What is YÖKDİL and what is it for?
Facts last checked against official sources on October 7, 2026.
Short answer
YÖKDİL (Higher Education Institutions Foreign Language Exam) is a field-specific academic language exam that ÖSYM runs twice a year under a protocol with YÖK. Its score is used for graduate admission, prep-year exemption, academic posts and associate professorship.
How is it different from YDS?
The texts come from the candidate’s academic field: you choose Science, Health Sciences or Social Sciences when applying and receive that field’s paper.
English is offered in all three fields; German, Arabic and French only in Social Sciences (only Arabic in the spring session). There are also English-only e-YÖKDİL sessions.
Sources
Dates and rules can change. Check the organiser’s official page before you apply; that page is binding.
Start preparing for YÖKDİL today
Take the free level test to see where you stand; Prepina builds a 10–20 minute daily plan around your exam date.