The Council of Higher Education (YÖK) announced Monday new criteria aimed at elevating the standard of postgraduate education, emphasizing factors such as publication records and accreditation to enhance program quality.

Outlined within the framework of the "Regulation on Postgraduate Education and Training," the criteria mandate specific qualifications for each program to ensure rigorous standards are met.

The key requirements include that faculty members must hold a doctorate or associate professor position in the relevant field at the university where the program will be offered.

For interdisciplinary programs, faculty members must possess qualifications in directly related fields determined by the Higher Education Executive Board.

A minimum of six faculty members, including at least two professors and two associate professors, are required for the establishment of a Ph.D. program.

For master's programs, a minimum of three faculty members from the university staff, with at least two holding the title of professor and/or associate professor, is necessary.

Faculty members must have prior teaching experience, with a minimum of two semesters for master's programs and four semesters for doctoral programs at the undergraduate level. Alternatively, two semesters of teaching at the master's level with a thesis are acceptable for doctoral programs.

Universities offering postgraduate programs must possess adequate educational and research infrastructure, including libraries and laboratories tailored to the program's requirements.

The Higher Education Executive Board will be authorized regarding the necessity of faculty members from different science/art branches in doctoral and master's programs.

To open a master's and doctoral program, the average number of publications or works per faculty member who will work in the master's or doctoral program to which the application is made must be at least one, taking into account the calendar year before the year of application.

In order for the university to apply for the doctoral program, it will also be required to have at least one program accreditation.

The criteria regarding the publications or works of faculty members who will work in master's and doctoral programs have also been determined.

Faculty members who will work in graduate programs will also need to meet publication requirements.

Minimum faculty member qualifications will be reviewed every year in May, faculty members' publication qualifications will be reviewed at the end of three years, and new students will not be admitted to programs that do not meet the requirements.

In line with the new decision of the Council of Higher Education, faculty members with these qualifications in the postgraduate programs opened will be appointed as advisors by the decision of the board of directors of the institute to which the relevant program is affiliated.

The first advisors will be appointed from among the faculty members of the university staff. Thus, qualified researchers of Turkish or foreign nationality with a doctorate working outside higher education institutions have been given the opportunity to become first advisors within the scope of "Annex Article 46."

Second advisors can also be appointed among faculty members outside the university staff and people/researchers with doctoral degrees.

The ongoing consultancy of faculty members who leave the higher education institution due to reasons such as retirement or transfer to another higher education institution will continue.

Graduate programs that qualify according to the old guidelines but cannot provide the newly introduced minimum qualifications will be required to by the end of the 2026-2027 academic year. The admission of students to graduate programs that cannot meet the requirements will be discarded.