Public Relations and Publicity in Turkey

Public Relations and Publicity (Halkla İlişkiler ve Tanıtım) is a four-year communication degree in Turkey that trains you to plan campaigns, handle the media, protect reputations and measure results. Most tracks are Turkish-taught; Bahçeşehir and İstanbul Bilgi teach it in English for 2026/27 at $8,500 and $12,000 a year, while Turkish-taught fees for the same year start at $4,200 at Üsküdar. Two-year associate programmes and master's degrees are also available.

Turkish universities use two closely related titles. Public Relations and Publicity puts the weight on corporate communication, media relations and promotion; Public Relations and Advertising adds more creative and advertising-planning courses. Both sit in faculties of communication and lead to similar jobs, so this page compares them side by side and names each programme exactly as the university lists it.

For an international student the practical question is language. PR is writing-heavy: press releases, speeches, social-media copy and crisis statements. Choose the language you can write in persuasively for four years, not only the one you can read.

Course titles vary, but most Turkish curricula move from communication theory to campaign practice in the same order.

A strong programme makes you produce real material: a media kit, a crisis plan, a campaign with a budget and success measures. Ask to see examples of final-year projects and whether students work on briefs from real clients or non-profit organisations.

There is no portfolio or aptitude test for PR at the private universities compared here; admission rests on documents and language.

• a completed secondary-school certificate with transcript, meeting each university's minimum; Üsküdar, for instance, sets 3 out of 5 for attestats from Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan;
• for Turkish-taught tracks, a Turkish certificate at the university's required level or a pass in its own exam; Haliç asks for TÖMER C1 for Turkish programmes, and without it you start with a preparatory year;
• for English-taught tracks, an accepted English score or the university's proficiency exam, otherwise an English preparatory year;
• a passport copy and, after admission, the equivalence certificate (denklik) for your school diploma, issued by Turkey's Ministry of National Education;
• for a master's, a bachelor's diploma and transcript; a communication background helps but is not always required.

A short writing sample is not usually requested, but preparing one helps you check your own level before you commit to a language.

For a September start, work backwards from the university's application deadline, which each private university sets and publishes on its own portal.

1. About a year before. Decide between Turkish and English teaching and between the Publicity and Advertising variants; shortlist three to five programmes.
2. Six to nine months before. Take the English test or start Turkish lessons; gather and translate your school documents.
3. Application window. Apply online with passport, transcript and language evidence; the university issues a conditional or final acceptance letter.
4. After acceptance. Pay the deposit the letter specifies, then apply for a student visa at the Turkish consulate, which decides on the visa.
5. On arrival. Register at the university, obtain the denklik certificate and apply for a student residence permit, which the migration authority decides.

• Publicity or Advertising variant. Read the third- and fourth-year electives; one programme may lean to corporate communication, the other to creative campaigns.
• Practice. Look for student agencies, campus radio or TV, client briefs and a compulsory internship.
• Staff with industry work. Lecturers who ran campaigns or newsrooms bring better briefs and contacts.
• Language of core courses. An English-taught track should teach writing and campaign courses in English, not only theory.
• Graduate route. Üsküdar and Gelişim offer master's programmes with and without a thesis; Bahçeşehir runs a PhD in advertising and public relations.

Common mistakes: choosing a Turkish track without planning for the preparatory year, comparing tuition without checking whether it is per year or for the whole programme, and assuming an English-language diploma alone makes you employable in Istanbul agencies, where much client work runs in Turkish.

Sources: İstanbul Gelişim University, İstanbul Gelişim University (graduate fees), Üsküdar University, İstanbul Okan University, İstanbul Medipol University, Haliç University, Altınbaş University, Nişantaşı University, İstinye University, Bahçeşehir University, Bahçeşehir University (programme page), İstanbul Bilgi University, İstanbul Yeni Yüzyıl University. Where a university shows a list fee and a lower discounted or scholarship price, the table keeps the list fee.

On top of tuition, plan for a preparatory year if needed (Gelişim's 2025/26 list charges $1,750 for Turkish preparation; Yeni Yüzyıl charges $250 per Turkish level for 2026/27), housing, health insurance and the residence permit. Yeni Yüzyıl also lists a 50% scholarship column in its 2026/27 fee table; ask each university in writing which rate applies to you.

Graduates work in PR and communication agencies, in-house corporate communication teams, brand and marketing departments, NGOs and international organisations, event and sponsorship companies, and as social-media or content specialists. With experience, the path leads to account director, head of communications or crisis-communication consultant roles.

PR is not a licensed profession, so evidence matters: an internship, a portfolio of written work and campaigns, and languages. International graduates with fluent Turkish plus their home language are useful to agencies serving clients in both markets. Working in Turkey after graduation requires a work permit, which the employer applies for.