Erdem Ceydilek coordinates international student admissions at Middle East Technical University in Ankara, the capital city of Türkiye. Here he tells us about the University and why it is an excellent choice for international students.
About Middle East Technical University (METU)
‘Middle East Technical University (METU) is Türkiye’s premier state university, rated among the top world universities in several fields/rankings. English is the only language of instruction in all degree programmes, in which almost 30 000 students are pursuing their undergraduate and graduate studies. It is worth mentioning that almost 70 per cent of the faculty members were awarded their PhD degrees from top universities around the world.
‘METU is one of the top destinations among Turkish and international students. Thousands of applicants from around the world compete each year for a place on one of the undergraduate programmes offered at METU.
‘Although our name suggests that METU is a university offering only engineering and technical programmes, this is not the case. We offer 41 undergraduate programmes under five faculties: Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Architecture, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, and Faculty of Education. All programmes offer world-class education fully in English and award degrees recognised and respected worldwide, proven by the thousands of METU graduates pursuing their careers at top institutions and companies around the world. Computer Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Architecture, Business Administration, Psychology, Molecular Biology and Genetics are among the most popular programmes for international applicants.’
International students
‘Every year, 2000+ international students apply to our undergraduate courses, and only 300 get a place on one of these programmes. The top five countries of origin are Azerbaijan, Iran, Pakistan, Egypt and Kazakhstan.
‘We host about 1800 international students from 90 different countries. However, we still want to add to this diversity and would like to reach more students, especially from European countries.
‘At METU, international students are subject to the same tuition fee and scholarship schemes regardless of their nationality and educational background. The tuition fees for the undergraduate programmes offered at METU Ankara Campus are 2000 USD and 3000 USD per year, depending on the selected programme. Through a merit-based system, students can either be granted full or partial tuition fee exemptions with their initial admission to the University or after achieving a good Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA).’
Entry requirements
‘We require a minimum of ABB in three A Levels, two of which must be relevant to the programme applied for. Also, language subjects other than English cannot be used for application. If a Cambridge student cannot satisfy the minimum application requirement set for A Levels, they can still apply to METU, taking alternative exams such as SAT and ACT. Students must check our webpage and contact our team for details of the minimum application requirements.
‘Cambridge students can also use a Cambridge International A Level in Global Perspectives & Research or the Cambridge IPQ as additional qualifications that are considered as part of our holistic evaluation.’
Cambridge students
‘Almost 20 per cent of our applicants receive their high school education at a school where international A Levels are offered, with a dominant majority of Cambridge International A Levels. Applications by Cambridge students allow us to see the depth of their knowledge in their A Level subjects and help us to assess them for specific undergraduate programmes. A student who did Economics at A Level, for example, becomes a perfect candidate for undergraduate programmes in Economics or Business Administration. The ability of Cambridge A Level graduates to perform well at METU is very high, as most of the general course content has been taught in the A Level curriculum in one way or another.
‘At METU, we have a holistic approach to international student admissions, meaning that not only the exam scores but also additional documents (curricular and extracurricular) are evaluated. Cambridge students submit rich application files showing their academic, analytical and social skills, which are as important as the exam and diploma scores.’
How can Cambridge students prove their English proficiency?
‘Submitting an English proficiency score is not mandatory. Students can apply without proof of English proficiency. Upon admission, students will be asked either to provide a TOEFL or PTE score or to take the METU English Proficiency Exam to skip the English preparation year. Also, students can be exempted from the English preparation year and directly start their departmental courses if English is an official language of their country, and if the medium of instruction at high school is English. Most of our A Level students come from Pakistan, and these students enjoy this exemption without any further documentation or examination.’
Advice to Cambridge students
‘With full transparency, we have explained our holistic evaluation method at the METU - International Students Office webpage. We highly recommend that students check this page and other pages on our website to enrich their application files.’
Why should Cambridge students choose METU?
‘Students often appreciate the University for the quality of its academic staff and education, its English-medium tuition, the multicultural and friendly environment with a high level of diversity, the exchange opportunities provided, and the University’s international recognition. Further benefits of studying with us include the wide variety of exams/diplomas that can be used in applications, our global alumni networks, our reputation internationally, the all-inclusive and green campus with a rich social life, and the ABET accreditation for engineering programmes.’