Maltepe University

Maltepe University is a private foundation university on the Asian side of Istanbul that keeps every faculty, plus its dormitories, on one campus. For 2026/27 it opened 37 bachelor's programs to international students, ten of them taught in English, including Medicine. Its latest published letter to applicants, for 2025/26, lists $8,000 for Turkish-taught programs, $9,000 for English-taught ones, and $18,000 or $20,000 for Medicine in Turkish or English.

The university was created by a law of 9 July 1997 under the Istanbul Marmara Education Foundation (İMEV) and took its first students in 1997/98. Since 2002 it has occupied Marmara Eğitim Köyü, an "education village" beside a pine forest in the Maltepe district, where faculties share the site with dormitories, sports grounds and an open-air theater.

The university announces application dates for each academic year and fills places in the order applications arrive. Classes for 2026/27 have already started, so new applicants should aim for the 2027/28 intake.

Maltepe is worth a closer look if you:

• want to live where you study: the dormitories are inside the campus and breakfast is included in the room price;
• are looking for engineering, architecture, psychology or business administration in English;
• plan to study Medicine in English or Turkish and your school average is at least 70 out of 100;
• are interested in Turkish-taught teacher training, communication or conservatory music programs.

Consider another university if you:

• want Political Science and International Relations in English; international students can take it only in Turkish;
• are working to a tight budget: even at 2025/26 prices a Turkish-taught program costs $8,000 a year, and no international discount scheme is published;
• want to be in central European-side Istanbul every day, since the campus sits on the edge of the Asian side;
• hold only an IELTS score, which is not on the table that exempts students from the preparatory year.

The 2026/27 program list for international students has 37 bachelor's programs and 16 two-year associate (önlisans) programs. Its teaching languages match YÖK Atlas 2026, the program catalog of Turkey's Council of Higher Education. English-taught: English Language Teaching, Psychology, Business Administration, International Trade and Logistics, Architecture, Computer Engineering, Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Software Engineering and Medicine. Law, Nursing, Journalism, Political Science, the teaching degrees and the music programs are in Turkish.

All 16 associate programs are taught in Turkish, ranging from anesthesia and medical imaging to aircraft technology, cabin services and fashion design.

Under Maltepe's international admission directive, international places in Teaching, Law and Medicine may not exceed 10% of a program's quota, so apply early for those fields.

Programs come from the 2026/27 list; fees come from the international office letter to applicants for 2025/26: $8,000 for Turkish-taught programs, $9,000 for English-taught ones and separate amounts for Medicine. The letter gives no separate associate-degree fee, so associate programs are not in the table.

As of 7 October 2026 the international office page on fees and scholarships is empty, and its FAQ says fees are announced for each academic year. The reference point is therefore the 2025/26 applicant letter: $8,000 for Turkish-taught programs, $9,000 for English-taught programs, $18,000 for Medicine in Turkish and $20,000 for Medicine in English. The letter does not state the billing period, so compare the amount and schedule on your conditional acceptance letter before you transfer money.

Down payment. The committee's decision is conditional and becomes valid only once you make the down payment by the date in the letter. It counts toward the total fee. It can be refunded only after a visa refusal, and even then the university keeps $300 as a processing fee.

Preparatory year. Maltepe's admission directive states that the preparatory year is not part of the degree duration and its fee is not included in tuition.

Discounts. The Board of Trustees sets the rules for international scholarships and discounts, but the international office publishes no criteria. A reduction counts only if it appears in a letter from the university.

Also budget for housing, health insurance (compulsory if you have no Turkish social security cover), the residence-permit fee and notarized translations. Tuition is paid by bank transfer to the university's account.

Maltepe treats you as an international applicant if you are a foreign national who did not attend high school in Türkiye or Northern Cyprus; Turkish citizens who completed all of high school abroad apply the same way. Applications are free and go through the MÜBİS online system, which you enter with an email address and verification code, with no payment and no account to create.

Minimum high-school average: 50 out of 100 for all programs and 70 out of 100 for Medicine (2025/26 letter). The committee looks at your education, grade average and the requirements of the program.

1. MÜBİS application: diploma, transcript, passport copy, biometric photo, Turkish translations of the diploma and transcript, and a language certificate if you have one.
2. Evaluation: the department reviews the file (about two weeks, per the 2025/26 letter), then a committee that meets every two weeks approves or rejects it. Results appear in the system and by email.
3. Down payment by the deadline in the conditional letter, which secures your right to register.
4. Student visa: required if you live outside Türkiye; the Turkish consulate decides it.
5. Registration in person at the International Office in the campus Cultural Center on the dates in your letter: originals, payment of the balance at the bank, approval by the Accounting Office, then back to the International Office.

