What ALES is actually used for: graduate school, academic staff, or both

ALES is not a job exam and it is not a school entrance exam in the sense KPSS or YKS are. It is an aptitude score that other institutions, universities and graduate schools mostly, read and combine with other inputs to make their own decisions. OSYM produces the number; it never decides who gets in or who gets hired.

The two things ALES actually feeds

An ALES score does two distinct jobs in the Turkish higher education system, and a candidate’s reason for sitting the exam usually falls into one of them.

Graduate school admission. Every yuksek lisans (master’s) and doktora (doctoral) programme that requires ALES uses the score alongside the applicant’s mezuniyet notu (undergraduate GPA) and, for many programmes, a YDS or equivalent foreign language score. Each graduate institute sets its own weighting between these inputs in its own kontenjan ilani (quota notice), so the exact mix is never universal.

Academic staff recruitment. Universities filling arastirma gorevlisi (research assistant) or ogretim gorevlisi (teaching staff) cadres under Law 2547 use ALES as one required input in a giris sinavi (entrance exam) the university itself then runs, typically alongside the SGS or mezuniyet notu and a YDS score.

Who actually needs to sit it

Two overlapping groups sit ALES for these reasons: candidates applying to graduate programmes, from tezli and tezsiz yuksek lisans through to doctoral study, and candidates applying for academic staff positions advertised by individual universities. A bachelor’s degree, or being on track to receive one within the window the current ALES Basvuru Kilavuzu sets, is the baseline eligibility for both groups.

What ALES does not do

ALES does not place anyone the way a KPSS tercih round does. There is no OSYM administered matching process that turns an ALES score directly into an admission letter or a job offer. The university or graduate institute that requests the score is the one making the actual decision, and it is free to weight ALES however its own regulations allow. This is the single biggest structural difference from KPSS, whose A group and B group cadres are placed by OSYM itself once a score exists, as explained in the difference between KPSS A group and B group.

Which score type matters for your goal

ALES produces Sayisal, Sozel and Esit Agirlik scores from the same sitting, and which one gets read depends entirely on the programme or cadre. A candidate applying to a quantitative doctoral programme is usually judged on Sayisal; an edebiyat programme typically reads Sozel; a hukuk or iktisat programme most often reads Esit Agirlik. The mechanics of how these three scores are built and which fields tend to ask for each are laid out in the difference between ALES verbal, quantitative and equal weight scores.

Minimum scores by pathway

Because ALES feeds two different systems, the minimums differ. For academic staff recruitment, the governing regulation sets a floor of 70 for most cadres. For graduate admission, institutes commonly set a floor in the 55 to 80 range depending on the programme and degree level, though the number an individual senate sets can run higher than the regulatory floor. Both pathways are broken down in more detail in how ALES is used for master’s and doctoral applications and in the minimum ALES score for academic staff positions.

How long a score stays usable

An ALES score is valid for five years from the exam date, which is why most candidates pick the ALES cycle that fits their target application deadline rather than sitting every cycle OSYM runs in a year. The full mechanics of that validity window, and when it actually makes sense to retake the exam, are covered in how long an ALES score stays valid.

FAQ

Is ALES required for every master’s programme in Turkey? No. Some programmes, particularly certain tezsiz (non-thesis) master’s tracks, do not require an ALES score at all; this is set by each graduate institute’s own admission rules.

Can the same ALES score be used for both graduate admission and an academic staff application? Yes, within its five-year validity window, the same score can be submitted to different institutions for different purposes, provided each one reads the score type the candidate holds.

Does OSYM place candidates using ALES the way it does with KPSS? No. OSYM only produces and reports the score. The university or graduate institute that requested it makes the actual admission or hiring decision.

What is the minimum ALES score for academic staff positions? The governing regulation sets a minimum of 70 for most academic staff cadres, combined with other required inputs in the university’s own entrance exam.

How many ALES cycles run per year? OSYM typically runs multiple cycles a year on its published sinav takvimi; candidates choose the cycle that best matches their application deadline rather than sitting all of them.