Sabancı University Scholarships in Turkey: 2026-27 Guide

Updated: August 10, 2026 | Reading time: 7 min | Written by: StudyTribune Editorial Desk

Sabancı University Scholarships is one of Turkey’s top-ranked private universities scholarships, and it remains one of the most searched fully funded options for international students because almost every admitted graduate student receives a full tuition waiver, and undergraduate applicants are automatically screened for merit scholarships with no separate form to fill out. This guide covers current 2026-27 deadlines, funding levels, eligible fields of study, and the exact documents and steps you need to apply with confidence.

Sabancı University at a Glance

• Location: Istanbul, Turkey
• Degree levels: Bachelor’s, Master’s, PhD
• Funding: Full or partial tuition waivers, monthly stipends, dormitory accommodation, and (for many graduate tracks) health insurance and travel support
• Application system: Fully online, with scholarship consideration built into the admission review — no separate scholarship application at either level
• Language of instruction: English, across nearly all programs

Application Deadlines for 2026-27

Deadlines at Sabancı are not unified across degree levels — each admissions office runs its own calendar, so treat these separately.

Undergraduate (Bachelor’s), international students: The application window for 2026-27 runs December 15, 2025 through August 28, 2026, closing at 16:00 Turkish time. If you’re reading this close to that date, apply now — the window closes fast once the quota fills.

Graduate (Master’s/PhD): Deadlines vary by school and by specific program, and Sabancı does not publish one university-wide date. The Graduate School of Engineering and Natural Sciences has historically run an early round in early April and a normal round in mid-June for Fall admission, while the Business School and Graduate School of Social Sciences publish their own separate cycles closer to each intake. Because these shift year to year and program to program, confirm the exact date on your target program’s own admissions page before you plan around it — don’t rely on a single deadline figure from any third-party scholarship listing, including this one.

Types of Funding Available

Undergraduate Scholarships: Every international applicant is automatically evaluated for a Sabancı University Scholarships at the point of admission — academic record, extracurricular achievement, and available quota all factor into the decision. Awards range from full tuition exemption down to partial waivers (50% or 25%), and a dormitory fee waiver may be included depending on your award tier.

Graduate Scholarships: According to the university, nearly all students admitted to Sabancı’s academic graduate programs (as opposed to its professional/executive programs) receive a full exemption from annual tuition fees. Many graduate students also receive a monthly stipend and free or subsidized dormitory accommodation. Funding generally falls into a few categories:

• University-funded tuition waivers and stipends, awarded through the standard admission and scholarship review.
• Research-project stipends (TÜBİTAK, EU, industry, or NGO-funded projects), where Sabancı tops up the stipend if the external project’s rate falls below the university’s minimum.
• Named and endowed scholarships — Sabancı administers several donor-funded awards, including the Ayşegül Arsoy Scholarship (Business), the Işık İnselbağ Scholarship (Finance), and the İsmail Serhat Oğuz Scholarship (Economics and Mathematics), each with its own eligibility notes.
• TÜBİTAK-BİDEB national scholarships (the 2210 Graduate and 2211 Doctorate programs), which Sabancı actively encourages eligible students to apply for alongside its own funding.

Monthly stipend amounts are reviewed and adjusted periodically and differ by funding category and degree level, so rather than quoting a single figure that will likely be outdated within a year, check the current minimums on Sabancı’s official Graduate Scholarships page before you budget around a specific number.

Fields of Study Covered Sabancı University Scholarships

Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences: Industrial Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Molecular Biology, Genetics and Bioengineering, Materials Science and Nanoengineering, Mechatronics Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Data Science and Analytics, Energy Technologies and Management, Physics, Mathematics, and Cybersecurity.

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences: Psychology, Economics, Political Science and International Relations, Visual Arts and Visual Communication Design, Cultural Studies, History, and Turkish Studies.

Sabancı Business School: Management Sciences at the undergraduate level, and at the graduate level, an MSc in Business Analytics, Management, a Master’s in Finance, a Professional MBA, an Executive MBA, and a standard MBA.

Undergraduate applicants apply by program group (Engineering and Natural Sciences, Arts and Social Sciences, or Management) rather than a single fixed major — you spend your first one to two years taking courses across disciplines before declaring your specific program, and applying to more than one group at once genuinely improves your admission odds within the quota system.

