Türkiye Bursları (Türkiye Scholarships): Full Guide
By CSC Path Editorial, checked against official CSC and university sources.
Türkiye Bursları is Türkiye's fully funded government scholarship: tuition, a monthly stipend, free dormitory, round-trip flights, health insurance, and a funded Turkish language year, plus guaranteed university placement. One application window per year, typically 10 January to 20 February.
1.What does Türkiye Bursları cover?
Per the official benefits page: full tuition plus placement into a university AND department (the program places you, which is unusual), a monthly stipend of 4,500 TL for bachelor's, 6,500 TL for master's and 9,000 TL for PhD, free state dormitory for undergraduates for the whole degree (graduate students get year 1 in the dorm, then a housing allowance of 5,000-6,000 TL per month), a once-off flight on first arrival and after graduation, general health insurance, and a mandatory free 1-year Turkish course (official benefits page). Top performers can double their stipend via the Merit Scholarship Program.
2.Who is eligible?
Minimum grades: 70% for bachelor's, 75% for graduate programs, and 90% for health sciences (medicine, dentistry, pharmacy). Hard age cutoffs: under 21 for bachelor's, under 30 for master's, under 35 for PhD, under 50 for the Research Scholarship. Citizens of all countries can apply; Turkish citizens, former Turkish citizens, and students already enrolled at a Turkish university at the same level are ineligible (official criteria page).
3.When do applications open?
One combined window per year for all levels and all countries: the 2026 cycle ran 10 January to 20 February 2026 via tbbs.turkiyeburslari.gov.tr (official announcement). Expect a similar January-February window for 2027 (not yet announced). There is no embassy vs university split: one application, up to 12 program preferences (official benefits page).
4.How does selection work?
Five stages per the official process page: preliminary screening (criteria, age, documents), Expert Committee evaluation (academic record, career goals, consistency of your 12 preferences, letter of intent, activities), a written test for undergraduate candidates (30 questions in 60 minutes on math, geometry and logic; 50-100 questions in some countries), a 15-30 minute interview held in 100+ countries in spring, then final selection with results in summer (official evaluation page). The official site publishes a mock exam and answer key for the written test.
5.How competitive is it?
The official site publishes no acceptance rate. Turkish media have quoted program officials citing more than 160,000 applications per year for roughly 5,000 awards, which would be about 3%; treat that as reported rather than official. The strongest levers per the official evaluation criteria: a coherent set of 12 program preferences telling one academic story, a specific letter of intent, and (for undergraduates) real preparation for the written test using the published mock exam (official evaluation page). Bring original diplomas and certificates to the interview; documents are physically checked.
6.Türkiye Bursları vs CSC: which should you choose?
Türkiye adds guaranteed placement, free dorms, flights and a funded Turkish year, but the cash stipend converts to less than CSC's monthly 2,500-3,500 CNY, and most placements require learning Turkish. CSC offers far more universities (274+) and many English-taught programs. The windows barely overlap (Türkiye in January-February, CSC opens around October), so applying to both costs you nothing but effort. Compare all four major programs in our CSC vs GKS vs Türkiye vs Stipendium comparison, and check your China odds with the free eligibility assessment.
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