Healthcare exams in Turkey: TUS, DUS, EUS and the foreign-diploma STS

Medical and health education in Turkey

Medicine in Turkey is a six-year degree, with the sixth year as an intern doctor (intörn hekim), taught at more than a hundred medical faculties, public and foundation (private). Teaching is mostly in Turkish, with English-medium programmes at some universities. The Council of Higher Education (YÖK) oversees universities, and the medical education accreditation body TEPDAD evaluates programmes. Dentistry and pharmacy take five years, and nursing four.

On graduation, doctors can work as general practitioners, registered with the Ministry of Health. The exam that matters is the Medical Specialty Examination (TUS), a ranking test that decides specialty and place, so it is a competitive gate and not a licence. Specialty training takes four to five years. International students, many from the Middle East and Africa, study at Turkish universities, but a Turkish degree does not by itself give the right to practise at home. Foreign-trained doctors seeking to work in Turkey go through diploma equivalency (denklik) with YÖK. Confirm current requirements.

A country that tests for specialty places, not for a licence

Most countries on this site have a licensing exam that every graduate must pass. Turkey is different. A doctor who finishes medical school in Turkey receives a diploma and registers; no national licensing test stands in the way. The pressure point comes later, when the graduate wants a specialty place. That is where the Tıpta Uzmanlık Eğitimi Giriş Sınavı (TUS) comes in, and it is one of the most competitive multiple-choice exams in the region.

The same logic applies in dentistry (DUS) and pharmacy (EUS). The exam decides who enters specialty training, and the score, not a pass mark, is what counts. For preparation purposes this changes the job. You are not clearing a bar; you are ranking against thousands of other graduates.

Foreign diplomas follow a separate logic. Here the state does want proof of competence, and the process is run by YÖK, the Council of Higher Education, rather than by the health ministry alone.

Who needs which exam in Turkey

• Turkish-trained graduates who want to practise as general clinicians: no licensing exam. Register with the Ministry of Health on the diploma.
• Turkish-trained doctors, dentists and pharmacists who want a specialty: TUS, DUS or EUS respectively.
• Foreign-trained clinicians, including Turkish citizens who studied abroad: YÖK denklik, which may require the STS and, for doctors, an OSCE.
• Nurses, midwives and physiotherapists trained in Turkey: no national licensing exam.

Doctors: TUS and the foreign-diploma STS

Regulator and administrator. ÖSYM sets and runs the TUS; the Ministry of Health handles placement into training posts. YÖK handles recognition of foreign medical degrees.

TUS format. The directory record lists 200 multiple-choice questions split across two sessions: Temel Tıp Bilimleri (basic medical sciences) with 100 items and Klinik Tıp Bilimleri (clinical sciences) with 100 items, each lasting 135 minutes. The exam is held twice a year. Always read the current ÖSYM guide, because question counts and rules can change between sessions.

Foreign-trained doctors. The procedure published by YÖK sets out a written STS in two stages, each needing at least 40 out of 100 (the score is correct answers minus a quarter of wrong answers), followed by a Yapılandırılmış Klinik Sınav, an OSCE using simulation and standardised patients, with a pass mark of 50 out of 100. The STS is held on the same dates as the TUS.

Exemptions. The procedure exempts people who hold certain recognised results, namely USMLE Step 3, PLAB 2, the AMC Clinical exam, MCCQE Part 2, or the German Approbation or state exam. Some routes also ask for a YDS language score.

1. Check your category. Turkish-trained doctors go straight to the TUS calendar; foreign graduates start with YÖK.
2. Open the current ÖSYM guide. Application windows are short and fees and sessions change.
3. Apply through ÖSYM. Candidates choose their session and sit at an assigned centre.
4. Sit the written exam. TUS candidates then rank their preferences; STS candidates await the result and an OSCE invitation.
5. Complete the YÖK file. Foreign graduates must finish the denklik process before registration.

Dentists: DUS and the dental STS

Dentists enter specialty training through the Diş Hekimliğinde Uzmanlık Eğitimi Giriş Sınavı (DUS). The record shows 120 multiple-choice items over 150 minutes, taken on paper. Foreign-trained dentists sit the STS Diş Hekimliği, which uses the same booklet and day as the DUS, with a pass mark of 40 out of 100. One secondary source lists 2026 sessions on 26 April and 1 November; confirm both dates against ÖSYM before planning around them.

Pharmacists: EUS and the pharmacy STS

Pharmacy graduates entering specialty training sit the Eczacılıkta Uzmanlık Eğitimi Giriş Sınavı (EUS): 75 multiple-choice questions with five options each, 110 minutes, delivered as an e-exam in Ankara. A YDS score of at least 50 is required for placement. Domestic graduates register without a licensing exam. Foreign pharmacy diplomas lead to the STS Eczacılık, held in the same session as the EUS, or to an İlmî Hüviyet Tespiti assessment.

Nurses, midwives and physiotherapists

There is no licensing exam for Turkish graduates in these professions; they register with the Ministry of Health on the qualification. The exam exposure falls on foreign diplomas. YÖK may direct a nurse, midwife or physiotherapist to a written STS (Hemşirelik, Ebelik, or Fizyoterapi ve Rehabilitasyon) run by designated universities, with a pass mark of 40 out of 100, or to the İlmî Hüviyet Tespiti, an oral, written or practical assessment with a pass mark of 50 out of 100. YÖK may instead ask for missing coursework (ders tamamlama) or a clinical placement. Which of these applies depends on how closely your curriculum matches the Turkish one.

Exams at a glance

Recognition routes and language

The YÖK procedure treats foreign qualifications on a case-by-case footing. The practical sequence is: submit your documents to YÖK, receive a decision on whether the STS, a coursework top-up or an İlmî Hüviyet applies, then complete it. Do not assume your degree transfers without testing, even if the university was well known.

The one place English helps is in your preparation material. Standard medical textbooks cover the same science, but the questions are written in Turkish, and the style rewards candidates who have practised Turkish exam wording. Turkey also has a mature local prep market, so competitors for your attention are strong.

Last reviewed October 2026