Bahcesehir University in Istanbul: A Guide for International Applicants
Official fees, English-taught programs, entry grades for Pakistan, India and Nigeria, and the catches worth knowing before you apply.
Bahcesehir University (BAU) is a private foundation university in Istanbul, founded in 1998 and run by the non-profit Bahçeşehir Uğur Education Foundation. Its main campus is in Beşiktaş, on the Bosphorus, and most of its bachelor's programs are taught in English. According to the university, 6,074 of its 20,399 students are international, from 122 countries.
BAU suits applicants who want an English-taught degree in central Istanbul, have school grades of around 50–60% or higher, and can budget $8,500–12,000 a year for most non-medical programs. It is a weaker fit if your only English certificate is IELTS, if you need an on-campus dorm, or if your budget points to a state university.
| Key fact | Bahçeşehir University (BAU) |
|---|---|
Founded | 1998 |
Type | Private foundation (vakıf) university, non-profit |
Main campus | Beşiktaş South, Istanbul (Medicine is at Göztepe) |
Students | 20,399, including 6,074 international students (university data) |
Faculties | 10, from Medicine and Engineering to Law and Communication |
Bachelor's fees | $8,500–28,000 per year, depending on the faculty |
Institutional accreditation | Full YÖKAK accreditation for 5 years (decision of July 2025) |
THE World University Rankings | 801–1000 |
English tests | TOEFL iBT, PTE Academic, Cambridge and others; IELTS not accepted |
On-campus dorms | None; partner residence near the main campus |
Bahcesehir University fees for international students
BAU publishes its international price list openly, and fees are set per faculty: every program in a faculty costs the same. The figures below are the official current fees in US dollars per year. Next year's price list is published closer to the intake.
| School or program | Fee per year | Length |
|---|---|---|
Medicine | $28,000 | 6 years |
Dentistry | $24,000 | 5 years |
Pharmacy | $15,000 | 5 years |
Artificial Intelligence Engineering | $12,000 | 4 years |
Law | $10,000 | 4 years |
Engineering and Natural Sciences (Computer, Software, Electrical, Civil and others) | $9,000 | 4 years |
Pilotage | $9,000 + €22,000 | 4 years |
Health Sciences; Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences (Business, Psychology and others); Architecture and Design; Communication; Education; Gastronomy; Conservatory | $8,500 | 4 years |
Vocational School of Health Services (associate degree) | $3,500 | 2 years |
Master's fees are charged for the whole program: $14,000 for a 2-year thesis master's, $12,000 for a 1.5-year non-thesis master's, and $18,000 for Clinical Psychology or the Executive MBA. A PhD costs $40,000 for 4 years.
Bachelor's students pay in two installments a year. The first half is due at registration, and the deposit you paid earlier is deducted from it. The deposit is non-refundable, and its amount is stated in your Conditional Acceptance Letter. The price of the English preparatory year is not listed on the fee page, so ask for it before you commit.
Scholarships and discounts listed by BAU
- Success Scholarship: after 4 semesters, the top student in each faculty gets 100% off the next year, and the second gets 50%.
- Siblings discount: 10% for brothers and sisters studying at the same level.
- Faculty scholarships: extra awards in Conservatory, Communication, Health Sciences, English Language Teaching and Gastronomy. The amounts are not published.
- Master's GPA scholarship: for applicants with a bachelor's GPA above 2.75/4 (not for online programs).
BAU's official pages list no discounts for SAT or IB scores, early payment or nationality.
Programs and language of instruction
Most bachelor's programs at BAU are taught fully in English. The main groups are:
English-taught bachelor's programs
- Health: Medicine, Dental Medicine, Pharmacy, Nursing, Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Nutrition and Dietetics.
- Engineering and IT: Artificial Intelligence, Computer, Software, Electrical and Electronics, Biomedical, Civil, Industrial, Mechatronics, Energy Systems and Management Engineering, plus Molecular Biology and Genetics and Information Security Technology.
- Business: Business Administration, Economics, Economics and Finance, International Finance, International Trade and Business, Logistics Management, Management Information Systems.
- Social sciences: Psychology, Political Science and International Relations, Sociology.
- Architecture and design: Architecture, Interior Architecture, Industrial Design, Textile and Fashion Design, Cartoon and Animation, Digital Game Design, Communication Design.
Law is taught 30% in English. Some programs exist in both languages: Physiotherapy, Nutrition and Nursing also run in Turkish, as do Speech and Language Therapy and Audiology. Turkish-taught programs require B2 Turkish or a pass mark of 60 on the BAU Turkish exam.
Medicine lasts 6 years at the Göztepe campus, with a final 12-month internship. Its clinical base is the Bahçeşehir University Göztepe Medical Park hospital. Dentistry (5 years) and Pharmacy (5 years) are taught in English at Beşiktaş.
What a year at BAU costs
USD per year, official current fees
- Medicine$28,000
- Dentistry$24,000
- Pharmacy$15,000
- Artificial Intelligence Engineering$12,000
- Law$10,000
- Engineering and Natural Sciences$9,000
- Business, Psychology, Architecture and others$8,500
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Admission requirements for international students
BAU admits international bachelor's students on school grades, not on YÖS. SAT, A-Levels, IB, AP and other international exams are optional supporting documents, and BAU publishes no fixed minimum scores for them. The minimum school results for our main audiences:
| Country | School certificate | Minimum |
|---|---|---|
Pakistan | Higher Secondary / Intermediate Certificate | 60%, or GCE A-Levels in 2 subjects |
India | HSC / Intermediate / Pre-University Statement of Marks | 60% |
Nigeria | WAEC / NECO | 50% |
Egypt | Thanaweya Amma | 50% |
Saudi Arabia, UAE | Tawjihiyah / General Secondary | 50% |
Meeting the minimum does not guarantee a place. The Admission Committee also looks at your school curriculum, grades in subjects related to the program, and the program you chose. Medicine is competitive: BAU admits 83 international students a year out of about 1,500 applications.
