Türkiye will offer 805,747 university places for prospective students during the 2026 Higher Education Institutions Examination (YKS) preference period, with expanded quotas in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and other future-oriented fields.
The Council of Higher Education (YÖK) announced that candidates can submit their university preferences between July 29 and Aug. 10, following the release of YKS results on July 21.
More than 2.2 million candidates sat the Basic Proficiency Test (TYT), while 1.47 million took the Field Proficiency Test (AYT) and 143,270 participated in the Foreign Language Test (YDT).
According to YÖK, this year's admissions include 371,476 associate degree places, 407,080 undergraduate places and 27,191 special talent program places across universities in Türkiye and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
Of the total quota, 602,117 places are allocated to public universities, 184,914 to foundation universities and 18,716 to universities in the TRNC.
Special quotas have also been reserved for specific groups, including 17,862 places for top high school graduates, 3,673 for relatives of martyrs and veterans, and 10,363 for women aged 34 and above.
YÖK announced that quota planning continues to reflect Türkiye's labor market needs, employment policies and the country's long-term human capital strategy.
New AI-focused programs
Sixteen new academic programs will admit students for the first time this year, including seven undergraduate and nine associate degree programs.
Among the new undergraduate programs are History and Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy and Artificial Intelligence, Business and Artificial Intelligence, Financial Technology and Biotechnology and Genetics.
New associate degree programs include Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Web Design and Coding, Digital Game Technologies and Mobile Security Technologies, while open education will offer Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Coding and Data Visualization and Information Design for the first time.
YÖK has also expanded quotas in fields aligned with Türkiye's future workforce needs. Associate degree places in computer and information sciences have more than doubled since 2022 to 62,104, while undergraduate quotas in AI, software and data engineering programs have increased by 23% to 53,817.
Cybersecurity programs now offer 772 places, and quotas at vocational schools in organized industrial zones have risen by nearly 70% since 2022.
Among major professional fields, medicine has the largest quota with 18,627 places, followed by nursing with 16,845, computer engineering with 13,430, psychology with 10,465 and law with 8,812.
Other programs include dentistry with 6,587 places, physiotherapy and rehabilitation with 5,098, architecture with 3,906, nutrition and dietetics with 3,539, and pharmacy with 3,166.
YÖK also announced stricter admission requirements for several competitive programs.
The minimum ranking required for admission to law faculties has been raised from 125,000 to 100,000, while applicants to medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, architecture and teacher education programs must continue to meet existing national ranking thresholds.