2025-2026 Graduate School Academic Calendar

2025-2026 academic year fall semester application period for international graduate students.

Submission of fully completed forms for the new courses planned to be offered in the Fall Semester of the 2025–2026 Academic Year to the Graduate School. New course proposals will not be considered after this date.

Submission of the fully completed forms for the new courses planned to be offered in the Fall Semester of the 2025–2026 Academic Year to the Education Commission No new course proposals will be considered after this date.

Opening the entry access to the course request collection screens for the detailed list of courses to be offered in the Summer School of the 2025–2026 Academic Year

Opening the entry access to the course request collection screens for the detailed list of courses to be offered in the Fall Semester of the 2025–2026 Academic Year

Application period for Turkish citizens to apply to Graduate Doctorate Programs for the Fall Semester of the 2025–2026 Academic Year

Application period for Turkish citizens to the Graduate Master's programs for the Fall Semester of the 2025–2026 Academic Year

Acceptance and registration of international graduate students for the Fall Semester of the 2025–2026 Academic Year. All visa procedures, university enrollment, and financial transactions must be completed by this date, and students must have finalized their registration with the university.

Democracy and National Unity Day (national holiday)

Turkish Proficiency Exam for students accepted into Turkish-medium graduate programs. The written exam will be held at 09:00, and the oral exam will be held at 13:00.

Announcement of the results of the Turkish Proficiency Exam held on Thursday, 07 August 2025.

English Proficiency Exam for students admitted to graduate programs conducted in English. Written exam at 09:00 and oral exam at 13:00.

Announcement of the English Proficiency Exam results held on Friday, 15 August 2025.

Submission of fully completed forms for the new courses planned to be offered in the Spring Semester of the 2025–2026 Academic Year to the Graduate School. No proposals for opening new courses will be considered after this date.

The period when graduate students who have reached the thesis stage must select and receive approval for their thesis advisors via the system. Students who receive thesis advisor approval are required to register for their thesis courses during the course registration week.

Turkish Proficiency Exam for students admitted to graduate programs in Turkish. The written exam will be held at 09:00 and the oral exam will be held at 13:00

Announcement of the Turkish Proficiency Exam results held on Monday, 28 August 2025.

Victory Day (national holiday)

Submission of fully completed forms for the new courses planned to be offered in the Spring Semester of the 2025–2026 Academic Year to the Education Committee. No new course proposals will be considered after this date.

Submission of applications for transfers between thesis and non-thesis programs for the Fall Semester of the 2025–2026 Academic Year

Announcement of the evaluation results for transfers between thesis and non-thesis programs for the Fall Semester of the 2025–2026 Academic Year.

Registration dates for transfers between thesis and non-thesis programs for the Fall Semester of the 2025–2026 Academic Year

Turkish Proficiency Exam for international students admitted to graduate programs conducted in Turkish. The written exam will be held at 09:00 and the oral exam will be held at 13:00.

Deadline for completing admissions and university registrations for Master’s programs for the Fall Semester of the 2025–2026 Academic Year. All students must be entered into the system in order to register for courses; therefore, all admission and registration procedures for Turkish citizens must be finalized before the start of course registration.

Deadline for completing admissions and university registrations for Doctoral programs for the Fall Semester of the 2025–2026 Academic Year. All students must be entered into the system in order to register for courses; therefore, all admission and registration procedures for Turkish citizens must be finalized before the start of course registration.

The results of the Turkish Proficiency Exam held on Thursday, 18 September 2025 will be announced on the “Announcements” section of the “turkmer.bau.edu.tr” website.

Online English Proficiency Exam for students applied to English-medium graduate programs (Distance Education Programs). The written exam will be held at 09:00, and the oral exam will be held at 13:00.

Turkish Proficiency Exam for international students admitted to graduate Turkish-medium programs.
Written exam will be held at 09:00 and oral exam will be held at 13:00.

Deadline for Turkish and International graduate students to fulfill their financial obligations. Students who do not complete this process will not be able to register for courses.

Announcement of the results of the Turkish Proficiency Exam held on 25 September, 2025 Thursday on the "announcements" section of the "turkmer.bau.edu.tr" website.

