Film and Television in Turkey

Film and Television (also titled Cinema and Television) is a four-year bachelor's built around making films: screenwriting, directing, cinematography, editing, sound and production. In our catalogue the English-taught option is Bahcesehir University's Film and Television at $8,500 a year for 2026/27; the Turkish-taught option is Okan University's Cinema and Television at $4,500.

Degrees called Radio, Television and Cinema sit in communication faculties and spend more time on broadcasting, journalism and media industries; they are compared on the Radio, Television and Cinema page. Choose this page's programmes if your goal is to direct, shoot or edit.

Okan's published plan shows how quickly a film school puts a camera in your hands. The first year pairs film history and art history with Basic Video Applications, Photography and Cinematic Design; by the second year you are taking Introduction to Directing, Cinematography and Lighting, Editing Techniques and Sound.

The third year adds documentary cinema, post-production and a film production workshop, and the final year is a two-part graduation project with a module on pitching and project management. An internship is built into the fifth semester.

Bahcesehir does not list its courses on the international programme page, but it describes a School of Communication course of study with a broadcast-standard 60 m² television studio, a radio studio, editing rooms, Mac labs and photography studios with a darkroom, all on the Galata campus.

Labels are not strict: some Radio, Television and Cinema degrees are strong in production and some film schools teach television. Read the study plan, not only the title.

Both universities admit international students on the school record. For Bahcesehir's English-taught degree, the general undergraduate threshold is TOEFL iBT 72 or PTE Academic 55; Bahcesehir does not accept IELTS, Duolingo, TOEFL Home Edition or PTE Academic Online, and test centres in Türkiye must be at public universities or at Bahcesehir. For Okan's Turkish-taught programme you need a TÖMER B2 certificate or a pass in Okan's Turkish exam, otherwise a Turkish preparatory year.

Neither international page asks for a portfolio, but a short reel or a set of photographs helps any scholarship or interview conversation and shows you what you enjoy making.

Bahcesehir lists the roles its graduates move into: directors of films, commercials or TV shows, directors of photography, scriptwriters, editors, sound designers, television programmers and producers of films and advertisements. Much film, series and advertising work is organised by project, so many graduates start as assistants or freelancers.

If you plan to work in Turkey after graduation, you will need a work permit arranged by the producer or company; for project-based work this takes planning.

Okan takes 5% off when the year is paid in advance ($4,275 instead of $4,500). Film students spend more than tuition: plan for a laptop that can run editing software, storage drives, and your share of production costs for student films.

A personal strategy, requirement checks, selection of agreed options, document preparation, applications, and support are provided under an agreement with StudyU. For film we compare the English and Turkish routes, check your English or Turkish test against each university's list of accepted exams, and help you assemble a short portfolio. Film schools decide admission and fee reductions themselves, while visas come from Turkish consulates and residence permits from the migration administration.