Işık University

Işık University is a private, foundation-owned university in Istanbul, set up in 1996 by the Feyziye Schools Foundation. The national YÖK Atlas 2026 guide lists 21 bachelor's programmes, 15 of them taught in English, and every one is delivered on the Şile campus on the Black Sea coast of Istanbul's Asian side. For new international students the university does not publish 2026/27 bachelor's tuition and quotes it on request, so this page shows the last published price list (2024–2025) and the discount rules that apply now.

The university reports about 8,000 students, more than 1,100 of them international, from 68 countries. Its second campus, Maslak, sits in the business district on the European side and hosts the two-year vocational school and the Turkish language course.

The strongest case for Işık is English-taught engineering with outside quality review. Nine engineering programmes hold MÜDEK accreditation and the European EUR-ACE label, valid until 30 September 2027 according to MÜDEK's 2026 accreditation list. The second strength is campus living: Şile has 16 residence buildings with 1,455 beds a short walk from the faculties. Işık holds the Erasmus Charter for Higher Education, so a semester at a European partner is possible, but places follow each department's agreements and are not open to everyone.

The limits are just as concrete. Şile is a coastal district far from central Istanbul, which makes a part-time job in the city hard to combine with classes. There is no medicine, dentistry or law, and the health programmes of the vocational school are taught in Turkish only. YÖK Atlas 2026 shows no YÖKAK institutional accreditation mark for Işık, a flag some private universities carry; the MÜDEK accreditation covers engineering programmes only.

English-taught degrees start with a language check. The School of Foreign Languages exempts you from the preparatory year with TOEFL iBT 80, PTE Academic 65, e-TEP 80, or 70 on the Turkish YDS/e-YDS or YÖKDİL/e-YÖKDİL. IELTS is not on that list, so an IELTS holder sits the university's own exam instead. TOEFL, PTE and e-TEP scores count for two years and YDS or YÖKDİL for five, and a note on the list says TOEFL and PTE Academic results are accepted only from university test centres.

Without an accepted score, students take a 75-minute placement test and then the four-part Proficiency Exam (reading, listening, response essay, speaking). A score of 70 out of 100 moves you straight into the first year; below that you spend a year in the preparatory programme. Under the standard condition published in YÖK Atlas 2026 for Işık's English-taught programmes, that year is not counted in the four-year degree, and a student who has not completed it within two years is dismissed from the programme.

The six Turkish-taught programmes require B2 Turkish from IŞIK TÖMER, another university's Turkish centre, the Yunus Emre Institute or an exam centre authorised by YÖK or the Ministry of National Education. Without one, you take the IŞIK TÖMER exam or spend a year in Turkish preparation on the Maslak campus.

Işık has not published 2026/27 bachelor's or vocational-school tuition for new international students: its fee page tells applicants to ask international.admissions@isikun.edu.tr. The last published 2024–2025 price list is the reference point: $4,800 a year for engineering, and $3,600 for architecture, design, cinema, economics, business, psychology and international relations, with the vocational school at $1,800. Do not read those as 2026/27 prices; your admission letter and the university's invoice set the amount for your intake.

Master's and doctoral programmes are charged for the whole programme. At the 2025–2026 spring-semester rates, a non-thesis master's costs $3,500 (1.5 years), a thesis master's $4,000 (2 years) and a PhD $7,500 (4 years).

English-taught master's programmes: Applied Economics, Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Executive MBA, Industrial Engineering, Information Technologies, International Relations and Mechanical Engineering, each with and without a thesis; Management Information Systems and Technology and Innovation Management run without a thesis only. Turkish-taught: Architecture and Urban Studies and Art Theory and Criticism (thesis only), plus Cinema and Television, Cyber Security, Interior Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Visual Communication Design in both formats. Doctoral programmes: Business Administration, Computer Engineering and Electronics Engineering in English, and Science of Art in Turkish.

For bachelor's and associate students the university publishes these reductions:

• IB Diploma holders: 30% for 30–37 points, 50% for 38 or more;
• 5% for each sibling studying on a fee-paying Işık programme at the same time;
• 10% for members of a university sports team while they stay on it;
• 15% for the following semester for the top student of a class with a GPA of 3.50 or higher and at least 24 ECTS in the semester.

They reduce tuition only, never dorm or meal fees, and lapse if the programme GPA drops below 2.00.

Şile dorm places for 2026/27 start at ₺77,000 (≈ $1,570) a year in a four-person room of the men's residence and ₺84,000 (≈ $1,710) in a three-person room of the women's residence; a single room costs up to ₺271,000 (≈ $5,510). Packages with meals run from ₺180,950 (≈ $3,680) to ₺374,950 (≈ $7,620). These are annual prices including VAT for payment by bank transfer; a nine-instalment card plan costs more, and the key deposit is paid separately.