Deadline for coordinators to submit Spring semester courses to the Institute

Announcement of the results of the Online English Proficiency Exam held on Monday, 24 September, 2025.

English Proficiency Exam for students applied to graduate English programs. The written exam will be held at 09:00 and the oral exam will be held at 13:00.

2025–2026 Academic Year Fall Semester course registration period for graduate students (including international, Erasmus, and World Exchange students). Graduate students who have reached the thesis stage in their programs are required to assign their thesis advisors through the system, obtain approval, and register for thesis and seminar courses via the course registration system.

Announcement of the English Proficiency Exam results held on Saturday, 27 September 2025.

Deadline for submitting the list of students participating in Erasmus, World Exchange, and similar exchange programs to the Student Affairs Office.

Start of classes for graduate students in the Fall Semester of the 2025–2026 Academic Year.

Start of English Preparatory Program classes

The start of Turkish Preparatory Program classes

Entering the detailed list of courses to be offered in the Spring semester of the 2025–2026 academic year into the course request collection screen

The course syllabus must be uploaded to the Student Information System. This is important and must be completed for every course.

ADD-DROP week. The system is opened for students who cannot select a course or want to make changes to the course they have taken during the 29 September- 05 October 2025 course registration period.

Late registration for International Graduate students for the Fall Semester of the 2025-2026 Academic Year.

Courses with insufficient student enrollment during the add-drop week will be closed on Thursday, 16 October 2025, and these courses will be dropped from the enrolled students' schedules. Although students will be notified via SMS, it is the student's responsibility to check whether a course has been closed.

Turkish Proficiency Exam for international students admitted to graduate Turkish-medium programs.
Written exam will be held at 09:00 and oral exam will be held at 13:00.

Final deadline for students who registered for courses during the ADD-DROP or similar periods to fulfill their financial obligations. Students who fail to meet their financial responsibilities will have their registered courses dropped, and will be recorded as “not registered for courses” for that semester. Regardless of whether the registration was done automatically by the system or manually by the student, students are responsible for any courses not dropped by this date. Scholarship students, in particular, must pay close attention to their course registrations under these conditions.

The results of the Turkish Proficiency Exam held on Thursday, 16 October, 2025 will be announced on the "announcements" section of the "turkmer.bau.edu.tr" website

English Proficiency Exam for students admitted to graduate programs conducted in English.
Written Exam will be held at 09:00 and oral exam will be held at 13:00.

Submission of midterm exam planning requests to the Graduate School.

Announcement of the results of the English Proficiency Exam held on Saturday, 18 October, 2025.

Entering requests related to the planning of midterm exams into the UMIS exam request collection screen

Application period for international prospective students to apply to Graduate Programs for the Spring Semester of the 2025–2026 Academic Year.

Submission of final/end-of-semester planning requests to the Graduate School

Republic Day Eve (no classes).

Republic Day (national holiday)

Deadline for submitting applications to suspend fall semester studies during the 2025-2026 academic year

Courses scheduled for Tuesday, 28 October 2025, will be conducted online.

Entering end-of-semester (final) exam planning requests into the UMIS exam request collection system

Courses scheduled for Wednesday, 29 October 2025, will be conducted online.

Atatürk Commemoration Day

Midterm week (no classes)

Turkish Proficiency Exam for international students admitted to graduate Turkish-medium programs.
Written exam will be held at 09:00 and oral exam will be held at 13:00.

The results of the Turkish Proficiency Exam held on Thursday, 04 December, 2026 will be announced on the "announcements" section of the "turkmer.bau.edu.tr" website.

The last day to withdraw (W) from a course registered in the 2025–2026 Fall Semester. (The process must be completed via UMIS.)

Deadline for submitting the “PhD Qualifying Exam Jury Proposal Form” with wet signature to the Graduate Education Institute for students who will take the PhD Qualifying Exam

Deadline for students who have selected the Doctoral Qualifying course to apply to their thesis advisor via the UMIS system.

English Proficiency Exam for students applied to graduate programs conducted in English. Written Exam will be held at 09:00 and oral exam will be held at 13:00.

