Bilkent University
Ankara, Turkey — www.bilkent.edu.tr
- QS Ranking
- #387
- Founded
- 1984
- Type
- Private Non-Profit Research University
- Students
- 12,000+
- Acceptance Rate
- ~5–20% (selective, especially for fully-funded merit scholarships)
- Founded
- 1984 — Turkey's first private non-profit university
- QS Rank
- #387 (2025) — Turkey's top private university
- Symphony Orchestra
- Bilkent Symphony — a professional orchestra founded by and based at a university (unique globally)
- Campus
- 500-ha 'City of Science' with concert hall, cinema, shopping, hospital inside grounds
Overview
Bilkent University, founded in 1984 by Ihsan Doğramacı (Turkey's most influential educational reformer) as Turkey's first private non-profit university, is consistently Turkey's highest-ranked private university and ranked #387 in QS 2025 — among the top three Turkish universities alongside Boğaziçi and METU. Bilkent's name comes from 'Bilim Kenti' — 'City of Science' in Turkish — reflecting its ambitious founding vision. The university's 500-hectare self-contained campus west of Ankara is widely considered Turkey's most beautiful university campus: planned as a complete community with its own cinema (Bilkent Center — Ankara's premier performing arts venue), concert hall (Bilkent Symphony Orchestra — one of Turkey's two professional symphony orchestras, founded by the university), shopping centre, and residential quarters. Like Boğaziçi, Bilkent's instruction is fully in English — all courses at all levels are in English, a rare distinction among Turkish universities. Bilkent's faculty-to-student ratio and research infrastructure are comparable to selective Western liberal arts universities.
Admission Process
Turkish citizens: YKS + Bilkent excellence exam (fully-funded merit scholarships for top scorers). International students: apply via bilkent.edu.tr. IELTS 6.5+/TOEFL 87+. Bilkent's scholarship competition is highly sought after in Turkey — full tuition + accommodation for top applicants. Türkiye Scholarships available for international students. Deadlines: April–August.
Programs at Bilkent University
- MSc Computer Science (Master's) — 5,000 USD/year
- Master of Business Administration (Master's) — 8,000 USD/year
- MSc Data Science & AI (Master's) — 12,000 USD/year
- Bachelor of Engineering (Computer Engineering) (Bachelor's) — 18,000 USD/year
- Master of Science in Engineering (Master's) — 5,000 USD/year
- PhD in Natural Sciences (PhD) — 8,000 USD/year
- BSc Computer Science (Bachelor's) — 4,000 USD/year
- BSc Business Administration (Bachelor's) — 6,000 USD/year
- BSc Economics (Bachelor's) — 9,000 USD/year
- BA International Relations (Bachelor's) — 12,000 USD/year
- BSc Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's) — 18,000 USD/year
- BSc Civil Engineering (Bachelor's) — 4,000 USD/year
- BSc Electrical Engineering (Bachelor's) — 6,000 USD/year
- MBA Marketing & Brand Management (MBA) — 14,640 USD/year
- MSc Public Health (Master's) — 8,018 USD/year