More than 145,000 foreigners applied for ‘Turkey Scholarships’ program in 2019

ANKARA

The Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB) received a record number of applications in 2019 for scholarships from 145,700 foreign students to study in Turkey as part of a program called “Turkey Scholarships.”

“There were nearly 42,000 applications to the scholarship program in 2012. Now, we have 145,700 applications from 167 countries for 2019, and this sets a record,” said YTB head Abdullah Eren in a written statement.

Eren added that the application deadline was extended this year due to the high demand.

“We currently have 17,000 scholarship students. We aim to have 25,000 by 2023,” he said.

“Turkey Scholarships” program offers scholarships to foreign students in each level and field of study, including full-time and short-term undergraduate, graduate, and research and language education opportunities in Turkey’s universities.

Every year, about 5,000 students receive scholarships funded by the program.

The YTB informed the Daily News that the countries of origin of the applicants were the U.S., Spain, Norway, Indonesia, Morocco and Pakistan and the preferred disciplines included social sciences, sciences, communications and arts.

Students who wish to study in Turkey can fill an online form for application, and if they pass the first phase of the process, they get invited to attend an interview in one of the 100 determined locations all over the world.

If the students pass the interview phase as well, they come to Turkey and spend a year in preparation to learn Turkish.

Afterwards, they get placed in universities and departments of their preference.

The scholarship program covers accommodation, food, allowance and insurance premiums along with flights to Turkey and back home.

In order not to break the connections, a “Turkey Alumni” network for the graduates of the scholarship program has been established, consisting of nearly 150,000 people from more than 160 countries, according to the information provided by the YTB.