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Türkiye Bursları letter of intent: what it covers and how it is evaluated

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The Türkiye Bursları (Türkiye Scholarships) master's application includes a letter of intent, also called a statement of purpose, written inside the online system TBBS. Its content is one of the expert evaluation criteria, alongside the consistency of your programme preferences. This guide explains what the letter covers, where it sits in the selection, and how it connects to the interview.

Where the letter sits in the selection

Selection has several stages: a preliminary assessment, an expert evaluation, an interview and a final assessment by a committee. The letter matters most at the expert evaluation, but it follows you into the interview.

Stage What is assessed
Preliminary assessment Basic criteria such as minimum academic achievement, the age limit for your level and required documents
Expert evaluation Academic status and prior qualifications, academic interests, career goals, consistency of preferences, the content of the letter of intent and social participation
Interview Your purpose in applying, academic knowledge in your field and career goals
Final assessment Interview results and overall suitability, around three pillars: academic success, social engagement and motivation for the field

Required documents are part of the preliminary assessment, so upload a complete file before you polish the letter.

What the letter needs to cover

The programme describes the letter as covering your academic interests, your career goals and why your chosen programmes and Türkiye fit them. The exact questions and character limits are shown only inside TBBS after you log in, and we could not confirm them publicly. Open your TBBS account, copy each question and its limit exactly, and plan against those rather than against any length you read elsewhere.

A workable plan for each part:

  • Academic interests: the specific topic you want to study, how it grew out of your bachelor's, and the evidence that you have already engaged with it (a project, thesis, research assistance or work).
  • Career goals: a concrete role or field after the degree, and the step between the degree and that role.
  • Fit with your programmes: named courses, specialisations or research areas in the programmes you chose, and why they serve the interests above.
  • Fit with Türkiye: a reason that relates to your field or goals.

Because the content of the letter is one of the expert evaluation criteria, specific points that a reviewer can check against your transcript and preferences usually serve better than broad statements of ambition. The Application Kit for Türkiye Bursları includes Letter of Intent Worksheets where you paste each TBBS question before planning, with recall questions and self-checks, and a STAR Evidence Bank that tags your stories to the published evaluation factors.

Coherent programme preferences

In TBBS you choose your universities and programmes. The number of choices allowed is shown in the system; check it there for your cycle. Consistency of preferences is one of the expert evaluation criteria.

If your preferences span unrelated fields, the letter cannot explain a single academic interest that leads to all of them. Many programmes are taught in Turkish, so check each one's language of instruction in TBBS; for programmes in other languages you need an internationally accepted language certificate. You must also meet any extra requirement of each university or department, such as GRE, GMAT or a language test.

Eligibility and academic thresholds

The programme is open to citizens of all countries, so applicants from Nigeria, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Kenya and Ghana are eligible. Master's applicants must be under 30 and have graduated, or graduate before August of the intake year. The criteria page sets a minimum academic result of 75% for graduate-level candidates. Turkish citizens, former Turkish citizens and students already enrolled in a Turkish university at the level applied for are not eligible.

The higher thresholds on the full-time programmes page (GWA 90%, minimum ALES or GRE scores, TOEFL iBT 90 or IELTS 7.0) are the requirements of the Merit Scholarship Program, not the rule for the general programme. The calendar's October to November Success Scholarship period is not the general application: past announcements were for international students already studying and living in Türkiye. The master's stipend is TRY 9,500 per month, with Merit Scholarship Program holders receiving twice the regular amount, plus university placement, full tuition, accommodation, health insurance, a flight ticket at the start and at graduation, and a one-year Turkish course. Awardees without a C1 Turkish certificate, including those in English-taught programmes, must complete that course and reach C1 by its end.

The interview builds on the letter

Shortlisted candidates have face-to-face interviews conducted by the Presidential Delegations, usually lasting 15 to 30 minutes, with committees of academics and experts. Check your invitation for the place and format. The published structure runs from welcome and a document check, through your motivation, field knowledge and career plans, to closing with your own questions. Bring the originals of your latest education certificates. Your letter feeds the motivation and career parts, so know every claim in it. The kit's Interview Question Bank offers practice questions written from this structure; they are not questions from any real panel.

On outside help: applying through TBBS is free, and TBBS states that the accuracy of the information you provide is crucial. We found no published rule on AI tools, so write the letter yourself and make sure every fact is true.

General information: this article is general information, not admissions advice. Criteria and dates change between cycles; the application period has followed a 10 January to 20 February pattern, and 2027 dates were not yet announced when we checked. Always check the Türkiye Scholarships website before you apply.

Sources