Istanbul Topkapi University

Istanbul Topkapı University is a private, foundation-owned university that was created in 2016 as İstanbul Ayvansaray Üniversitesi and renamed Topkapı in March 2022. The YÖK Atlas 2026 guide lists 40 bachelor's programmes, 12 of them taught in English, spread over campuses on both the European and the Asian side of Istanbul. For the 2026/27 intake its admissions portal shows bachelor's list fees of $3,900–5,000 a year, each with a figure exactly half as large beside it: $1,950–2,500.

Its roots go back to Plato Vocational School, which opened in a single building in 2009 and was folded into the new university in 2016. Topkapı now describes seven campuses totalling about 150,000 m², and the Plato vocational school is still its largest unit by number of programmes.

Students pick Topkapı for price and an applied catalogue that puts design, media, gastronomy, aviation management, nursing and data next to economics and psychology. English-taught options cover business, economics, international trade, management information systems, psychology, political science, sociology, philosophy, English literature and translation, plus computer and electrical-electronics engineering. The Turkish-taught Computer and Software Engineering programmes hold MÜDEK accreditation with the EUR-ACE label until 30 September 2028.

The limits come from the same model. Campuses are scattered across the city, so an engineering student and an economics student do not study in the same place. There is no medicine, dentistry, pharmacy or law. Software and industrial engineering, artificial intelligence, data science and architecture are Turkish-only. The portal does not explain the discount, the only university residence is for women, and YÖK Atlas 2026 shows no YÖKAK institutional accreditation mark for Topkapı.

The 12 English-taught programmes carry a standard condition published in YÖK Atlas 2026: a preparatory year in the language of instruction is compulsory unless you pass the university's exam or bring a result it accepts. The year is not counted in the four-year degree, and a student who has not finished it within two years is dismissed from the programme. The preparatory school is on the Balat campus.

Topkapı's international pages do not publish the exemption score; the portal form has only a field for a TOEFL iBT result. If you are booking a test specifically for admission, ask the international office in writing which exam and which score exempt you from the preparatory year on your programme.

For Turkish-taught programmes, the international admissions page asks for TÖMER B1. That is enough to enrol, but lectures in your subject at B1 are hard going, so keep studying Turkish until classes start.

Topkapı publishes current amounts on the university's admissions portal, which is taking applications for the 2026/27 autumn semester. Each programme shows a list fee crossed out and, next to it, an amount exactly half as large: per year for bachelor's and associate degrees, one-off for the whole programme at master's and doctoral level. The portal does not state the conditions of that reduction, such as grades, payment deadlines or whether it continues in later years, so budget on the amount in your admission letter and invoice.

• Bachelor's: list fee $3,900–5,000 a year, shown on the portal as $1,950–2,500. English-taught versions are $5,000 ($2,500 on the portal), except philosophy and sociology at $3,900 ($1,950).
• Plato vocational school: $3,000–4,000 a year, $1,500–2,000 on the portal.
• Master's, whole programme: $4,000 to $17,000, $2,000–8,500 on the portal; the thesis master's in psychology is the most expensive.
• Doctorates in architecture and management information systems: $10,000, $5,000 on the portal.

Computer engineering and electrical-electronics engineering each appear twice on the portal, at $4,500 and $5,000 list fees, with no language label, so check which version the amount in your letter refers to. The "Tuition Fees and Quotas" link on the English site still opens a 2018–2019 table, which is useless for the 2026/27 intake. The portal form lets you request a scholarship and explain why you qualify; the university decides.

Foreign nationals in their final school year or already graduated can apply. Turkish citizens who completed all of secondary school in Türkiye or Northern Cyprus cannot use this route; for dual citizens the rules turn on where the last three years of upper secondary school were completed.

The portal application has five steps: a pre-check (email, passport number and the "2026–2027 Güz Dönemi" intake), personal details, education with your grade average and any tests such as the SAT, the choice of level and programme, and document upload. It accepts PDF, JPEG and PNG files: a photo, your school-leaving certificate, transcript, passport and test results if you have them. Master's and doctoral applicants enter their university studies instead of school and upload their degree certificate.

The international admissions page lists a copy of the certificate translated into Turkish or English (this year's graduates send a letter with the expected graduation date), an official translated transcript, the passport, exam results and a language certificate where available. For in-person registration in Türkiye you will need the originals and the school-equivalency certificate (denklik), issued by the Turkish Ministry of National Education.

According to the university, the Kazlıçeşme campus in Zeytinburnu hosts the Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences, the Plato vocational school and the Faculty of Fine Arts, Design and Architecture. Balat houses the preparatory school, Şişli the gastronomy department and the vocational cooking programme, and Altunizade on the Asian side the Faculty of Engineering, part of the Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences, and the technology-focused design departments. Some vocational programmes run at Bahçeşehir (Esenyurt), sports sciences at Levent, and practical workshops at Yenibosna. YÖK Atlas 2026 registers the engineering programmes under Üsküdar, the other bachelor's programmes under Zeytinburnu and the vocational school under Esenyurt.