Last day of format check of theses for Master's and Doctoral students who will take thesis defense exams.
Deadline for submission of the Turnitin Report and Jury Recommendation Form by the thesis advisor.

Application period for Graduate Programs for the 2025–2026 Spring Semester.

Announcement of the results of the English Proficiency Exam held on Saturday, 20 December, 2025.

Graduate School courses will not be held.

New Year's Day (no classes)

Courses scheduled for Wednesday, 31 December 2025, will be conducted online.

Announcement of the 2025–2026 Fall Semester final exam schedule to students

Early final exams for Associate and Undergraduate students who are coming to the university through Erasmus, World Exchange, Winter School, or similar programs and who will be going abroad under the same programs. Only students whose departure is confirmed and supported with official documentation from their institutions are eligible for these exams. Early final exams are not granted to every student going abroad—only to those whose academic calendars conflict with the university’s exam period. A list of such students must be submitted by the Office of International Academic Relations and Programs to the Rectorate no later than Friday, December 26, 2025, for distribution to the relevant academic units. The departments will inform the students listed of the scheduled date of their early final exams. Students who are granted early final exam rights must take all their final exams during this early exam period. They cannot take exams during the regular final exam period.

Turkish Proficiency Exam for international students admitted to graduate Turkish-medium programs.
Written exam will be held at 09:00 and oral exam will be held at 13:00.

The results of the Turkish Proficiency Exam held on Thursday, 08 January, 2026 will be announced on the "announcements" section of the "turkmer.bau.edu.tr" website.

Courses scheduled for Thursday, 01 January 2026, will be conducted online.

End of Fall Semester classes for the English Preparatory Program.

English Proficiency Exam for students applied to graduate programs conducted in English. Written Exam will be held at 09:00 and oral exam will be held at 13:00.

Spring Semester 2025–2026 Academic Year: Admission and registration for international graduate students. By this date, all international students must have completed their visa procedures, university enrollment, and financial transactions, and finalized their official registration with the university.

Last day of classes for the Fall Semester of the 2025-2026 Academic Year.

Announcement of the results of the English Proficiency Exam held on Thursday, 15 January, 2026

Master's and Doctoral thesis defense exams
Conducting Doctoral Thesis Monitoring Committee (TİK) and Doctoral Qualification Exams

Turkish Proficiency Exam for international students admitted to graduate Turkish-medium programs. Written exam will be held at 09:00 and oral exam will be held at 13:00.

English Proficiency Exam for students admitted to graduate programs conducted in English. Written Exam will be held at 09:00 and oral exam will be held at 13:00.

The results of the Turkish Proficiency Exam held on Thursday, 22 January, 2026 will be announced on the "announcements" section of the "turkmer.bau.edu.tr" website.

End of the Fall Semester courses for the Turkish Preparatory Program.

Announcement of the English Proficiency Exam results held on Saturday, 22 January 2026.

Final exams for 2025-2026 academic year fall semester graduate programs

Deadline for submission of Master's Projects.

Updating of GPAs based on the 2025–2026 Fall Semester make-up exam results (must be completed by 20:00 on Monday, 02 February 2026).

Final grade entry deadline for the Fall semester (by 09:00 a.m.)

Announcement of Fall semester final grades (20:00)

2025-2026 academic year fall semester make-up exams (The system will remain open to enter make-up grades.)

Graduate students who have reached the thesis stage must designate their thesis advisor and obtain approval through the system within the specified date range. Students who receive advisor approval are required to select their thesis courses during the course registration week.

Deadline for entering fall semester final grades (by 12:00 at noon)

Announcement of the 2025–2026 Fall Semester make-up exam grades (20:00)

Applications for 2025-2026 Fall Semester ADDITIONAL Exams.

Doctorate:
• Proficiency,
• Thesis Proposal,
• Thesis Monitoring documents/reports — final deadline for submission with wet signatures to the Graduate School.

Last day for the submission of Master's Project documents to the institute by the course instructor

Submission of applications for thesis/non-thesis track transfer for the Spring Semester of the 2025–2026 Academic Year

Announcement of the evaluation results for thesis/non-thesis track transfer for the Spring Semester of the 2025–2026 Academic Year

Deadline for the submission of the list of students who will be going abroad with programs like Erasmus, World Exchange, etc. to the Student Affairs Office.

