Türkiye to allow academic elite to graduate university in three years

ANKARA

Türkiye is set to introduce a new regulation enabling high-achieving students to complete their university degrees in three years instead of four, the head of the country’s higher education authority has announced.

“We aim to allow students who demonstrate strong academic performance to finish their studies in a shorter period. This means completing their university education in three years while fully maintaining Türkiye’s higher education quality standards,” the Higher Education Council (YÖK) President Erol Özvar said.

He added that details of the regulation will be shared with the public in the coming days.

Most undergraduate programs in Türkiye take four years to complete. Currently, completing a degree in three years in Türkiye is possible but challenging, often requiring students to take extra courses each semester. This new initiative is expected to make the process more accessible and straightforward for ambitious students.

The plan is part of Türkiye’s new higher education roadmap, outlining reforms and goals for the sector through 2030.

Özvar emphasized that the reforms especially aim to strengthen students’ practical skills and experience, reflecting increasing expectations from the labor market for work-ready graduates.

In the past year and a half, YÖK has already launched several reforms targeting vocational schools. Under discussions led by Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz, these measures focused on expanding vocational training programs and removing programs that do not provide practical skills.