which changes what a scholarship is for. A public bachelor’s costs US$1,600–2,400 per year for a foreign national and a public master’s US$750–2,000 per year. Medicine at a public flagship is US$10,000 per year. Foundation (vakıf) universities are the expensive tier: US$16,300–22,000 per year for a bachelor’s and US$8,000–20,000 per year for a master’s. Fees are set per university, not nationally, and are usually quoted in US dollars but paid in lira. Living costs, not tuition, are what most students underestimate: TRY 12,000–35,000 per month nationally and TRY 28,000–56,000 per month in Istanbul. Private residence-permit insurance adds TRY 4,800–5,800 per year. Our cost of studying in Türkiye page has the full picture.

Who is eligible from our countries

All nine countries we work with are eligible for both schemes, with no quota and no exclusions. Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Egypt, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Morocco can each apply to Türkiye Bursları and to Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters.

Türkiye Bursları states the rule plainly: Open to citizens of any country other than Türkiye. Turkish citizens, dual nationals holding Turkish citizenship and people who have lost Turkish citizenship are excluded; citizens of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus are the stated exception. If one of your two passports is Turkish, this scheme is closed to you.

Erasmus Mundus works differently: Open worldwide with no nationality restriction. No more than 10 per cent of a project's scholarships may go to applicants of one nationality, a cap that excludes the targeted-region top-ups funded from NDICI and IPA III. African applicants are a targeted region for those top-ups, with a reserved share for Sub-Saharan Africa and another for the Neighbourhood South region that covers Egypt and Morocco.

One practical point for African applicants: YTB has no office in Africa — the offices are Ankara, İstanbul and Edirne — and Turkish embassies do not receive applications. Everything goes through the TBBS portal inside the single annual window, and interviews are then held face to face.

Fully funded vs partial — know what you are applying for

Two words do most of the damage in scholarship adverts: “full” and “funded”. Türkiye Bursları is genuinely fully funded — tuition, TRY 4,500–9,000 per month, a dormitory place, insurance and return flights. Erasmus Mundus is fully funded in the same sense: tuition in full plus €1,400 per month. Consortia may charge scholarship holders neither an application fee nor tuition fees or other mandatory participation costs.

Everything a Turkish university offers is partial. A waiver cuts the headline fee; it does not pay your rent, your TRY 4,800–5,800 per year insurance, your TRY 964 permit document fee or the residence-permit duty on top of it. A partial waiver at a foundation university can still leave you paying more than the full fee at a public one — compare US$16,300–22,000 per year with US$1,600–2,400 per year. Work out the total before you accept.

Eligibility — grades, age, degree level, language

Türkiye Bursları applies its filters mechanically, so check them before you spend a week on the form. The upper age limit is 35. The minimum academic average is 70%. On degrees held: Bachelor: secondary-school diploma or final-year student. Master's: a bachelor's degree. PhD: a master's degree. No work experience is required, and you do not need a university admission letter first — you rank programmes inside the application and YTB places you.

Language is where most people misread the scheme. No language certificate is required at application; international exam results (TOEFL, DELF and similar) are uploaded only where the chosen programme requires them. All holders take one year of Turkish preparatory education to C1 even when the degree is taught in English, Arabic or French; holders of a C1 certificate from the Yunus Emre Institute or a Turkish university language centre may be exempted.

If you are paying your own way instead, English-taught programmes set their own floor — Bilkent’s is 6.5 at bachelor’s and 6.5 at master’s, while METU tests English after enrolment rather than at admission. See studying in Türkiye without IELTS.

How to apply

1. September to December 2026 — decide the level. Türkiye Bursları funds bachelor, master, phd, research-stay, short-course; health sciences are offered at bachelor’s level but not at master’s or PhD.
2. Autumn 2026 — collect the file: passport or national identity document, a photograph taken within the past year, diploma or provisional graduation certificate, academic transcript, national examination results, and SAT, GRE, GMAT or language certificates where a programme asks. PhD applicants add a research proposal and a written work sample.
3. Legalise them: South Africa, Morocco and Kenya are Hague Apostille countries; the other origins need consular legalisation, which adds weeks.
4. January 2027 — register on the Türkiye Scholarships Application System (TBBS) at https://tbbs.turkiyeburslari.gov.tr. The 2027/28 dates are not published; the last cycle opened 10 January 2026 and closed 20 February 2026.
5. Complete the personal, academic and contact sections, then rank your universities and programmes inside TBBS, checking each programme’s language of instruction.
6. Upload every document and submit before the closing date — TBBS is the only route and there is no late window.
7. March to June 2027 — an expert committee scores your academic record, letter of intent, consistency of preferences and social activity. Undergraduate candidates sit a quantitative test; shortlisted candidates attend a face-to-face interview.
8. Early August 2027 — results are published, placement follows in September, and the Turkish year starts on arrival. Apply for the education-purpose visa at the Turkish consulate before you travel; our Türkiye student visa guide lists the file.