Final deadline for students who have successfully passed their Master's or Doctoral thesis defense to submit the required number of printed and digital copies of their thesis, prepared in accordance with the formatting guidelines, to the Graduate School.

Announcement of the list of courses for which additional exams will be held and the list of students eligible to take them.

Registration dates for thesis/non-thesis track transfer for the Spring Semester of the 2025–2026 Academic Year

Administration of the Additional Exams for the Fall Semester of the 2025–2026 Academic Year

Deadline for all students to fulfill outstanding financial obligations and financial responsibilities for the 2025–2026 Spring semester. Students who do not meet their financial obligations before the course registration period will not be granted access to the UMIS system, and they will not be able to register for courses during the regular registration period.

Start of English Preparatory Program spring semester classes

Turkish Proficiency Exam for international students admitted to graduate Turkish-medium programs. Written exam will be held at 09:00 and oral exam will be held at 13:00.

The results of the Turkish Proficiency Exam held on Thursday, 05 February, 2026 will be announced on the "announcements" section of the "turkmer.bau.edu.tr" website.

Start of Turkish Preparatory Program spring semester classes

Online English Proficiency Exam for students admitted to English-medium graduate programs (Distance Education Programs). The written exam will be held at 09:00, and the oral exam will be held at 13:00.

Announcement of the results of the Online English Proficiency Exam held on Wednesday, 11 February, 2026.

English Proficiency Exam for students admitted to graduate programs conducted in English. Written Exam will be held at 09:00 and oral exam will be held at 13:00.

Deadline for graduate students with financial issues to resolve their problems. Students who fail to do so will not be able to view their course performance after the end-of-term (final) exams

Announcement of the English Proficiency Exam results held on Saturday, 19 February, 2026.

Spring Semester course registration period for graduate students (including international, Erasmus, and World Exchange students). Students in master's programs who have reached the thesis stage must assign an advisor through the system, obtain approval, and select their thesis and seminar courses through the course registration system.

Start of Spring semester classes in graduate programs.

English Proficiency Exam for students applying to go abroad through the Erasmus & World Exchange programs.

Turkish Proficiency Exam for international students admitted to graduate Turkish-medium programs. Written exam will be held at 09:00 and oral exam will be held at 13:00.

The results of the Turkish Proficiency Exam held on Thursday, 05 March 2026 will be announced on the "announcements" section of the "turkmer.bau.edu.tr" website.

English Proficiency Exam for students admitted to graduate programs conducted in English. Written Exam will be held at 09:00 and oral exam will be held at 13:00.

Late registration for International Graduate students for the Spring Semester of the 2025-2026 Academic Year.

ADD-DROP Week: During the course registration period (23 February-01 March 2026), the system will be open for students who could not register or wish to make changes to their registered courses.

Announcement of the results of the English Proficiency Exam held on Thursday, 07, March, 2026.

Submission of requests related to the planning of midterm exams to the Graduate School.

Courses with insufficient student enrollment during the add-drop week will be closed on Thursday, 12 March 2026, and these courses will be dropped from the enrolled students' schedules. Although students will be notified via SMS, it is the student's responsibility to check whether a course has been closed.

Application period for international graduate program applicants for the 2026–2027 Academic Year Fall Semester.

Entering midterm exam planning requests into the UMIS exam request collection screen.

Eve of Eid al-Fitr (Ramadan) - (no classes)

Eid al-Fitr (Ramadan) (Religious holiday - Friday and Saturday)

Submission of requests related to final/semester-end exam planning to the Graduate School

Deadline to submit applications for suspending studies during the 2025-2026 academic year spring semester

March 19, 2026, Thursday (Eid Eve): Classes scheduled for this day will be conducted online.

Submission of requests related to final/semester-end exam planning to the UMIS exam request collection screen.

Classes scheduled for Friday, 20 March 2026, will be conducted online.

