Each year the government in our country creates various programs to expand educational opportunities and offer new paths for citizens. One such opportunity is the engineering completion program (mühendislik tamamlama), which allows technical teaching graduates to earn an engineering degree. Every year many eligible candidates take advantage of this pathway to transition from technical teacher to engineer.
Under a recent omnibus law, graduates of Technical Education Faculties who successfully complete two semesters of required coursework can receive an engineering diploma. The Student Selection and Placement Center (ÖSYM) administers the entrance exams for engineering completion programs tailored to technical teachers. Applicants must submit their documents to the appropriate places for placement, but they must first hold a technical teaching degree to be eligible.
Engineering completion exams are held annually. After results are released, placements are made according to the candidates’ scores and stated preferences. Placement into engineering completion programs depends on applicants’ scores and choices relative to the announced program quotas. Candidates who choose any given engineering completion program are ranked by score, and seats are allocated according to available quotas. Those who cannot be placed are considered unsuccessful and cannot use that score for placement in later years.
If two or more candidates select the same program and have identical scores, priority is given to the candidate who listed that engineering completion program in a higher preference order. This rule helps prevent unfair outcomes in the placement process.
The engineering completion exam is designed specifically for technical teachers. Universities determine which engineering bachelor completion programs are open to graduates of particular technical teaching programs. According to these determinations, graduates from different technical teaching disciplines may be eligible for the same engineering completion program, allowing for variation in technical backgrounds among entrants.
A candidate placed into an engineering completion program must meet specific requirements to graduate. The candidate is required to take at least 10 core courses designated by a commission; the institutions define which courses are considered core for completion.
Universities may implement certain modifications to the engineering completion curriculum based on the applicant’s original technical teaching program and the engineering completion program they will join. The following adjustments are permitted:
- For the set of courses determined for engineering completion, the university senate may modify up to 30% of those courses, provided the total remains at least 10 courses.
- The university senate may increase the number of courses in the engineering completion curriculum by up to 50%.
The technical teaching programs eligible to apply for engineering completion have been defined as follows:
- Computer Teaching
- Computer Systems Teaching
- Computer and Control Teaching
- Foundry Teaching
- Electrical Teaching
- Electronics Teaching
- Electronics and Computer Teaching
- Electronics and Communication Teaching
- Energy Teaching
- Mold Making Teaching
- Control Teaching
- Machine Teaching
- Machine Drawing and Construction Teaching
- Mechatronics Teaching
- Metal Teaching
- Furniture and Decoration Teaching
- Automotive Teaching
- Machining Production Teaching
- Design and Construction Teaching
- Textile Teaching
- Textile Finishing Teaching
- Telecommunications Teaching
- Installation Teaching and Building Teaching
Engineering Completion Exam
The Engineering Completion Exam is administered in Ankara. The test consists of 60 questions and candidates are given 90 minutes to complete it. The validity period of the exam score is one academic year: candidates may use the score only during that academic year for placement and cannot reuse it in later years.