Turkey's national assessment centre, ÖSYM, published its 2027 exam calendar on 28 October 2026. ALES, the entrance exam for master's and doctoral programmes and academic posts, will be held three times: 18 April, 11 July and 28 November 2027. YDS, the general foreign language exam, runs twice, on 28 March and 21 November, and YÖKDİL, the language exam designed for higher education, on 28 February and 25 July. DGS, the vertical transfer exam that lets two-year associate degree students move into a bachelor's programme, is on 18 July, with results on 12 August.
Several sittings a year is a real advantage, but only if the right one is chosen. The question is not which date is free; it is which result arrives before the application closes.
Which ALES sitting should you take?
The one whose results beat your deadline. According to news reports of the calendar, ALES 1 has applications from 24 February to 4 March and results on 7 May; ALES 2, applications from 25 May to 2 June and results on 30 July; ALES 3, applications from 12 to 20 October and results on 17 December.
For a programme starting in the autumn, ALES 1 leaves the widest margin, since a 7 May result reaches any application closing after that. ALES 2 results on 30 July can still reach an August deadline but not a June one. ALES 3 mostly serves spring-term applications or the following year.
Anyone holding an older ALES score should check its date: scores are valid for five years from the announcement, so a 2022 score runs out during 2027.
YDS or YÖKDİL?
That depends on where the score will be used. YDS is the general exam used in public sector and academic settings; YÖKDİL is built for higher education and comes in separate science, health and social science versions. The graduate school's call for applications says which one it accepts, and reading that first avoids months of work towards a score that will not count.
YDS 1 applications run from 3 to 11 February with results on 21 April; YDS 2 applications from 5 to 13 October with results on 10 December. Electronic e-YDS and e-YÖKDIL sessions also run through the year, but they close early once places fill. ÖSYM's general validity for YDS is five years, though the receiving institution has the final say and some ask for a more recent result.
How do YDS and ALES fit into one spring?
With three weeks between them: YDS on 28 March, ALES on 18 April. Language skills, vocabulary and academic reading speed in particular, grow slowly, while the reasoning question types in ALES become familiar faster. Keeping language as the daily habit until late February, with two ALES days a week, and switching fully to ALES after 28 March covers both. The six-week split described in preparing for YDS and ALES adapts to spring with the same logic, and the GRE practice tests offer quantitative and verbal reasoning practice of a similar kind.
When is the 2027 DGS, and can final-year students take it?
DGS is on 18 July 2027, with applications from 26 May to 3 June and a late day on 15 June. Under previous years' guides, final-year associate degree students who had completed every graduation requirement apart from an internship could apply; the 2027 guide is where to confirm that. Placement also counts the associate degree grade point average alongside the exam score, so final-term grades matter as well.
All dates are planned, and ÖSYM notes the calendar may be updated. Before each application week, the relevant guide on ÖSYM's site is the place to confirm fees and eligibility.