Overseas Exchange Outgoing Student Applications for 2026-2027 Academic Year (with Non-European Countries)
Overseas Exchange Outgoing Student Applications for 2026-2027 Academic Year
(with Non-European Countries)
Please note that this application is NOT for Erasmus+ with/without European Countries. Overseas Exchange is a non-granted program (without scholarship) conducted within the framework of bilateral agreements among the universities and it is different from Erasmus+ Programs.
INFORMATION SESSIONS
For the details of face-to-face Information sessions, you can visit the link below:
https://ico.metu.edu.tr/duyuru/information-sessions-erasmus-ka171-icm-pr...
In addition to face-to-face meetings, an online info session will be delivered on 31 October Friday at 10.30-12.00 through Teams platform:
METU International Cooperations Office sizi bir Microsoft Teams Toplantısına davet etti:
Information Session for Erasmus+ ICM Noneuropean Program and Overseas Exchange Program
31 Ekim 2025 Cuma
10:30 - 12:00 (TMT)
Toplantı bağlantısı:
Avrupa Dışı Değişim Programları Bilgilendirme Toplantısı (Non-european Mobility Programs- Information Session) | Toplantıya Katıl | Microsoft Teams
APPLICATION CRITERIA
Students can apply for Overseas Exchange Program only if:
- CGPA is at least 2.50 as of the application deadline (undergraduate level)
- CGPA is at least 3.00 as of the application deadline (graduate level)
Applicants must be registered at METU as full-degree students at the time of application.
The student must have completed at least 1 semester in the program they are enrolled in. During the application, the students must have a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) in the program they are enrolled in and must be continuing their education on the same level of education in the following year.
Conditional Program (Bilimsel Hazırlık) students and students studying in the Department of Basic English are NOT eligible to apply due to the fact that they do not have a cumulative grade point average (CGPA).
Please note that students can only participate in the Program during their studies at the same level (undergraduate students can participate in the program during their undergraduate studies, master's students can participate in the program during their master's studies, PhD students can participate in the program during their PhD studies).
APPLICATION CALENDAR
Applications are taken for the next academic year; 2026-2027 Academic Year.
Application Period: 3-28 November, 2025 (by 17.00).
Announcement of Application Results: End of December / Beginning of January (expected).
Withdrawal Period: 5-23 January, 2026.
Students who would like to withdraw from the programme should inform ICO about withdrawal decision latest by January 27, 2025. Please bear in mind that students who withdraw from the program without a forced major reason after 27 January 2026 will lose 10 points in their next Overseas Exchange applications at the same study cycle.
Students must submit their application online between 3-28 November 2025 through ONLINE APPLICATION PLATFORM- https://student.metu.edu.tr/ (#412 Overseas Exchange) (the link will be active in the application period). The application platform will be closed on 28 November 2025, at 17.00 and you will not be able to upload any documents or make any changes in your application, after this time.
Additional application documents (e.g. language document, the health report for disability) should not be physically transmitted, but uploaded to the relevant section of the Application System. Documents which are not submitted to the application portal will not be accepted.
ENGLISH PROFICIENCY EXAM
International Cooperations Office is no longer holding English Proficiency Exam for Exchange Programs (EPEEP) based on the University Senate decision given on December 29, 2021. No EPEEP exam has been held starting from 2022.
However, students interested in applying to ICO programs such as Erasmus+ and Overseas Exchange will be able to bring any English language score taken within the last 5 years before the application period. These scores must be one of the METU recognized exams. Please check which exams are recognized by METU from the link and prepare your valid score. The online system will take your highest score if you select your available score to be counted for Erasmus+/Overseas Exchange application assessment and ask the system to do so. If not, you will be able to upload your language score which is recognized by METU on the application system which will be checked for the validity and eligibility by ICO and converted to METU IYS exam based on the table below. The table below will be used for conversion of METU's recognised exams into a grading scale ranging from 1 to 100, the highest score. Then the online system will calculate its 50% for the selection purposes (see Selection Criteria section) as explained below:
Equivalance Table for METU IYS to other English exams
IELTS results are not accepted for Overseas Exchange applications.
According to the decision taken by the University Exchange Programs Committee on 10 October 2022, in addition to the exams that are recognized by METU, ICO will accept English language exams that are organized by OSYM (YDS/e-YDS/YÖKDİL). Students interested in applying to ICO programs such as Erasmus+ and Overseas Exchange will be able to submit any of these English language scores taken within the last 5 years before the application period deadlines.
Please check which exams are organized by OSYM from the link and prepare your valid score.
All applicants must submit a valid English language score. Language scores and documents must be submitted to the application system during the application period. Any language document submitted to the ICO physically after the application deadline will not be accepted.
PARTNER UNIVERSITIES
At most 4 universities can be chosen. Please bear in mind that students will be placed in one of their choices according to the order of their preferences. Hence, we advise that the most desired institution to be listed as your first choices. Students, who are already placed in one of the institutions WILL NOT HAVE A CHANCE TO CHANGE THEIR INSTITUTIONS. THERE WILL BE NO SECOND ROUND OF PLACEMENT EITHER.
List of partner universities and country quotas can be seen HERE
Partner university fact sheets can be seen HERE
The link for FactSheets: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1nNV1EuZnS57FLbQp7iVUsZu9WQiSBHfX...
There are nomination and application deadlines for each of METU’s partner universities. Applicants are expected to check the partner info and fact sheets as well as the University websites to learn more about the application deadlines and make the appropriate semester choice for their applications based on the deadlines.