Eligibility Criteria

• Must be an international student under Turkey’s Higher Education Council (YÖK) definition — this includes some nuanced rules for dual citizens and Turkish citizens who completed schooling entirely outside Turkey, so if your background is mixed, check the detailed eligibility criteria on Sabancı’s official page rather than assuming either way.
• A strong academic record from your prior level of education.
• Complete submission of all required documents before the deadline — incomplete applications are not evaluated.
• Demonstrated English proficiency, either through an accepted exam score or (in some cases) an internal assessment.
• Applicants must apply to the specific program or program group they intend to study.

Required Documents

For undergraduate applicants:

• A copy of an accepted exam result or diploma with a valid score (SAT, GCE, ACT, TR-YÖS, or another recognized qualification)
• High school diploma, with a notarized translation if it isn’t in Turkish or English
• An official transcript covering your full high school record, stamped or signed by your school
• A language proficiency exam score, if you’ve already taken one
• Residency or citizenship documentation, where applicable to your specific background

For graduate applicants:

• Bachelor’s degree (for Master’s applicants) or Master’s degree (for PhD applicants)
• Official transcripts from all previous institutions
• Proof of English proficiency (commonly TOEFL iBT, PTE Academic, CAE, CPE, or Turkey’s YDS/YÖKDİL, depending on the graduate school)
• A statement of purpose or letter of intent
• Academic recommendation letters
• CV/resume, particularly for research-focused programs

How to Apply: Step by Step

1. Choose your degree level and program group, then create an account on the appropriate portal — undergraduate applicants use Sabancı’s undergraduate application system, while graduate applicants use the graduate admissions portal for their specific school (Engineering and Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, or the Business School).
2. Complete the online application form and prepare scanned copies of every required document before you start — the system won’t let you submit with fields or uploads missing.
3. Submit the application fee (30 USD for undergraduate applicants, paid online by card once your form is submitted).
4. Wait for the preliminary review. Undergraduate applicants are typically notified within two to three weeks; graduate applicants who pass the initial document screening are usually invited to a written exam and/or an interview.
5. Attend your interview, if required. Graduate programs particularly in Engineering and Business commonly include an interview stage after the initial screening.
6. Receive your admission decision and, if awarded, your scholarship offer. Undergraduate decisions are generally finalized by mid-to-late April; graduate timelines vary by school.
7. Sign and return your scholarship agreement promptly. Missing this step is treated as declining the offer, and you’ll be billed full tuition instead.
8. Complete registration, submitting original or notarized documents in person during the university’s published registration dates.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Assuming there’s one deadline for the whole university. There isn’t — undergraduate and each graduate school run separate calendars, and mixing them up is the single most common reason applicants miss their window.
• Submitting an incomplete transcript. Sabancı is explicit that applications without an official, stamped transcript are not evaluated at all — a partial upload won’t hold your place.
• Treating the scholarship as a separate application. It isn’t. Your admission file is what gets reviewed for funding, so a stronger admission application is a stronger scholarship application.
• Missing the scholarship agreement deadline after acceptance. An unsigned agreement is treated as a decline, even if you intended to accept.
• Applying to only one program group when you qualify for more. Since undergraduate admission is quota-based by group, applying across more than one group where you’re eligible improves your odds without costing you anything extra.

FAQs

Is there a separate scholarship application at Sabancı University? No. Both undergraduate and graduate applicants are automatically evaluated for funding as part of the standard admission review.

What’s the undergraduate application deadline for 2026-27? August 28, 2026, 16:00 Turkish time, for the window that opened December 15, 2025.

Is the graduate scholarship really close to fully funded? For academic (non-professional) graduate programs, the university states that nearly all admitted students receive a full tuition exemption, with many also receiving a stipend and dormitory support. Professional programs like the Executive MBA are generally excluded from this scholarship pool.

Do I need IELTS to apply? Sabancı accepts a range of English proficiency exams beyond IELTS depending on the program and degree level — TOEFL iBT, PTE Academic, CAE, CPE, and Turkey’s own YDS/YÖKDİL are all accepted in various graduate schools, and undergraduate applicants can also qualify through certain diploma routes. Check your specific program’s accepted exam list before assuming you need one particular test.

Explore More Scholarships in Turkey and Beyond

If you’re comparing Sabancı against other options, our roundup of 1,200+ fully funded scholarships in Turkey covers a much wider set of universities and programs, our guide to Turkish scholarships without IELTS is useful if English testing is a concern, and if you’re weighing Turkey against Germany, our DAAD scholarship guide breaks down one of the other major fully funded routes into Europe.

Sabancı University remains one of the strongest fully funded paths into Turkey for international students, provided you track the right deadline for your specific degree level and submit a complete, well-documented application. Confirm the current dates directly on Sabancı’s official admissions portal before you apply, since both undergraduate and graduate cycles shift from year to year.