Classes scheduled for Saturday, 21 March 2026 will be conducted online. (19.00-22.00)

Midterm week (no classes)

National Sovereignty and Children's Day (national holiday)

Labor and Solidarity Day (Public Holiday)

English Proficiency Exam for students admitted to graduate programs conducted in English. Written Exam will be held at 09:00 and oral exam will be held at 13:00.

Deadline to submit applications for withdrawal (W) from spring semester courses to the Graduate School

Classes scheduled for Friday, 01 May 2026, will be conducted online.

Announcement of the result of the English Proficiency Exam held on Thursday, 07 May, 2026.

Submission of courses to be offered in the 2025–2026 Academic Year Summer School to the Graduate School

End of the Spring semester classes for the English Preparatory Program

Turkish Proficiency Exam for students accepted into Turkish-medium graduate programs. The written exam will be held at 09:00, and the oral exam will be held at 13:00.

Deadline for students who selected the Doctoral Proficiency course to apply for a thesis advisor via the UMIS system

Deadline for submission of the “Doctoral Proficiency Exam Jury Recommendation Form” with a wet signature to the Graduate Education Institute by students who will take the Doctoral Proficiency Exam.

The results of the Turkish Proficiency Exam held on Thursday, 14 May 2026 will be announced on the “Announcements” section of the “turkmer.bau.edu.tr” website.

Classes scheduled for Tuesday, 19 May 2026, will be conducted online.

Last day of format check of theses for Master's and Doctoral students who will take thesis defense exams.
Deadline for submission of the Turnitin Report and Jury Recommendation Form by the thesis advisor.

Announcement of the 2025–2026 Spring Semester final exam schedule to students

Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day (national holiday)

Entering the detailed list of courses to be offered in the 2025–2026 academic year Summer School into the course request collection screen.

Eid-al-Adha Eve (half-day)

Eid-al-Adha (religious holiday)

Start of English Preparatory Program summer school classes

End of Spring semster classes for the Turkish Preparatory Program

Turkish Proficiency Exam for students accepted into Turkish-medium graduate programs. The written exam will be held at 09:00, and the oral exam will be held at 13:00.

Early final exam dates for Erasmus or World Exchange (or other similar programs) associate and bachelor's degree students who will be going abroad by way of the same program - To be eligible to sit these exams, students' departure dates must be confirmed and verified by means of a document from their institutions. NOT all students going abroad are eligible to take these exams; only those who have conflicts or overlaps in their class schedules. The International Programs Office is required to submit a list of students who will be taking these exams to the Office of the President by Thursday, 21 May 2026. The concerned students, instructors, and departments will be notified of the planned exam dates. These students must take all their final exams on these early dates and are not eligible to sit them during the finals scheduled at the normal time.

Master's and Doctoral thesis defense exams
Conducting Doctoral Thesis Monitoring Committee (TİK) and Doctoral Qualification Exams

The results of the Turkish Proficiency Exam held on Monday, 08 June 2026 will be announced on the “Announcements” section of the “turkmer.bau.edu.tr” website.

English Proficiency Exam for students admitted to graduate programs conducted in English. Written Exam will be held at 09:00 and oral exam will be held at 13:00.

Announcement of the result of the English Proficiency Exam held on Saturday, 13 June 2026.

Last day of Spring Semester classes for the 2025–2026 academic year

Start of Turkish Preparatory Program summer school classes

Turkish Proficiency Exam for students accepted into Turkish-medium graduate programs. The written exam will be held at 09:00, and the oral exam will be held at 13:00.

The results of the Turkish Proficiency Exam held on Monday, 22 June 2026 will be announced on the “Announcements” section of the “turkmer.bau.edu.tr” website.

Final exams for 2025-2026 academic year spring semester graduate courses

Deadline for master's projects submissions.

Deadline for entering final spring semester grades (by 09:00 a.m.)

Announcement of Spring Semester end-of-term (final) grades (20:00)

End of English Preparatory Program summer school classes

2025-2026 academic year spring semester make-up exams (System will remain open for the entry of make-up exam grades.)

Democracy and National Unity Day (public holiday)

Deadline for the submission of doctoral qualification requirements, thesis proposals, and the signed thesis monitoring documents/reports to the Graduate School.

