Radio, Television and Cinema in Turkey

Radio, Television and Cinema (Radyo, Televizyon ve Sinema, often shortened to RTC or RTS) is a four-year bachelor's in a faculty of communication that covers broadcasting, audio and podcasting, television and film production, media theory and media industries. English-taught options for 2026/27 are Istinye University at $7,000 a year and Bilgi University's Radio, Television and Film at $12,000; Turkish-taught programmes start at $3,500 on Gelisim's 2025/26 list.

If you mainly want to direct or shoot films, compare the film-school style degrees on our Film and Television page; RTC programmes give you a wider media base with film as one strand.

Istinye's English-taught plan shows the typical mix. The first year is communication theory and media basics (photography, media aesthetics, media law and ethics, computer graphics, media and film history). The second year brings the practical tools: screenwriting, editing, sound design, radio broadcasting and podcasting, and writing for television series.

From the third year the programme combines world and documentary cinema, the political economy of media and a short-film course with a long elective list that includes augmented and virtual reality, virtual filmmaking, AI and moving images, news writing and game studies. The last year is a graduation project, an internship and communication practice.

• Teaching language: only Istinye and Bilgi teach the degree in English in our catalogue; everything else needs Turkish at B2.
• Studio time: ask how many hours a week first-years get in the TV and radio studios, and whether equipment can be borrowed for personal projects.
• Fee list year: Istinye, Bilgi, Uskudar, Medipol and Yeni Yuzyil have published 2026/27 fees; Altinbas and Gelisim still show 2025/26 lists.
• Internship: Istinye builds an internship into the final year; check whether the university helps place you at a channel or production company.
• Elective depth: newer topics such as virtual production and XR vary a lot between programmes.

RTC programmes admit international applicants on the school diploma and transcript, sometimes with international exam scores instead. Istinye, for example, applied a minimum school average of 50% (or SAT, ACT, IB or TR-YÖS alternatives) in 2025/26 and says its criteria will be updated for 2026/27 under YÖK rules. For English-taught programmes you also need an accepted English test or the university's own exam; for Turkish-taught programmes, B2 Turkish or a preparatory year.

Graduates work as programme producers and assistant directors for TV channels and streaming platforms, as editors and sound designers, in radio and podcast production, in news and documentary teams, and in advertising and corporate video. Some move into media planning or research, or continue with a master's in cinema or media studies.

Many roles are contract-based, and a portfolio of produced work matters as much as the diploma. Working in Turkey after graduation requires a work permit obtained through the employer.

Several universities discount advance payment: Uskudar lists $3,800 instead of $4,200 and Medipol $4,950 instead of $5,500. Yeni Yuzyil's list shows $2,500 with its 50% scholarship. Bilgi also teaches Television Reporting and Programming in English at the same $12,000 fee, a closer fit if news is your focus.

A personal strategy, requirement checks, selection of agreed options, document preparation, applications, and support are provided under an agreement with StudyU. For RTC we match your interests (broadcast, audio, film or news) with the programme whose plan fits, confirm the language test each university accepts, and prepare the application file. Final answers come from others: the university on admission and discounts, the consulate on the student visa and the migration authority on residence.