High School Diploma Equivalency

All international undergraduate students ( except exchange students) have to submit their High School Diploma Equivalency Certificate (''Denklik'' in Turkish) together with other registration documents. The Equivalency Certificate verifies that your high school diploma / certificate is equivalent to those obtained in Turkey. If you have a Turkish high school diploma, you are not required to submit this document.

The High School Diploma Equivalency can be obtained before arrival in some countries where there is an Education Attaché at the Consulate / Embassy of the Republic of Turkey. However, since not every Turkish consulate issues the Equivalency Certificate, it is important to check with the consulate in the specific country. If the Education Attaché at the Consulate provides this service, you should make sure that you obtain your equivalence certificate before arriving in Turkey and submit it during registration.

Students can also obtain the Equivalency Certificate from the Provincial Director of National Education in Istanbul by applying with their high school diploma / transcripts and graduation exam results (with requirements varying from country to country). The application process in Istanbul would take longer time and might be harder due to the high number of students applying in Istanbul.

Please be aware that:

Although it is one of the registration documents, the university management will give you some time to finalize your process, but this won’t last long, thus, take it seriously and finalize it immediately!

Rules and regulations regarding the equivalency certificate are managed by the Turkish Ministry of Education and are subject to change frequently. Although there are some certain documents asked, the officers may ask for some extra documents and verification once they evaluate your documents.

Applying for the equivalency certificate is solely the student’s responsibility. Yet, as International Relations Office, we would do our best to guide and support you, please do not hesitate to come by and ask for help before it is too late!!

HOW TO OBTAIN MY EQUIVALENCY CERTIFICATE?

STEP1: Collect the Required Documents

  1. Application form. Download here. Fill out the application form.
  2. An ID document : Residence Permit Card OR your Turkish ID or Blue Card  or Passport ID  – Please copy your student visa page too if you have come to Turkey with a student visa.
  3. Passport page copies with your entry and exit stamps
  4. Diploma or document that states that the applicants are entitled to receive a diploma (diploma/school leaving certificate/testimonial) - With apostille, in the absence of apostille, approved by the ministry of education, the ministry of foreign affairs, or the embassy. (These documents must be completely uploaded in a way that approval / seal will appear clear. Otherwise, the equivalence procedures will be cancelled during the application.),
  5. Transcripts (must cover ALL high school years and must be stamped by Ministry of Education or Foreign Affairs or by the embassy.

  6. If you are under 18, additional documents can be asked from you: 

    • Identity card/passport of the mother/father for those under the age of 18,

    • Original and approved translation (if necessary) of the parental consent letter, university pre-registration document/student certificate for applicants who are under the age of 18 and will register in the university,

    • Original and approved translation of the custody document, proving that the letter was written by the parent who has custody for the student for those whose parents got divorced.

    • If there is a change in the surname in the education certificate and identity card/passport due to reasons such as marriage or divorce, the marriage certificate and/or identity register copy must be uploaded to the system.

    It is highly recommended to get the parental consent and birth certificate copies with their notarized translation and keep at least 3 copies of each of them for several purposes (equivalency, residence permit, university registrations etc.)

IMPORTANT NOTES:

  • Note 1: For Apostille Convention Signatory countries (see list here): your high school diploma and transcripts must be apostilled (mandatory according to Turkish Ministry of Education regulations). For countries who are not Apostille Convention Signatories: your high school diploma and transcripts must be approved/stamped by the Ministry of Education or Ministry of Foreign affairs or the embassy.

  • Note 2: The notarized translation of the diploma and the transcripts is required only when the documents are not in one of the following languages:

    • Arabic

    • English

    • German

    • French

  • Note 3: Students who have completed the A- and O-level track for the GCE (British Education System) must fulfil one of the following academic requirements:

    • Two A-Levels, One AS-Level and Two O-levels

    • Three A-Levels and One O-Level

    • Two A-Levels and Three O-Levels

  • Note 4: Although the above mentioned gradings have been evaluated for obtaining equivalence certificates so far, we will have a few suggestions for you due to the situations we have encountered before. All these suggestions are from our past experience. Since the legislation regarding equivalence may change, we must specify these for your convenience:

    - Make sure all documents in your possession have the necessary approvals. (Ministry of National Education, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Consulate, Notary Certified Translation etc.)

