16 new departments will accept students for the first time in YKS preferences: Undergraduate and associate degree programs opened by YÖK

The Council of Higher Education (YÖK) announced that 16 new undergraduate and associate degree programs will accept students for the first time in the 2026 Higher Education Institutions Examination (YKS) selection process. According to Hürriyet's news, these departments are at both undergraduate and associate degree levels and cover areas that were not available at any university before. Students will have the opportunity to expand their career plans by adding these new options to their choice lists.

What happened?

In a statement published on its official website, YÖK announced that 16 new academic programs will be opened in the 2026 YKS preference period. Each of these programs will, for the first time, offer quotas for candidates who want to specialize in relevant fields. Among the departments opened, there are different disciplines at undergraduate and associate degree levels; However, the source text does not include details such as the names of these departments, which universities they are distributed to, or score requirements.

New departments will be shown under a separate tab on the YKS preference screen and a systematic update will be made for candidates to add them to the preference list. According to the statement of YÖK, these programs will start accepting students as of the 2026-2027 academic year and quotas will be allocated only for these new departments in the first settlement period.

Background

The Council of Higher Education has a wide range of responsibilities in Türkiye, from planning the university system to approval of new programs and quality assurance. In the past years, YÖK has opened new departments and updated the curricula of existing programs in order to respond to changes in the labor market and technological developments. By the mid-2020s, the need for qualified workforce had increased, especially in areas such as digital transformation, sustainable energy, artificial intelligence and healthcare.

In this context, the 16 new departments announced by YÖK in the 2026 preference period are seen as part of the strategy to both increase academic diversity and increase the employability of graduates. YÖK states that it also evaluates the infrastructure, academic staff and research capacity of universities when opening new programs; However, details about this process are not included in the source text.

Why is it important?

The opening of new departments aims to respond to the increasing diversity of higher education demand. Students will have the chance to study more niche and future-oriented disciplines, going beyond popular fields such as traditional engineering, economics and social sciences. This will both expand individual career paths and increase the likelihood of employers finding graduates with new competencies.

In addition, the geographical distribution of new programs can be linked to regional development policies. YÖK may have stated that it aims to support local employment by allocating some departments to universities, especially in developing cities; However, there is no definitive information on this subject in the source text.

What do experts and parties say?

Direct opinions of academicians, student representatives or business world representatives regarding these new departments are not included in the source text. Therefore, there are no expert comments or official statements of the parties within the scope of this news. Statements to be made by relevant institutions in the future may provide a clearer framework about the content and expectations of new programs.

What to watch next?

Following the opening of new departments, the primary monitoring area will be student placement rates. YÖK and ÖSYM will regularly publish the number of candidates applying for each program, the number of students placed and the score distribution. This data will reveal the demand intensity and potential level of competition of the programs.

In addition, graduates' employment rates, compliance with sectoral needs and academic success indicators will be among the long-term evaluation criteria. Universities can take strategic steps to keep the curricula of new departments up to date and to offer internships, projects and research opportunities in collaboration with the industry.

Finally, additional programs that YÖK plans to open in the coming years and revisions of existing departments are among the issues that need to be followed. In this process, official YÖK announcements, ÖSYM preference guides and university academic calendars will be the main sources that will keep the news up-to-date.