Applications go through the university's online portal only. Incomplete files are not considered, and you should not post or email documents during the application. To apply you need a scan of your school-leaving certificate or international exam result, your transcript, the photo page of your passport and, if you already have one, a language score.

The university's minimum-requirements list sets country-specific minimums: a Russian attestat needs an average of 3 out of 5, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan 60% or 3 out of 5, Belarus 5 out of 10, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan 3 out of 5. You can also qualify with SAT 400 out of 1600, an IB Diploma of 24 points or a TR-YÖS score of 50%.

Registration after arrival requires original certificates and transcripts with notarised translations when they are not in Turkish or English, your language certificate, a passport with the student-visa page, a residence-permit copy if you have one, the bank receipt for tuition, a recent biometric photo and, if already issued, the Turkish equivalency certificate (denklik). Applicants under 18 add a parental consent letter and a translated birth certificate. The international office obtains your foreigner identification number (YKN) after you enter Türkiye.

Turkish citizens who finished secondary school in Türkiye or Northern Cyprus cannot use the international route; for dual citizens, the deciding factor is where and when upper secondary school was completed. The admissions page gives no fixed closing date, so prepare your language result and translations before applying and book travel only after the admission letter.

All bachelor's faculties, the School of Foreign Languages and the residences are on the Şile campus (Meşrutiyet Mah., Üniversite Sok. No:2) on the Black Sea. The Maslak campus in Sarıyer on the European side hosts the vocational school and the Turkish course. Check your programme's campus before renting anything: Şile and Maslak are on opposite sides of the Bosphorus.

University housing is 16 buildings with 1,455 beds in single, three-person and four-person rooms, plus four rooms for students with disabilities; women's and men's residences are separate. Each resident has a desk, chair, bookshelf, wardrobe and bed, every room has a refrigerator, and the buildings have 24-hour study rooms, shared kitchens and laundry rooms. Rooms are cleaned twice a week, internet and hot water are included, and heaters, air conditioners and air fryers are banned in rooms.

MÜDEK is Türkiye's engineering accreditation agency: it is recognised by the Higher Education Quality Council (YÖKAK), is a full member of ENAEE, awards the EUR-ACE label and is a Washington Accord signatory. At Işık it accredits Computer, Electrical and Electronics, Industrial, Software and Mechatronics Engineering in English, plus Civil and Mechanical Engineering in both English and Turkish. All nine accreditations and EUR-ACE labels run to 30 September 2027.

Accreditation makes an engineering degree easier to recognise, but it does not replace the procedure in the country where you plan to work. In architecture, psychology and engineering a national body grants the right to practise, so find out its curriculum, internship and exam rules before you pick a programme.

Işık is a weak match if you want to live and study in central European Istanbul, are aiming for medicine or law, plan to rely on IELTS to skip the preparatory year, or need an exact 2026/27 price before you apply.

• Taking IELTS by default: it is not on Işık's exemption list; you need TOEFL iBT 80, PTE Academic 65 or the in-house exam.
• Treating 2024–2025 figures as 2026/27 prices: the university quotes the current amount only on request.
• Applying to Civil Engineering through the international form without checking intake: the programme is missing from YÖK Atlas 2026 even though its MÜDEK accreditation is valid.
• Renting in Maslak for a bachelor's degree: every bachelor's programme runs in Şile.
• Assuming an IB or sports discount is permanent: it ends if your GPA falls below 2.00.

The list follows the YÖK Atlas 2026 guide: every programme is full-time, taught on the Şile campus and lasts four years, not counting a preparatory year. Titles are the university's own. Tuition comes from the 2024–2025 price list and is shown as a historical reference; admissions quotes the 2026/27 amount.

The vocational school in Maslak has 12 two-year programmes in YÖK Atlas 2026, all in Turkish: anaesthesia, operating-room services, first and emergency aid, medical imaging, medical laboratory techniques, opticianry, computer programming, information security technology, graphic design, foreign trade, construction technology and physiotherapy. Its 2024–2025 tuition was $1,800 a year.

• Işık University: tuition for international students — 2026/27 bachelor's fees on request; 2025–2026 spring graduate rates.
• Işık University: undergraduate and associate applications — eligibility, documents, B2 Turkish.
• Işık University: School of Foreign Languages exams — TOEFL, PTE, e-TEP, YDS and YÖKDİL thresholds; Proficiency Exam rules.
• Işık University: scholarships and discounts — IB, sibling, sports and merit reductions; the 2.00 GPA condition.
• Işık University: dormitory fees — 2026–2027 tables in Turkish lira, VAT included.

Also checked: the YÖK Atlas 2026 guide (programmes, language, campus), MÜDEK's 2026 accreditation list, Işık's 2024–2025 price list and its minimum-requirements list for school certificates. Lira amounts are converted at the ECB reference rates of 7 October 2026 ($1 ≈ ₺49.19). Facts checked on 7 October 2026.