On Monday, the Council of Higher Education (YÖK) unveiled new standards for postgraduate education, with a focus on elements like publication records and accreditation to improve programme quality. The requirements, which are outlined in the “Regulation on Postgraduate Education and Training,” stipulate particular requirements for every programme in order to guarantee that strict standards are fulfilled. Among the main prerequisites are that faculty members at the university where the programme will be delivered hold an associate professorship or a doctorate in the relevant discipline. Faculty members must be qualified in directly relevant subjects as recognised by the Higher Education Executive Board in order to teach in multidisciplinary programmes.

A Ph.D. programme must be established with a minimum of six faculty members, including at least two professors and two associate professors. A minimum of three university staff faculty members, at least two of whom must be professors or associate professors, are required for master’s programmes. Faculty members are required to have taught undergraduate courses for at least two semesters for master’s programmes and four semesters for doctoral programmes. Alternatively, for doctorate programmes, two semesters of master’s-level teaching combined with a thesis are accepted. Postgraduate programmes require universities to have a sufficient infrastructure for teaching and research, including labs and libraries that are suited to the objectives of the programme.

The Higher Education Executive Board will have the authority to decide whether or not faculty from various science and art departments is required for doctorate and master’s programmes. The average number of publications or works per faculty member who will teach in the master’s or doctorate programme to which the application is made must be at least one in order for the programme to be opened. This number must take into consideration the calendar year before the application year. Additionally, the university will need to have at least one programme accredited before applying for the PhD programme. The publications and works of the faculty members who will teach in master’s and doctorate programmes will also need to meet certain standards.

Faculty members must fulfil publishing requirements in order to work in graduate programmes. Every year in May, the minimum qualifications for faculty members are evaluated. Three years later, the publication qualifications of faculty members are reviewed. Programmes that do not satisfy the requirements will not admit new students.

Faculty members who meet the requirements for the newly launched postgraduate programmes will be appointed as advisers by the board of directors of the institute that the programme is associated with, in accordance with the recent Council of Higher Education ruling. The university staff faculty members will appoint the initial set of advisors. Thus, under the terms of “Annex Article 46,” doctorate-holding, qualified researchers of Turkish or foreign nationality who are employed outside of academic institutions have the chance to serve as first advisors.

Doctorate-holding researchers and academic members who are not employed by the institution may also be designated as second advisors. Faculty members who leave the higher education institution for reasons like retirement or transfer to another higher education institution will still be available for consultation. Graduate programmes must comply by the end of the 2026–2027 academic year if they meet the requirements under the previous criteria but are unable to meet the new minimum requirements. Students who are unable to fulfil the requirements for graduate programmes will not be admitted.

Source: Daily Sabah