The single university residence is Hayat Kız Öğrenci Yurdu for women, which Topkapı describes as close to public transport, hospitals and shopping centres. Prices are not published, and male students need a private dormitory or flat; choose the district by your faculty's address, not by the university's name.

The Internship and Career Center supports compulsory and voluntary internships, runs CV and interview sessions and shares job openings. Students who have worked in their field full-time for the last three months, or part-time for six, can be exempted from the internship; paperwork goes to the centre for associate degrees and to the faculty for bachelor's degrees.

MÜDEK's 2026 accreditation list includes two Topkapı programmes: Bilgisayar Mühendisliği (Computer Engineering) and Yazılım Mühendisliği (Software Engineering). Both are listed without the "İngilizce" tag, which marks them as the Turkish-taught versions; accreditation and the EUR-ACE label run from 1 May 2026 to 30 September 2028. English-taught Computer Engineering is not on the list.

A degree from a YÖK-registered university is recognised in Türkiye, but the right to work in a regulated profession such as nursing, midwifery, psychology or architecture comes from the national body of the country where you plan to practise. Compare the curriculum and placement hours with its rules before you apply.

Topkapı is a weak match if you want English-taught engineering beyond computer and electrical-electronics, architecture in English, medicine or law, a single campus community, or a university residence for men. It also suits poorly anyone who needs written discount conditions before applying: the portal does not give them.

• Quoting the 2018–2019 PDF behind the "Tuition Fees and Quotas" link.
• Mixing up the list fee and the portal amount: budget on the figure in your admission letter.
• Assuming Software Engineering is taught in English: YÖK Atlas 2026 lists it in Turkish only.
• Renting near Kazlıçeşme for an engineering degree taught in Altunizade on the Asian side.
• Applying to Midwifery as a male student: under its YÖK Atlas 2026 condition, Ebelik admits women only.
• Counting on unlimited preparatory study: the prep year must be completed within two years.

The list follows the YÖK Atlas 2026 guide; the Turkish name in brackets is how the programme appears on the portal. The district is the one YÖK Atlas assigns to the faculty. Fees come from the 2026/27 admissions portal: the list fee and the amount shown beside it, per academic year in US dollars.

The portal also lists nine bachelor's programmes that YÖK Atlas 2026 does not: Çizgi Film ve Animasyon (cartoon and animation), Grafik Tasarım (graphic design), Müzik (music), Resim (painting), Tekstil ve Moda Tasarım (textile and fashion design), Tiyatro (theatre), Antrenörlük Eğitimi (coaching), Rekreasyon (recreation) and Spor Yöneticiliği (sports management). Their list fees are $3,900–4,500 a year, $1,950–2,250 on the portal. Turkish universities usually admit to such fields through a talent or sports test, so get the portfolio requirements before you apply.

Plato Vocational School lists 41 two-year programmes in YÖK Atlas 2026, all registered to the Esenyurt district. Most cost $3,000 a year ($1,500 on the portal): anaesthesia, operating-room services, oral and dental health, dental prosthesis technology, medical imaging, medical and pathology laboratory techniques, medical documentation and secretarial work, medical data processing, telehealth, audiometry, opticianry, pharmacy services, physiotherapy, elderly care, child development, cookery, tourism and hotel management, aircraft technology, air logistics, civil air transport management, cabin services, automotive technology, electricity, mobile technologies, web design and coding, Turkish-taught graphic design, interior design, fashion design, architectural restoration, mapping and cadastre, and green building technology. At $3,500 ($1,750): computer programming, computer technology, cyber security, internet and network technologies, computer-aided design and animation, e-commerce marketing, first and emergency aid, and graphic design in English, the only English-taught vocational programme. Tourist guiding costs $4,000 ($2,000). Cookery, computer-aided design and animation, programming, graphic design, internet technologies, fashion design and tourist guiding also run as distance-learning versions at $3,000 ($4,000 for tourist guiding).

Master's tuition is a one-off charge for the whole programme. Most programmes list $6,500 with a thesis and $5,500 without ($3,250 and $2,750 on the portal): architecture, artificial intelligence, Turkish-taught business, economics, computer engineering, Turkish-taught electrical-electronics engineering and management information systems, gastronomy, graphic design, visual communication design, history, political science and international relations, marketing communication, security sciences, sports management, acting and performing arts; maritime policy and strategy lists $6,500. English-taught business, electrical-electronics engineering and management information systems list $7,500 with a thesis and $6,500 without ($3,750 and $3,250). Business for executives lists $6,500 with a thesis and $4,000 without. Cyber security, media and communication studies, painting, and movement and training sciences list $5,000 and $4,500 ($2,500 and $2,250). Psychology lists $17,000 and $14,000 ($8,500 and $7,000). Doctorates in architecture and management information systems list $10,000 ($5,000).