How to apply to BAU, step by step
1
Prepare documents — passport, school transcript and certificate if issued; predicted grades are accepted. Medicine needs a Letter of Motivation, and some design and music programs need a portfolio.
2
Apply online — one application per intake. You rank programs by priority, and only one can be approved.
3
Get a decision — within about 1–2 weeks (BAU's pages give both figures), as a Conditional Acceptance Letter.
4
Pay the non-refundable deposit — you then receive an Official Acceptance Letter and an Enrollment Guide.
5
Legalize school documents — an apostille for Pakistan, India, Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh; consular legalization (Ministry of Education, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Turkish consulate) for Nigeria, the UAE and Egypt.
6
Arrange Denklik (recognition of your school certificate) — at a Turkish consulate or in Istanbul through BAU's International Office.
7
Get a student visa and register in person at the Beşiktaş South campus with original documents, translations, photos and your English certificate.
You do not need an English certificate at the application stage. You present it after admission; the general minimum is TOEFL iBT 72 or PTE Academic 55. Dentistry and Pharmacy require TOEFL iBT 85 or PTE 71, and Medicine requires TOEFL iBT 96 or PTE 78. Students who spent their last 3 school years in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand or South Africa are exempt.
Without a certificate, you take the free BAU English exam after registration. You can sit it only once, and if you fail, you go to the Preparatory School.
BAU announces dates for each intake closer to the start. In the last cycle, applications opened in January and were later extended into November. A spring intake starting in January is also announced, though not for every program; Medicine admits in the fall only, on a rolling basis.
What to know before you apply
These are the points that change decisions. Each one has a workaround.
Honest limitations of BAU
- IELTS is not accepted, nor Duolingo, TOEFL Home Edition or PTE Academic Online. Book TOEFL iBT or PTE Academic at a test center; we help you choose the test and target score.
- There are no on-campus dorms. You rent in a partner residence or a shared flat; we help you shortlist options before arrival.
- The prep year price is not published. If your English is below the threshold, a prep year adds time and cost; we request the figure for your program.
- Medicine is taught in English, but bedside clinical training is "in English and/or Turkish" under the faculty regulation. Start learning Turkish in year one.
- Recognition of a medical degree at home is not automatic. Check your national regulator's current rules (for example in India, Pakistan or Nigeria) before you apply.
- Working while studying needs a separate work permit, and bachelor's students can work only part-time after the first year.
- Plan on about $700–1,300 a month for living costs in Istanbul, on top of tuition.
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Rankings and accreditation
BAU is ranked 801–1000 in the THE World University Rankings; by the university's count, that is 9th in Turkey. Its strongest THE subject results are Engineering and Education (501–600), and it is joint 59th in the THE Impact Rankings. BAU is not in the QS World University Rankings; in QS Europe it is joint 480th.
YÖKAK (Turkey's higher education quality council) granted BAU full institutional accreditation for 5 years in July 2025. English-taught Medicine is accredited by TEPDAD until 1 January 2028, and TEPDAD is recognized by WFME. Eight engineering programs, including Computer, Software, Civil and Electrical, hold MÜDEK accreditation with the EUR-ACE label. Artificial Intelligence Engineering is not on that list yet.
Housing and student life
BAU campuses include only academic and administrative buildings; there are no university dorms. The partner residence is Ortaköy Aparts, about 10 minutes from the main campus. For female students, the university also points to Beşiktaş Kız Yurdu and Akaretler Liberty Beşiktaş nearby.
Beşiktaş is not among the Istanbul districts closed to first-time residence permit applications. Still, check any rental address in e-ikamet or with the university before you sign a lease. A free university boat, BAUPORT, links the Beşiktaş and Galata campuses.
Student visa and residence permit
Citizens of Pakistan, India, Nigeria and Egypt need a visa. The e-Visa is officially for tourism and business, so the safest route is a student visa from the Turkish consulate. Saudi and UAE citizens enter visa-free for up to 90 days in any 180.
After registration, you apply for a student residence permit online and submit the file through the university. The card costs 964 TL, students pay no permit fee, and processing takes up to 90 days. Details are on our student visa and residence permit page.
Other options in Turkey
On a tighter budget, look at state universities such as METU (about $1,600–2,400 a year for bachelor's programs) or Istanbul University. For medicine, compare BAU with Istanbul Medipol University in our guide to medicine in Turkey. Another private option in Istanbul is Altınbaş University, and the fully funded route is Türkiye Bursları. The overview is on our study in Turkey page.
14 questions to ask before you pay the deposit
Deposits are almost never refundable. Ask these by email before paying — and keep the university's answer on record.
- What to ask about the programme, accreditation and the degree
- What tuition does not include and when a deposit is refunded
- Who files the visa application — you or the university
- Five red flags that mean you should not pay
Other universities in Turkey
Compare the terms: fees, language of instruction and entry requirements differ.
Istanbul University
Istanbul Medipol University
Middle East Technical University
Not sure if your grades are enough? Send us your transcript. We check it against Bahçeşehir University (BAU)'s requirements for your program, and we compare BAU with 2–3 alternatives on fees, language and recognition. The first consultation is free; reach us through the form, WhatsApp or Telegram.