Istanbul Gedik University

Istanbul Gedik University is a private foundation university on the Asian side of Istanbul, with its main campus in Kartal. International students pay $5,000 a year for a Turkish-taught bachelor's degree and $6,000 for an English-taught one, according to the most recent fee table its international office has published, which covers 2025/26. A $1,000 deposit follows a positive decision, most programs are taught in Turkish, and bachelor's students start only in September.

The university belongs to the Gedik Education Foundation, which the Gedik Holding group set up in 1994 to advance welding technology in Turkey. That origin still shows in the catalog: engineering, nursing and physiotherapy, sport, design, trade and logistics, with no medicine, dentistry or pharmacy.

The fall 2026 semester is already under way, so a realistic target for bachelor's and two-year programs is September 2027. Master's applicants also have a spring entry in February.

Gedik is worth a closer look if you:

• want a Turkish-taught bachelor's degree at a single, predictable price: every one of the 21 Turkish-taught programs in the 2025/26 table costs $5,000 a year;
• are interested in mechanical engineering, mechatronics, physiotherapy, political science or international trade, all of which have an English-taught version;
• are happy to live on the Asian side, where the main campus sits near Kartal station on the M4 metro line.

Consider another university if you:

• want to study medicine, dentistry or pharmacy, which Gedik does not offer;
• need law, psychology, architecture or computer engineering in English; Gedik teaches them in Turkish only;
• expect a university-run dormitory, which Gedik does not have;
• choose mainly by academic ranking: Gedik's Times Higher Education profile lists only the sustainability ratings.

The teaching language is the same in the international office fee table and in YÖK Atlas 2026, the program catalog of Turkey's Council of Higher Education (YÖK). Six bachelor's programs are taught in English: Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering, Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Political Science and International Relations, International Trade and Finance, and International Trade and Logistics. The other 21 run in Turkish, including Law, Psychology, Architecture, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Nursing and Nutrition and Dietetics.

The vocational school offers 29 two-year associate (önlisans) programs, from anesthesia and opticianry to welding and underwater technology; Foreign Trade is the only one in English. Master's degrees come with a thesis (two years) or without one (one year). Five thesis master's are taught in English (Business Administration, Civil Engineering, Engineering Management, Political Science and International Relations, Statistics and Data Science), plus two non-thesis ones (Business Administration and Political Science and International Relations).

In Turkish there are 24 thesis master's, among them Architecture, Artificial Intelligence Engineering, Defense Technologies, Clinical Psychology, Private Law, Public Law, Obstetrics and Gynecology Nursing, Occupational Health and Safety, Marketing and Visual Communication Design, and 21 non-thesis master's such as Disaster Management, Human Resources Management, International Financial Reporting and Auditing, Organizational Psychology and an MBA. PhD programs (four years) run in nine fields: Business, Defense Technologies, Engineering Management (also in English), International Trade, Mechanical Engineering, Occupational Health and Safety, Physical Education and Sport Sciences, and Political Science and Public Administration.

If you choose a Turkish-taught degree without speaking Turkish yet, plan for a preparatory year from the start; the language section below explains the thresholds.

The table reproduces the fee schedule published by the international office for 2025/26: US dollars per academic year, with the campus named in the same schedule. Program titles match the wording you will see on an offer letter.

As of 7 October 2026, the international office still shows its 2025/26 schedule, so the figures below are that year's published amounts in US dollars. The fee for your own intake is stated in your offer letter.

• Associate degree (2 years): $4,000 per year.
• Bachelor's (4 years): $5,000 per year in Turkish, $6,000 in English.
• English Preparatory School: $6,000 for the year.
• Turkish courses at İGÜN-TÖMER: $350 per course.
• Master's: thesis programs $5,000 in Turkish and $6,000 in English; non-thesis programs $4,000; Clinical Psychology $23,000 with a thesis and $21,000 without.
• PhD (4 years): $7,500.

For master's and PhD rows the schedule does not say whether the amount is annual or for the whole program, so check that line on your offer letter before paying.

Payment. After a positive decision you have seven days to transfer a $1,000 deposit to the university's US-dollar account; it is deducted from tuition. Registration requires the first year's tuition, with the deposit counted toward the first installment, and Gedik allows the annual fee to be paid in two installments. The deposit is non-refundable unless a Turkish embassy or consulate refuses the student visa and you can show the refusal document.

Discounts. Gedik publishes no discount rules for international students; its About page mentions discounts and achievement scholarships without criteria or amounts. Any reduction counts only once it appears on your offer letter.

Tuition excludes housing, meals, health insurance, the residence-permit fee, notarized translations and any preparatory year.

Gedik treats you as an international applicant if you hold another citizenship and did not finish high school in Turkey; Turkish citizens who completed high school abroad apply the same way. There is no entrance exam: the international office assesses your high-school grade average. SAT, ACT, A-levels, IB, Abitur and several national exams count if you have them, but a diploma with a transcript is enough. Final-year students may apply before graduating.

1. Online application with your passport, diploma or final-year certificate, transcript (translated if it is not in English or Turkish) and any language certificate.
2. Decision. The office aims to reply within 48 hours and pauses incomplete files until the missing document arrives. A positive decision comes as a conditional offer letter.
3. $1,000 deposit within seven days, after which you receive the official acceptance letter.
4. Student visa. You apply to the Turkish consulate yourself; the consulate decides the visa.
5. Registration in Istanbul with originals and notarized Turkish translations of your passport, diploma and transcript, the equivalency certificate, offer and acceptance letters, payment receipts and photos. The equivalency certificate and residence permit can follow later against a signed commitment.

