Second Degree in Türkiye: Rules, Cost and Routes for Graduates

Three ways to study in Türkiye when you already have a degree

Three questions decide this: whether Türkiye lets a graduate start a second bachelor’s, whether you can change field at master’s level, and whether an HND buys entry part-way through a degree. The answers are short.

A second bachelor’s is allowed — the rule is yes — with no national quota of the German kind, but no discount and no head start either. Changing field is handled inside the master’s, through a bridging programme called bilimsel hazırlık, not a separate conversion degree. A top-up into the final year does not exist for our applicants: DGS, the domestic route that does this, is closed to foreign nationals who have never studied in Türkiye.

The honest default: if your degree is in or near the field you want, apply to a master’s and accept the bridging semesters; if you need the undergraduate qualification itself, plan a full Turkish bachelor’s and budget for it. A public master’s costs US$750–2,000 per year against US$1,600–2,400 per year for a bachelor’s, and is shorter. Both routes use the same residence permit and each university’s own calendar.

A second bachelor’s in Türkiye

A graduate applies through the yurtdışından öğrenci kabulü route, against the same YÖK-approved international quota and the same senate-approved criteria as a school leaver, and is judged on the entrance-exam score rather than the degree already held. For most public universities that means TR-YÖS, run twice a year by ÖSYM, or an equivalent such as SAT, A-Level or IB.

Two constraints bite. International admissions to teaching, law, medicine, dentistry and pharmacy are capped at a tenth of places, so the crowded subjects stay crowded. And a second bachelor’s carries the full international undergraduate fee, with no state contribution: US$1,600–2,400 per year at a public university, US$16,300–22,000 per year at a foundation (vakıf) one.

Credit for your first degree is not automatic — it is granted, if at all, by the receiving faculty’s own muafiyet (exemption) decision, one course at a time. Budget for the full 4 years. A second bachelor’s is worth it when you need the Turkish qualification itself, for a regulated profession or a change of field, not as a faster way in. Entry rules by certificate are on our Türkiye bachelor’s guide.

Changing field with a conversion master’s

There is no conversion master’s as a separate product. The mechanism sits inside the master’s: Bilimsel hazırlık programı (scientific preparation). Where the bachelor's is in a different field from the master's, or comes from a different institution, the institute may require up to two semesters of undergraduate-level bridging courses before the master's proper; that time is excluded from the master's four-semester clock. This is the Turkish equivalent of a conversion route – there is no separate 'conversion MSc' product and no non-consecutive master's category. A master's course load itself is unchanged.

So the switch is real but front-loaded: you sit and pay for undergraduate courses first, and that time is added to your stay rather than taken out of the master’s. A three-year African bachelor’s is not excluded; the institute checks that the awarding institution is recognised by YÖK, evidenced by an Okul Tanıma Belgesi obtained free through e-Devlet.

English-taught supply is the constraint. Boğaziçi lists 72 at US$300 per semester, Koç lists 43 at US$24,300–51,800 per year, and METU charges TRY 9,976 per semester. Compare the rest on our Turkish universities page.

HND and diploma holders: top-up routes

A final-year top-up does not exist. Not available to our applicants. Türkiye has no top-up final-year bachelor's. The domestic equivalent is DGS (Dikey Geçiş Sınavı, ÖSYM), which places ön lisans graduates into the third year of a bachelor's, but the 2026-DGS guide restricts placement to Turkish citizens and to foreign nationals who are TRNC citizens or who studied in Turkish secondary or higher education – a Nigerian, Ghanaian or Kenyan HND holder who has never studied in Türkiye cannot be placed through it, and the exam is delivered in Turkish. The realistic alternatives are yurt dışından yatay geçiş (transfer from a foreign higher-education institution into an ongoing programme, quotas and calendars published by each university in July for the autumn semester and January for the spring, using an Okul Tanıma Belgesi from YÖK), or fresh first-year entry through the international quota. Recognition body: YÖK Tanıma ve Denklik Hizmetleri Daire Başkanlığı; ön lisans-level denklik that falls short of the Turkish equivalent triggers SYBS steps.

Read that as one door closed and two open. Yatay geçiş is a transfer, not a finishing year: it works only if you are enrolled elsewhere and want to continue that programme in Türkiye. Fresh first-year entry is the realistic route for most HND holders, at the full 4 years and US$1,600–2,400 per year. Recognition runs through YÖK’s Tanıma ve Denklik Hizmetleri Daire Başkanlığı, and an ön lisans denklik short of the Turkish equivalent triggers SYBS steps. Finishing the top-up at home, then applying to a Turkish master’s, is usually cheaper.

Visa, age and funding for a second degree

The permit does not care that you already hold a degree. There is no same-level restriction, and the age limit is none. You enter on an education-purpose (D-2) visa from the Turkish consulate at home, then pre-apply online for the öğrenci ikamet izni and attend a provincial migration directorate appointment. The document fee is TRY 964, the legal maximum for a decision is 13 weeks from a complete file, and no fixed sum for funds is set — sufficiency is judged case by case on a Bank statement (own or sponsor/guarantor) or scholarship confirmation letter.

What sinks a second-degree file is credibility, not the second degree: the permit is refused, cancelled or not renewed where the conditions fall away or evidence emerges that you cannot continue the studies, so show one clear reason for returning to a level you already hold. Full checklist on our Türkiye student visa page.

Funding is the weak point. Türkiye Bursları excludes anyone already enrolled at a Turkish university at the level applied for, caps applicants at 35 — under 21 at bachelor’s level — and sets an academic floor of 70%. TÜBİTAK’s international graduate scholarships are closed, and no national scheme funds a second degree at a level you already hold. Work does not close the gap: a separate work permit is always required (yes) and undergraduates may only apply after the first year. See Türkiye scholarships.

How to apply with a degree in hand

1. Get your existing degree recognised at institution level first. An Okul Tanıma Belgesi, free through e-Devlet, is what master’s admission needs. Full diploma denklik is for professional recognition and public employment, not admission.
2. Pick the route from that answer. Near field: a master’s with bilimsel hazırlık. Different field, and you need the undergraduate award: a bachelor’s. Enrolled abroad: ask about yatay geçiş.
3. Book the entrance exam if you are going undergraduate. TR-YÖS is sat twice a year through ÖSYM; many universities accept SAT, A-Level or IB instead.
4. Apply to each university separately. There is no central system; studyinturkiye.gov.tr is an information portal, not an application one.
5. Work to the university’s own window. No national deadline exists at either level. Expect June–July for the September start, and a shorter winter window where February entry is offered.
6. Meet the language condition the programme sets, not the permit. The visa sets none. English-taught programmes ask around IELTS 6.5; Turkish-medium programmes want a TÖMER certificate at C1.
7. Apostille and translate every document — yes for Hague Convention countries, consular legalisation elsewhere. No APS is needed (no).
8. Apply for the D-2 visa, then the residence permit. Give biometrics (yes), buy the mandatory insurance at TRY 4,800–5,800 per year, and keep your stated plan consistent with the degree you hold.