Best Cities in Turkey
for International Students 2026

Istanbul, for most students — it has the widest choice of universities, the largest international student community, and the most going on outside the classroom. That said, 'best' depends on your priorities: Ankara is the stronger pick for STEM and public-policy programmes and is noticeably cheaper, while Izmir suits students who want a slower, coastal, café-centred lifestyle.

Ankara is generally the most affordable of the three major student hubs. This site's own cost-of-living comparison data rates Ankara's rent index at 95, against 100 for Izmir and 140 for Istanbul — meaning Istanbul rent runs roughly 40–45% higher than Ankara's for a comparable apartment. Smaller domestic student cities like Eskişehir are reported to be cheaper still, though we don't have a full verified cost breakdown for those cities yet.

Türkiye Bursları is the Turkish government's flagship scholarship programme for international students, covering tuition, a monthly stipend, accommodation, health insurance, a Turkish language course, and (for many recipients) a flight ticket. It is highly competitive — in the most recent cycle reported, over 120,000 students from around 170 countries applied for roughly 5,000 available places. Applications are submitted online through the official Türkiye Bursları portal; exact dates shift slightly year to year, so always check the current cycle's official timeline before applying.

Yes, with restrictions. Undergraduate students generally cannot work at all during their first year, and after that are limited to part-time hours during term (with full-time work permitted during official university holidays) — but only once they hold a separate work permit, not just a student residence permit. Graduate (master's and PhD) students are generally not bound by the same first-year restriction. For the full legal process of obtaining the underlying student residence permit itself, see our dedicated guide.

Three main options: state-run KYK dormitories (cheapest, but limited availability for internationals and priority often goes to citizens/scholarship holders), private or foundation-university dormitories (pricier, more available), and shared apartments with flatmates (the most common choice among international students in Istanbul and Izmir). A smaller number of students rent solo apartments once settled.

Many do. Across the Turkish higher education system, dozens of universities offer fully or partially English-taught programmes, and several of the country's highest-ranked institutions — Boğaziçi, Bilkent, Koç, and Sabancı among them — teach primarily or entirely in English. Public universities are more likely to run Turkish-medium programmes alongside a smaller number of English tracks, so always confirm the language of instruction for your specific programme before applying.

Turkey is generally regarded as a safe place to study, and its major university cities — Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir — have well-established international student communities and campus security. As with any big city move abroad, ordinary precautions (secure housing, awareness in unfamiliar areas at night, standard travel-safety habits) still apply, and individual experiences can vary by neighbourhood and personal circumstances.

Substantially cheaper on both tuition and living costs. Public university tuition in Turkey can run as low as a few hundred dollars a year for some programmes, versus £9,250+/year for UK universities or $25,000+/year for many US institutions. Living costs are lower too — this site's Istanbul cost-of-living page estimates a full expat budget at roughly €1,200–2,200/month, against €2,800–5,000/month for London, Paris, or Amsterdam. Student budgets specifically run lower still thanks to shared housing, so the relative savings versus Western Europe or North America are significant either way.

Public university tuition for international students typically runs from roughly $500 to $4,000 a year for most non-medical programmes (with medicine and dentistry considerably higher). Private (foundation) universities generally charge more — roughly $3,200 to $12,000 a year for most programmes, with medicine and dentistry reaching up into the $12,500–$29,000 range. Exact fees vary by university and programme, so always confirm current figures directly with your shortlisted institutions.

Requirements vary by university and programme, but generally include your secondary school transcripts, a language proficiency score (IELTS/TOEFL for English-taught programmes, or Turkish proficiency for Turkish-taught ones), and sometimes a university entrance exam or personal statement. This page focuses on choosing a city and understanding student life and costs — for the full application process, university types, and admissions routes, see our dedicated guide to studying in Turkey as a foreigner.

Istanbul, by a wide margin — it hosts the largest number of universities and draws the largest share of Turkey's 379,000+ international students (2025–26 academic year). Ankara and Izmir both have meaningful, close-knit international communities, but neither matches Istanbul's scale or diversity.

Most international students need a student residence permit (öğrenci ikamet izni) once enrolled, applied for after arrival via the e-ikamet portal. This page deliberately does not re-cover that process in detail — for the full step-by-step application guide, required documents, costs, and renewal process, see our dedicated student residence permit guide.

For STEM and engineering, Ankara (METU, Bilkent) and Istanbul (ITU, Boğaziçi) both host universities placing in the QS World top 500 globally for technical fields. For business and social sciences, Istanbul has the deepest bench — Koç University's business school holds the AACSB, AMBA, and EQUIS 'triple crown' accreditation, held by under 1% of business schools worldwide, and Sabancı and Boğaziçi both run well-regarded programmes.

Yes — many private (foundation) universities offer their own merit-based or need-based scholarships and tuition discounts for international applicants, and some public universities offer partial fee waivers for specific programmes or partner-country agreements. Terms vary widely by institution, so it's worth checking your shortlisted universities' own international admissions pages directly rather than assuming Türkiye Bursları is the only route to funding.