It is also important to consult departmental exchange programs coordinator about the university choices. List for departmental exchange programs coordinators can be found in: http://ico.metu.edu.tr/departmental-coordinators
Online applications will be reviewed by Departmental Erasmus+/Exchange Coordinators. The Coordinators are authorized to decline the applications of the students if they do not approve the universities or the academic background/status of the students. To learn more about the departmental restrictions, you can check the website below (an appointment with the coordinator is still advised): http://ico.metu.edu.tr/departments-restrictions-outgoing-students-0
However, please bear in mind that not all the departmental restrictions might be listed in the above link. Therefore, you are strongly recommended to contact your own departments to see if there are any other restrictions.
Students must be sure that the university they applied to offers education on their level and in a relevant department. Availability of a university in the list does not imply that the said university offers education in all the departments and on all levels of education. Students must check the University websites and fact sheets and be sure that there is a suitable program and course list convenient for their own academic program and level.
Students can only apply for their current level of education. Undergraduate students cannot apply for a master or PhD level program. But after being selected for the program, it is possible to take courses on different levels providing that METU and the host university approve of it.
Host university can demand student’s transcript in order to track student’s academic status and success, and this can affect the acceptance process.
Partner universities may require a language proficiency exam grade document for your language of education (TOEFL, etc.). It is not possible for the student to study in a university if they cannot meet the language requirement for the said university. Since language proficiency requirements differ among universities, it is necessary to check the university’s website for the language requirements before application and to make sure the language requirements can be fulfilled/documented before the deadline.
***Agreements within the framework of Overseas Exchange Program are generally established as “all departments”. This means that all students can apply, and no one is given priority over the others, unless stated otherwise in the “Restrictions” section of the agreement list in the announcement. However, before applying for those universities, please make sure that there is a department (or at least courses) at the partner university corresponding to your department and level at METU. The fact that you are given the chance to apply for such universities does not guarantee that the university accepts you. The applicants are required to check the conditions of the partner universities (i.e. medium of instruction, language requirement, academic calendar, accommodation opportunities etc.) before submitting their applications.
E.g. :
X University
Application criteria: CGPA: 3,00/4,00
Student placed in X University CGPA: 2,90/4,00
In this case, even if you are placed in X University, which requires min CGPA to be 3,00/4,00 for UG, you may not be accepted to the university since your CGPA is less than 3,00/4,00. For this reason, students must check the university list announced by ICO, and the websites of the universities.
SELECTION CRITERIA
50% of CGPA and 50% of the English language test score are taken into account in selecting prospective Overseas Exchange Program students.
Weighted CGPA is calculated for each applicant depending on the average CGPA in his/her departmental cohort.
In order to calculate the 50% of the CGPA, a coefficient is applied on the CGPA according to the applicants' department and semester information as below:
Student CGPA: 3.15
Average CGPA of the same department & semester: 2.89
Ratio: 3.15 / 2.89 = 1.09
25(*) + 1.09=26.09
Overall Score: 3.15 x 26.09 = 82.18
(*) the convergent factor to calculate 50% of the CGPA = 25
¨
Applicants with disabilities (approved by medical report) get 10 additional points. Medical reports concerning their disability must be submitted to the online application system during the application period.
- 1 5 points will be added to the overall score of the students who are the children of martyrs and veterans. The proving documents must be submitted to the online application system during the application period.
- 10 points will be added to the overall score of the students who have been under protection by 2828 Social Services Law. The proving documents must be submitted to the online application system during the application period.
- 10 points will be added to the overall score of the students who themselves or their first-degree relatives receive disaster aid from AFAD. The proving documents (the document which shows the AFAD aid could be downloaded from e-devlet system) must be submitted to the online application system during the application period. (This is only a one-time application. If the applicant received this additional point for the previous applications and selected for the mobility, 10 point will not be added for the new application!!!)
- 10 points will be deduced from the overall grade of the students who have benefited from Overseas Exchange Program before within the same study level. Previous participation in the program in different study levels and programs (such as Erasmus+) does not cause any deduction in the overall grade.
- 10 points will be deduced from the overall grade of the students who have withdrawn from the program after the announced deadline for the previous Overseas Exchange applications.
- 10 point will be deduced from the overall grade of those international students who apply for the countries that they have their citizenships.
IMPORTANT POINTS
Please bear in mind that students:
Should have METU course load of minimum 30 ECTS for the semester in which s/he plans to participate exchange. Those MS and PhD students who completed their course load and in thesis period can also apply as their thesis satisfies the ECTS requirement. However, those students should find a proper thesis advisor at the host institution and get an approval from their thesis advisor at METU before the exchange period.
Should take 30 ECTS course/or 5 courses (when the host university does not use ECTS) at the host university.
Make sure that 30 ECTS courses will be recognized by their departments upon successfully completion.
GRANT & EXPENSES
Overseas Exchange Program is a non-granted (without scholarship) program. Students are responsible for all living, accommodation and personal expenses while at the host institution.
Within the framework of Overseas Exchange Program, selected students are exempt from paying tuition fees to the partner universities (except a few universities like USA/IIT). But exchange students must pay their regular tuition fee to METU for each semester spent at the exchange program. This is supposed to be paid at the beginning of the academic semester.
Please also be kindly reminded that participants are responsible for arranging their travel and METU International Cooperations Office is not responsible for travel arrangements and purchasing plane ticket.
INFO SHEET FOR OVERSEAS EXCHANGE PROGRAM
For more information about the program please read our INFO SHEET.