Sports, civil aviation and underwater technology programs also ask for a health report at registration; underwater technology adds comprehensive insurance.

Master's and PhD. You need a four-year bachelor's degree from a university recognized by YÖK, and a master's for a PhD. Graduates of unrelated fields take scientific preparation courses after admission. Clinical Psychology and Obstetrics and Gynecology Nursing require a bachelor's equivalency certificate.

For English-taught programs Gedik accepts TOEFL iBT 66, PTE Academic 50, Cambridge CAE or CPE at grade C, the Turkish YDS or YÖKDİL at 55, or 60 out of 100 on its own proficiency exam. IELTS is not on the published list; if IELTS is all you have, get written confirmation from the international office before paying the deposit.

Without a certificate you sit Gedik's exam after registration. Scoring below 60 means a year in the English Preparatory School at the Pendik campus for $6,000 before the four-year degree begins.

For Turkish-taught bachelor's programs the admission page sets B1 from TÖMER or a YÖK-recognized center, and C1 for Law. The registration checklist from the same office mentions B2 or the internal exam, so match the level against your own offer letter. Turkish-taught master's programs require B2, or C1 for Law. Beginners can study Turkish at the university's İGÜN-TÖMER center.

Gedik teaches at four sites, so your address depends on the program; the Campus column in the table shows where each bachelor's degree runs.

• Kartal (Yakacık) is the main campus for most bachelor's and master's programs. Take the M4 metro (Kadıköy–Tavşantepe) to Kartal, then walk over the footbridge by the E-5 highway.
• Halil Kaya Gedik (Pendik, Ankara Caddesi) hosts nursing, nutrition, child development, Turkish-taught physiotherapy and the sports programs.
• Pendik (Şeyhli, Gedik Vocational School) hosts the associate programs, the English Preparatory School and English-taught physiotherapy.
• Nişantaşı (Şişli, on the European side, M2 metro to Osmanbey) hosts several master's programs, including English-taught Business Administration and Civil Engineering, Engineering Management and Clinical Psychology.

For associate programs the fee schedule and YÖK Atlas say Pendik while the study.gedik.edu.tr catalog says Kartal, so confirm your teaching address before you sign a lease.

Housing. Gedik has no dormitory of its own. It reports discount agreements with private dormitories near its campuses and points students to the Turkish listing sites Sahibinden and Hürriyet Emlak for flats. The dormitory or landlord confirms the room, price and contract. Your residence-permit file needs proof of address, so pick housing that comes with a contract or residence letter. The student cost-of-living guide helps with the monthly budget.

A student Istanbulkart gives discounted fares; you get one with a student certificate from the university, a photo and an ID document.

Turkish rules require you to apply for a residence permit within 30 days of entry and before your visa expires. You complete the form on the migration authority website and hand the file to Gedik's international office: printed form, passport copy with visa or entry stamp, a Turkish-language student certificate, proof of address, health insurance, four photos, a tax number and the fee receipt. Applicants under 18 add consent from both parents and a birth certificate translated into Turkish. The migration authority decides the permit.

Turkey's Ministry of National Education issues the high-school equivalency certificate. You apply through e-Denklik inside Turkey, or through the Turkish education attaché in your country where one exists, with original diplomas and transcripts for every year. Without a residence permit you usually receive a temporary certificate, and the permanent one after you show the permit card. Gedik warns that a student who never obtains the certificate is likely to be deregistered. Our guide to admission requirements in Turkey covers the general document route.

Gedik operates within the YÖK system, and YÖK Atlas 2026 records institutional accreditation from YÖKAK, Turkey's higher-education quality agency. It also lists program accreditations: Architecture (MİAK), Psychology (FEDEK), Political Science and International Relations and International Trade and Logistics (FIBAA), International Trade and Finance (STAR and FIBAA), Visual Communication Design (İLAD), Gastronomy (TUADER), Law, Nursing, Physiotherapy, Nutrition and Child Development (the German agency AHPGS), and MEDEK for 12 associate programs. Its Times Higher Education profile shows only the Sustainability Impact Ratings 2026, in the 1001–1500 band. That rating measures contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, not teaching quality.

Recognition outside Turkey is decided by the competent authority in the country where you plan to work or study next. Licensed professions such as law, nursing, physiotherapy, psychology and architecture are also checked for practice hours, language and exams. A Turkish-taught law degree follows the Turkish legal system, so it makes most sense for a career in Turkey.

• Trusting "discounted" prices from ads. The published fees are $5,000 and $6,000 a year (2025/26); anything lower must appear on your offer letter.
• Waiting for a spring bachelor's intake. There is none; bachelor's students start in September.
• Paying the deposit before checking the language. Law, Psychology and Computer Engineering are Turkish-only.
• Counting on IELTS. It is not on Gedik's list of accepted certificates.
• Renting "near Gedik" without the faculty address. Kartal, Pendik and Nişantaşı are different districts, and Nişantaşı is across the Bosphorus.
• Delaying the equivalency certificate. Registration can be cancelled without it.