Registration requires the diploma, transcript, passport copy, biometric photo, health insurance, entry documents and visa stamps, and Turkish translations certified by a notary in Türkiye; translations by private translators without notarization are refused. The high-school equivalency certificate is not needed at registration: you sign a commitment to submit it within 6–12 months. Our overview of admission requirements in Turkey explains the general route.

After registration you apply for a residence permit with the Turkish migration authority, which makes the decision; the International Office guides students through the step. The general rules are set out in the international student admission directive.

A certificate is not required to apply, but without one you start with the preparatory year. The English exemption table (July 2026 edition) sets different thresholds by faculty:

• most programs: TOEFL iBT 72, PTE 55, YDS or YÖKDİL 60, Cambridge C1 Advanced grade C, IB 5 out of 7, Maltepe exam 55;
• Medicine, Psychology, Sociology, Business Administration, International Trade and Logistics, Public Relations: TOEFL iBT 78, PTE 67, YDS or YÖKDİL 65, C1 Advanced grade C, IB 5, Maltepe exam 60;
• English Language Teaching: TOEFL iBT 90, PTE 75, YDS or YÖKDİL 75, C1 Advanced grade B, IB 6, Maltepe exam 70.

IELTS is not on the table. Exemption documents go to the School of Foreign Languages secretariat before the proficiency exam. Students who fail the preparatory year are allowed a second one.

Turkish-taught programs require a TÖMER certificate approved by the Ministry of National Education; otherwise you join the Turkish preparatory program or take the university TÖMER exam at the start of the year.

Faculties, the conservatory, the vocational school and the School of Foreign Languages all sit on one campus, Marmara Eğitim Köyü in Büyükbakkalköy, Maltepe. You do not need to choose housing around a particular building (Medicine's clinical years are the exception), but check the route to the city center, internships and the airport before you move.

The private Marmara dormitories, one for women and one for men, operate inside the campus. Prices for 2026/27 are per academic year including breakfast, plus 10% VAT:

• 22.33 m² room on floors 1–2: single $9,620 (TRY 430,000 + VAT), twin $7,380 per place (TRY 330,000 + VAT);
• 22.33 m² room on the garden floor: single $8,940 (TRY 400,000 + VAT), twin $6,040 (TRY 270,000 + VAT);
• 18.76 m² type D room: single $8,720 on floors 1–2 and $8,050 on the garden floor (TRY 390,000 and 360,000 + VAT);
• deposit $300; card payments are split into equal installments ending 30 April 2027.

Dollar amounts include VAT, use the ECB reference rate of 7 October 2026 and are rounded. The dormitory operator, not the university, confirms the room, type and contract. If you would rather rent in the city, compare costs with our student cost-of-living guide.

The Faculty of Medicine teaches a six-year program in English or Turkish. Basic medical sciences are taught on campus, and the clinical years take place at the faculty's training and research hospital in central Maltepe.

The minimum school average is higher, 70 out of 100, and international places are capped at 10% of the program quota. Patients in a Turkish hospital speak Turkish, so even English-track students will need the language by the clinical years.

A medical license abroad is never automatic: the competent authority in the country where you intend to practice decides recognition and registration.

Maltepe 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 for Journalism, Visual Communication Design, Public Relations and Radio, Television and Cinema (İLAD), Philosophy, Psychology and Sociology (FEDEK), Architecture (MİAK) and the associate program in Tourism and Hotel Management (TUADER). Graduates receive a Diploma Supplement, and the university has held an Erasmus charter since 2004.

The university's research centers include MÜKKAM for cancer and stem-cell research, which invites undergraduates into student projects (for example under TÜBİTAK's 2209-A program), the MÜGİM entrepreneurship center, a human rights center and the MUTFİM center for technology and intellectual property law. Taking part depends on an open project and a supervisor's agreement.

Mistakes that cost Maltepe applicants time and money:

• Relying on old "discounted" prices. The published 2025/26 base is $8,000 and $9,000 a year; anything lower counts only if it is in a letter from the university.
• Choosing Political Science for the English. International students can take it only in Turkish.
• Bringing a translation from a private translator. Registration needs a translation certified by a notary in Türkiye.
• Counting on IELTS. It is not on the exemption table.
• Applying late for Medicine, Law or Teaching. International places are capped at 10%, and files are handled in order of arrival.
• Forgetting insurance. Without Turkish social security, health insurance is compulsory.