Psychological Counselling and Guidance in Turkey

Psychological Counselling and Guidance (Rehberlik ve Psikolojik Danışmanlık, known in Turkey as PDR) is a four-year bachelor's in a faculty of education that trains school counsellors: people who support pupils' learning, career choices and wellbeing and run guidance programmes in schools. English-taught options in our catalogue are Medipol ($4,500 a year for 2026/27) and TED University in Ankara ($7,500); Turkish-taught programmes start at $4,000 at Biruni.

Many applicants pick PDR thinking it is a shortcut to becoming a psychologist. It is not. A psychology bachelor's is a science degree in an arts and sciences faculty and is the route towards clinical psychology after a master's; PDR is a teacher-education degree whose practice happens in schools. PDR students take education courses (teaching methods, classroom management, the Turkish education system) and supervised counselling in schools, which psychology students do not.

If research or clinical work is your goal, read our Psychology guide first. If you want to work with children and families in an educational setting, PDR is the more direct route.

Okan's published plan shows the typical shape. Psychology foundations come first (developmental, social and physiological psychology, the psychology of learning), with education courses alongside. From the third year the counselling core takes over: theories and techniques of psychological counselling, personality theories, psychological tests and non-test assessment, behaviour disorders and vocational guidance.

The final two semesters are practice-heavy, with individual counselling application courses, school-based guidance practice, family counselling, post-traumatic counselling and professional ethics and law.

Admission is on your school diploma and transcript or on international exams. TED University, for example, publishes country-specific minimums: an attestat with at least 60% (or 3 out of 5) for applicants from Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and other attestat countries, SAT 1,000, IB 29 or two A-level passes at grade D. Medipol and TED teach in English, so you need an English result they accept or a preparatory year; at TED the preparatory year costs the same as one year of the degree.

Graduates work as school counsellors in private schools and colleges, in guidance and research centres, in career services, in NGOs working with children and refugees, and in family counselling services. A master's opens school psychology, family counselling or research posts.

Two limits matter for international students. Permanent counsellor posts in Turkish state schools are civil-service jobs, and Civil Servants Law No. 657 (Article 48) makes Turkish citizenship the first general condition, so plan on private schools, NGOs or work abroad. And counselling titles are regulated differently in each country: check what your home country asks of foreign counselling degrees before you enrol.

Biruni's list shows $3,600 for cash payment of the bachelor's fee, and Medipol's English track is $4,050 when paid in advance. TED publishes scholarships of 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% for international students, which bring its $7,500 fee down to $5,625, $3,750, $1,875 or zero. Biruni's graduate list does not say whether fees are per year or per programme; ask before you compare.

A personal strategy, requirement checks, selection of agreed options, document preparation, applications, and support are provided under an agreement with StudyU. For PDR we check how your home country recognises school-counselling degrees, compare English and Turkish options, and prepare the application file. The chosen university makes the admission and scholarship decision, the consulate issues or refuses the visa, and the migration service grants the residence permit.