Cheapest Private Universities in Istanbul 2026

Short answer

Cheapest Private Universities in Istanbul 2026–2027: Official Fees

According to the official 2026–2027 fee lists, Haliç has the lowest bachelor's tuition among Istanbul's private universities: 2,700 USD for Sports Management and 4,700 USD per year for most programs. Next come Medipol and Biruni from 4,000 USD, Üsküdar from 4,200 USD and Okan from 4,500 USD.

In this guide

Lowest annual fee (Haliç, Sports Management): $2,700
Starting fee at Medipol and Biruni: $4,000
Istanbul private universities compared: 11

The cheapest private universities in Istanbul at a glance

The table below lists bachelor's tuition at private universities in Istanbul, from cheapest to most expensive. All figures are taken from each university's own official tuition list for international students and are annual fees. Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy are not included, because they have separate, higher fees.

University	Cheapest program	Annual tuition	Range for most programs
Haliç University	Sports Management	2,700 USD	4,700 USD (Computer Engineering, Nursing, Physiotherapy)
Istanbul Medipol University	Social Work (Turkish)	4,000 USD	4,000–9,000 USD
Biruni University	Speech and Language Therapy, Audiology	4,000 USD	4,000–5,000 USD
Üsküdar University	Turkish-taught programs	4,200 USD	4,200–5,600 USD
Istanbul Okan University	Turkish-taught programs	4,500 USD	4,500–8,000 USD
Istanbul Aydın University	Several Turkish- and English-taught programs	5,000 USD	5,000–8,000 USD
Altınbaş University	International Trade, Public Relations	5,000 USD	5,000–7,500 USD
İstinye University	Several Turkish- and English-taught programs	7,000 USD	7,000–8,000 USD
Yeditepe University	Several English-taught programs	8,000 USD (after 50% scholarship)	8,000–15,000 USD
Bahçeşehir University (BAU)	Most faculties	8,500 USD	8,500–12,000 USD
Acıbadem University	Health sciences programs	8,500 USD	8,500–15,000 USD

Lowest annual bachelor's tuition at each university, 2026–2027

Haliç2,700 USD
Medipol4,000 USD
Biruni4,000 USD
Üsküdar4,200 USD
Okan4,500 USD
Aydın5,000 USD
Altınbaş5,000 USD
İstinye7,000 USD
Yeditepe8,000 USD
Bahçeşehir8,500 USD
Acıbadem8,500 USD

Yeditepe: after the university's own 50% scholarship. Altınbaş: official 2025–2026 list.

Why does the same program cost so differently at two universities?

Language of instruction: At many universities an English-taught program costs more than the same program taught in Turkish; for example, at Okan Turkish-taught programs cost 4,500 USD and most English-taught programs start from 5,000 USD.
Faculty: Some universities, such as Bahçeşehir and Aydın, announce one fee per faculty rather than per program.
The university's own scholarship: Yeditepe publishes both the full fee and the fee with a 50% scholarship; the figure in the table is the price after the scholarship.
Discount for paying in full: Okan gives a 5% discount for paying the full year at once, and Medipol and İstinye also offer an upfront-payment discount for some programs.

Costs not included in tuition

Language preparatory year: If you do not have a sufficient language certificate, the university places you in a one-year language preparatory program, which usually has a separate fee. The amount is shown on each university's page.
Dormitory and living costs: On the dormitories page and the cost calculator you can work out the total cost of one year.

Next step

See the exact price of each program in the program search. If you are undecided between several universities, ask us on WhatsApp and a Taktik advisor will compare the options side by side based on your GPA, language and budget. Applying through Taktik is free, and you pay tuition directly to the university. The admission decision is made by the university.