The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBİTAK) and TWAS have established a sandwich fellowship programme for foreign scholars from developing countries in the South who wish to pursue part of their research toward a PhD in a field of the natural and related applied sciences, in departments and laboratories of public and private universities of Türkiye (Turkey) and TÜBİTAK Research Centers and Institutes.

Eligible fields under the programme are the following:

Agricultural Sciences
b. Structural, Cell. & Molecular Biology
c. Biological Systems & Organisms
d. Medical & Health Sciences, including Neurosciences
e. Chemical Sciences
f. Engineering Sciences
g. Astronomy, Space & Earth Science
h. Mathematical Sciences
i. Physics
j. Computing and Information Technology.

To help candidates in their choice of a suitable host institution, a list of public and private universities in Turkey is available at https://www.yok.gov.tr/universiteler/universitelerimiz (in English: https://www.yok.gov.tr/en )

In addition, TÜBİTAK Research Centers and Institutes’ names and links are available from the following links:

TÜBİTAK MAM, https://mam.tubitak.gov.tr/en

TÜBİTAK BİLGEM, https://bilgem.tubitak.gov.tr/en/frontpage

TÜBİTAK UZAY, https://uzay.tubitak.gov.tr/en

TÜBİTAK SAGE, https://www.sage.tubitak.gov.tr/en

TÜBİTAK RUTE, https://rute.tubitak.gov.tr/en

TÜBİTAK UME, https://www.ume.tubitak.gov.tr/en

TÜBİTAK TÜSSİDE, https://tusside.tubitak.gov.tr/en

TÜBİTAK TBAE, https://tbae.tubitak.gov.tr/en

TÜBİTAK ULAKBİM, https://ulakbim.tubitak.gov.tr/en

TÜBİTAK National Observatory, https://tug.tubitak.gov.tr/en

TÜBİTAK BUTAL, https://butal.tubitak.gov.tr/en

ELIGIBILITY:

Applicants for these Fellowships must meet the following criteria:

Be permanent residents and nationals of a developing country in the South (https://twas.org/developing-countries-south).

Candidates from Science and Technology Lagging countries (STLC) and women are especially encouraged to apply. For the list of STLC, please see https://twas.org/66-countries.
NB. Developing countries that are not in the list are also eligible to apply.

Must not hold any visa for temporary or permanent residency in Turkey or any developed country;

Applicants already onsite in the host country (Turkey) are not eligible to apply for this fellowship;

Hold a master’s or equivalent degree in natural and related applied sciences (in one of the  fields specified above);

Be a maximum age of 35 years on 31 December of the application year;

By the deadline date of the application, having registered to a doctoral in natural and related applied sciences (in the fields specified in the call text), in a higher education institution in the home country or another developing country. S/he must have successfully passed the PhD qualifying exam or be in an advanced stage of their PhD research in natural and related applied sciences (in the fields specified in the call text). Applicants must certify this criterion with an official Registration & No Objection Certificate (see sample that can be downloaded below or from TÜBİTAK’s website link above). This document must be issued within three months before the application date, and it should also mention briefly the timeline and research work planned;

Provide an official Acceptance Letter (see sample that can be downloaded below or from TÜBİTAK’s website) from an eligible department, institution or laboratory of a public or private university in Turkey or TÜBİTAK Research Centers and Institutes.

NB. Requests for acceptance must be directed to the chosen host institution(s) in Turkey, and NOT to TÜBİTAK. Without preliminary acceptance, the application will not be considered for selection. The acceptance letter must be signed by the highest authority of the chosen host institute. The highest authority of the host institution is in the case of universities, the rector or the authorized vice-chancellor, the director of the public research centers in Türkiye.
The maximum number of academic advisors in Turkey can be 2 (two).

Provide the Research proposal form  prepared in the format determined by TÜBİTAK (see sample that can be downloaded below or from TÜBİTAK’s website);

Provide evidence of proficiency in English. If medium of education was not English: provide evidence of English knowledge, i.e. test results of national or international exams,  or a University-issued letter certifying the knowledge of the language. If medium of education was English, please write a brief statement indicating what type of education was in English, e.g. high school, BSc or MSc degrees, this statement must be signed and dated by the applicant. Please note that reference letters are not accepted as way of proving English competence.

Not take up other assignments during the period of her/his fellowship;

Be financially responsible for any accompanying family members;

Not have previously received or been awarded a fellowship under this programme;

Must return to her/his home country on completion of the fellowship.

The language of instruction is English.

BENEFIT:

TWAS will be responsible for providing travel support to Turkey and from Turkey to researchers’ home / living country and will also cover visa related expenses.

TÜBİTAK will be responsible for a monthly allowance to cover accommodation and living expenses and medical facilities for minor ailments as available in Turkey at amounts to be specified by TÜBİTAK.

The study fees, including tuitions, registration and research costs, should be waived or covered by the host institutes.