This summer dive into intensive Turkish language study in Ankara, improving your fluency while exploring the city and connecting with locals.

About The Program

This summer program provides students with intensive Turkish language study, helping participants build fluency through immersive coursework and practice. Hosted by Ankara University in the vibrant capital city of Ankara, students also live with local host families, offering opportunities to practice the language and experience Turkish culture firsthand

Academic Courses

Students engage in intensive Turkish language study improving speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills through classes in grammar, conversation, composition, and cultural topics. Courses are conducted in Turkish by experienced local faculty, with 15–20 hours per week of instruction in small groups or individualized settings.

Summer Program

The Intensive Turkish Summer program offers a comprehensive academic schedule designed for intensive Turkish language study, offered from complete beginner to advanced learners.

• 15–20 hours per week of Turkish language instruction at all proficiency levels, covering grammar, conversation, reading, writing, and comprehension.

• Classes are conducted entirely in Turkish, incorporating literature, history, culture, and contemporary topics to enhance language skills in real-world contexts.

• Students may participate in small group or individualized instruction, maximizing opportunities for practice and fluency development.This structure allows students to gain a well-rounded understanding of Turkish language, culture, and society, while engaging in immersive language instruction.

Upon successful completion of the summer program, participants will receive academic credit equivalent to 8 undergraduate credit hours or 10 graduate credit hours from Bryn Mawr College.

Cultural Activities

While excursion destinations vary from year to year, potential excursions will be:

• Anıtkabir – the Mausoleum of Atatürk

• Museum of Anatolian Civilizations

• Ethnography Museum of Ankara

• Historic neighborhoods – Kızılay and Hamamönü

• Five-day Turkiye highlights trip to places such as Cappadocia, Ephesus, Aegean or Mediterranean coastlines, Istanbul

These excursions provide immersive, hands-on experiences that complement classroom learning and deepen understanding of Turkish culture, society, and daily life.

About Ankara University TÖMER 

is the language teaching and cultural education center of Ankara University. It provides instruction in Turkish and other foreign languages for both international learners and Turkish nationals, along with teacher training, exam preparation, and cultural programs. Functioning as part of the university’s continuing-education and international outreach initiatives, TÖMER serves short-term learners as well as long-term students aiming for academic-level language proficiency.

The center offers structured course cycles—both intensive and regular—that integrate grammar, conversation, reading, and writing practice, often enriched with cultural modules on contemporary and historical aspects of Türkiye. Courses are available in-person at campus branches and frequently online, supported by placement testing and teaching materials aligned with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). TÖMER also issues its own certificates, which are widely recognized across Turkish higher education and employment sectors as valid proof of language proficiency.

Founded as the first institution in Türkiye to teach Turkish as a foreign language, Ankara University TÖMER continues its pioneering mission through an expanding network of branches in Ankara, İstanbul, Bursa, and İzmir—making high-quality language education accessible to learners across the country.

Conversation Partners

To aid cultural integration and support academic learning, participants have the opportunity to meet with conversation partners two hours per week. Conversation partners introduce participants to local people, accompany participants on sightseeing tours, organize cultural activities (cinema, museum, etc.), and provide students with academic support. The conversation partners are expected to speak only the target language.

Housing & Meals

Program participants live with local, Turkish-speaking host families. Living with a host family provides valuable cultural experience to complement the academic program. Host families expose participants to authentic, everyday life in the host country while also providing a supportive environment for students to practice their growing language skills. While staying with a host family, participants are provided with a private room, two meals per day, and keys to the apartment or house. All host families are screened, selected, and monitored by American Councils home-stay coordinators and resident directors.

Financial Aid

American Councils has several scholarships available for students applying to the Intensive Turkish Summer Program. Applicants can apply for financial aid in the program application. Learn more about financial aid available on this program.

Support Services

All program participants are required to attend a mandatory pre-departure orientation at the start of the program. Orientation sessions address health and safety, academic culture, host-family life, culture shock, and strategies to maximize language gain. Students will also have a chance to meet and get to know their resident directors, fellow participants, and alumni during the orientation. Lodging and meals will be provided. Upon arrival in the host country, participants attend an in-country orientation.

While overseas, participants have access to in-country program staff that provide around-the-clock emergency support. A full-time resident director/overseas staff person monitors the academic and cultural program; assists participants in academic, administrative, and personal matters; and coordinates activities with the host institution faculty. During the program, the AC Study Abroad Team in Washington, D.C. stays in close contact via email and telephone with in-country program staff and provides updates as needed to study abroad offices, university partners, and family members.

Participants are enrolled in comprehensive overseas health, accident, and evacuation insurance through Cultural Insurance Services International (CISI) for the duration of the program. CISI provides medical coverage of up to $250,000 per accident or illness. Enrollment in the CISI plan also provides full coverage for emergency medical evacuation.

All participants are provided with a single-entry visa to the host-country for the duration of the academic program. It is the student's responsibility to obtain any other visas required by their individual itineraries. Visa application information and forms are provided upon acceptance to the program.

Program Snapshot

Location

Ankara University

Ankara, Turkiye

Language of Instruction

Turkish

Program Dates

Summer 2026

June 15 - August 7

Program Cost

$8,950

Applications Deadlines:

February 15

Program Eligibility

• Minimum GPA of 2.7

• Applicants must be at least 18 years old by the application deadline