Last day for the submission of Master's Project documents to the institute by the course instructor

Deadline for students who have successfully defended their master's or doctoral thesis to submit the required number of properly formatted printed and digital copies of their thesis to the Graduate School.

The last day for the announcement of the weekly schedule of the courses planned to be offered in the 2025–2026 Academic Year Summer School by the Academic Planning Directorate to students.

GPAs are updated according to the 2025-2026 academic year spring semester make-up exam results (by 20:00). Announcement of spring semester final make-up grades (20:00)

Submission of applications for the 2025–2026 Spring Semester ADDITIONAL exams

Deadline for entering make-up exam grades (by 10:00)

Announcement of make-up grades for the spring semester (23.59)

Submission of graduating class student rankings according to the decisions of the boards of directors of the relevant academic units to the Office of the President and the Registrar’s Office. Time 12:00 o’clock noon. Rankings of the students cannot be changed after this decision has been finalized. The rankings of intermediate classes will be finalized at the end of October of the new academic year.

End of the Summer School courses for the Turkish Preparatory Program.

Announcement of the list of courses for which additional exams will be held and the list of students eligible to take them.

Administration of the Additional Exams for the Spring Semester of the 2025–2026 Academic Year

Turkish Proficiency Exam for students accepted into Turkish-medium graduate programs. The written exam will be held at 09:00, and the oral exam will be held at 13:00.

The results of the Turkish Proficiency Exam held on Monday, 06 July 2026 will be announced on the “Announcements” section of the “turkmer.bau.edu.tr” website.

English Proficiency Exam for students admitted to graduate programs conducted in English. Written Exam will be held at 09:00 and oral exam will be held at 13:00.

Turkish Proficiency Exam for students accepted into Turkish-medium graduate programs. The written exam will be held at 09:00, and the oral exam will be held at 13:00.

The results of the Turkish Proficiency Exam held on Monday, 20 July 2026 will be announced on the “Announcements” section of the “turkmer.bau.edu.tr” website.

Announcement of the result of the English Proficiency Exam held on Thursday, 18 July 2026.

Summer school course registrations. There is no ADD-DROP period or course withdrawal in summer school. (Students who apply for the Additional Exam must also register for summer school courses. If they graduate based on the Additional Exam results, they must have the relevant summer school course(s) removed from their records by the Student Affairs Office.)

Summer school course registrations - There is no ADD-DROP period and no withdrawals (W) from courses in summer school.

Courses that do not meet the opening requirements for the summer school and need to be closed will be removed by the Academic Planning Directorate around 11:00. Students whose courses are dropped will be informed via SMS. Students must check their course schedules on the system one last time on Thursday, 23 July 2026. If a course is dropped due to not opening, the student may select another course through the system on the same day. Courses that do not meet the requirements but remain open will not be counted towards course load and will not be subject to payment.

Start of summer school classes

Summer school for graduate students. Final exams in summer school will take place during the last week. There will be no make-up exam.

English Proficiency Exam for students admitted to graduate programs conducted in English. Written Exam will be held at 09:00 and oral exam will be held at 13:00.

Last day of format check of theses for Master's and Doctoral students who will take thesis defense exams.
Deadline for submission of the Turnitin Report and Jury Recommendation Form by the thesis advisor.

Announcement of the result of the English Proficiency Exam held on Thursday, 13 August 2026.

Master's thesis defense examinations will be conducted.
Doctoral Thesis Monitoring Committee (TİK) examinations will be held.

Turkish Proficiency Exam for students accepted into Turkish-medium graduate programs. The written exam will be held at 09:00, and the oral exam will be held at 13:00.

The results of the Turkish Proficiency Exam held on Thursday 27 August 2026 will be announced on the “Announcements” section of the “turkmer.bau.edu.tr” website.

Victory Day (national holiday)

Last day of summer school classes

The final grade entry deadline for the courses taken in the summer school (17:59).

Announcement of grades for the courses taken in the summer school (12:00)

Deadline for the submission of the required number of written and digital copies of the properly formatted master's and doctoral theses of students who have successfully defended their thesis to the Graduate School.

Doctorate:
• Thesis Proposal,
• Thesis Monitoring documents/reports – final date for submission of wet-signed copies to the Graduate School.