    - Please note that students who are studying in an international school within their country (any school that teaches a different curriculum rather than the national one) may be required to get a local equivalency paper. You can get this document from the Ministry of Education in the country your high school is located in. The document has to state that you are an official graduate and that your education in the school you attended gives you the same rights as a graduate from a local curriculum. Please also note that the equivalency centers can require specific sentences added to these letters in some cases, and this information is subject to change as a result, but our past experiences show that this type of information is usually sufficient.

For Pakistani Students

•  If you have an IB diploma, you will have to get it legalized. Your school can help you with this, within 6 months of your grades coming out. Once you have the legalized scores, you can get them approved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and apply for equivalency in Turkey.

•  If you are coming to university with 3 A Levels, get the IBCC equivalency. If you have 2 A levels, make sure you get the documents stamped from the Ministry of National Education, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or the Consulate. To do this, you will need to get your documents approved first by the British Council in Pakistan. You can contact them for more information about the process. If you are coming to university with 2 A Levels, make sure the documents come certified and stamped from Cambridge, British Council, Pearson, etc.

 

STEP 2: Submit your application

Option I -  Get your Equivalency from the Turkish Embassy/Consulate where you live

It is better and easier for you to apply while you are in your country. Please click here to see the list of the educational attachés in your country. If there is an educational attaché where you live, we recommend that you contact the attaché in your country by phone or mail prior to your application. You may need to take an appointment and get information in advance. You can find the required document list in this guideline. After receiving the equivalency certificate, you have to submit all the original documents as soon as possible to the Student Resources to complete your registration.

            Note: The documents to be requested for applications made outside of Turkey are determined by the embassy/consulate/education attaché. You have to contact them for this. The list of required documents regarding equivalence specified in this guide is valid for applications in Turkey. However, before you go to the embassy/consulate/attaché, you can get an idea about your application for the equivalence certificate by looking at the list of documents there.

Option II – Get your equivalency in Turkey 

If there is not an Educational Attaché in your home country or they do not provide any services about it, you should apply for the certificate as soon as you arrive in Turkey. You must make an online application, upload your documents and make an appointment from the Ministry of Education Office.

Here are the steps to obtain the equivalency certificate by online application:

You should provide with your foreign ID number which is obtained by a valid residence permit card. If you applied for a residence permit and if it is approved but your card is at the printing stage, you can also use your MÜRACAAT BELGESİ (Application Document) which has also your Foreign ID number. à Ministry of Education used to accept applications with student registration document or student visa until this year, yet, they changed the implementation this year and started to ask for Foreign ID number (in other words, Residence Permit Number or Yabancı Kimlik No in Turkish).

If you have Turkish citizenship ID /Blue Card, please go head and apply with your ID, you do not need to apply for residence permit anyway.

Please click here to make an online application.

The online application website is https://edenklik.meb.gov.tr/

Enter your personal information. Make sure you enter a valid Turkish mobile number, as the appointment details will be sent to your phone via SMS.

After entering personal information, please upload the required documents stated in the next pages.

Select the Equivalency Center: If you are in Istanbul, (suggested district) select “BÜYÜKŞEHİR” center àThe Ministry of Education Office (İl Milli Eğitim Müdürlüğü) is located in: Binbirdirek M.İmran Öktem C.No1 Eski Adliye Binası Sultanahmet/Fatih/İSTANBUL Click here to see it on map)

Once you select an appointment date, the system will generate a Registration Number. Take a screenshot of the page and write down the registration number. Print it out if possible.

If you already have a residence permit (short term, student type, family permit, house ownership-based residence permits etc.) and other required documents, do not wait for your university registration and start your equivalency application now.

After completing your online application, please prepare all the original documents, and go in person to the equivalency center on your appointment date.

The staff at the equivalence center will return all your original documents to you after verifying the authenticity of your documents.

After your documents are verified, you will be able to check your application by entering the Registration Number on the online application system and then will be able to download your “Equivalency certificate” .pdf file to your computer.

After downloading your result .pdf file, please send it to irolegal@sabanciuniv.edu and studentinfo@sabanciuniv.edu immediately.