37 Best universities for Liberal Arts & Social Sciences in Istanbul

Updated: March 15, 2026

Ranking by academic field

Below is a list of best universities in Istanbul ranked based on their research performance in Liberal Arts & Social Sciences. A graph of 2.07M citations received by 143K academic papers made by 37 universities in Istanbul was used to calculate publications' ratings, which then were adjusted for release dates and added to final scores.

We don't distinguish between undergraduate and graduate programs nor do we adjust for current majors offered. You can find information about granted degrees on a university page but always double-check with the university website.

1. Istanbul University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#3 in Turkey

#81 in Asia

Enrollment: 35,190
Founded: 1933

2. Marmara University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#4 in Turkey

#108 in Asia

Enrollment: 61,938
Founded: 1982

3. Istanbul Technical University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#6 in Turkey

#131 in Asia

Enrollment: 15,358
Founded: 1944

4. Bogazici University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#16 in Turkey

#194 in Asia

Enrollment: 3,998
Founded: 1971

5. Yildiz Technical University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#20 in Turkey

#214 in Asia

Enrollment: 9,842
Founded: 1982

6. Koc University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#27 in Turkey

#263 in Asia

Acceptance Rate: 15%
Founded: 1992

7. Sabanci University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#45 in Turkey

#397 in Asia

Founded: 1996

8. Istanbul Medeniyet University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#58 in Turkey

#502 in Asia

Founded: 2010

9. Istanbul Aydin University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#69 in Turkey

#623 in Asia

Founded: 2007

10. Yeditepe University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#71 in Turkey

#633 in Asia

Enrollment: 20,000
Founded: 1996

11. Istanbul Bilgi University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#73 in Turkey

#654 in Asia

Enrollment: 20,000
Founded: 1996

12. Istanbul Medipol University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#75 in Turkey

#666 in Asia

Enrollment: 50,000
Founded: 2009

13. Galatasaray University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#84 in Turkey

#745 in Asia

Acceptance Rate: 10%
Founded: 1994

14. Istanbul Commerce University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#87 in Turkey

#789 in Asia

Acceptance Rate: 50%
Enrollment: 2,730
Founded: 2001

15. Maltepe University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#96 in Turkey

#902 in Asia

Founded: 1997

16. Ozyegin University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#99 in Turkey

#936 in Asia

Acceptance Rate: 30%
Founded: 2007

17. Beykent University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#102 in Turkey

#976 in Asia

Acceptance Rate: 50%
Founded: 1997

18. Istanbul Kultur University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#104 in Turkey

#1012 in Asia

Founded: 1997

19. Kadir Has University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#106 in Turkey

#1064 in Asia

Acceptance Rate: 59%
Enrollment: 5,122
Founded: 1997

20. Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#107 in Turkey

#1075 in Asia

Founded: 2010

21. Okan University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#109 in Turkey

#1109 in Asia

Acceptance Rate: 50%
Enrollment: 12,908
Founded: 1999

22. Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#111 in Turkey

#1117 in Asia

Enrollment: 2,237
Founded: 1982

23. Uskudar University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#113 in Turkey

#1143 in Asia

Founded: 2011

24. Dogus University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#114 in Turkey

#1146 in Asia

Acceptance Rate: 84%
Founded: 1997

25. Nisantasi University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#115 in Turkey

#1166 in Asia

Founded: 2009

26. Istanbul Arel University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#119 in Turkey

#1263 in Asia

Founded: 2007

27. Isik University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#124 in Turkey

#1391 in Asia

Founded: 1996

28. Altinbas University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#125 in Turkey

#1399 in Asia

Acceptance Rate: 60%
Enrollment: 7,000
Founded: 2008

29. Halic University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#127 in Turkey

#1495 in Asia

Founded: 1998

30. Bezmialem Vakif University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#128 in Turkey

#1508 in Asia

Founded: 2010

31. Istanbul Sehir University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#130 in Turkey

#1605 in Asia

Founded: 2008

32. Acibadem University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#132 in Turkey

#1683 in Asia

Acceptance Rate: 30%
Founded: 2007

33. Istanbul New Century University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#133 in Turkey

#1730 in Asia

Founded: 2016

34. Istanbul Science University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#135 in Turkey

#1752 in Asia

Founded: 2006

35. Mef University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#138 in Turkey

#2015 in Asia

Enrollment: 2,000
Founded: 2012

36. Piri Reis University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#139 in Turkey

#2095 in Asia

Acceptance Rate: 29%
Founded: 2008

37. Istanbul Ayvansaray University

For Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

#140 in Turkey

#2328 in Asia

Founded: 2016

Universities for Liberal Arts & Social Sciences near Istanbul

Distance, km 📏 km	University	Country rank 🏆	City
40	Gebze University of Technology	79	Gebze
47	University of Yalova	93	Yalova
87	Kocaeli University	26	Kocaeli
88	Uludag University	17	Bursa
92	Bursa Technical University	116	Bursa
116	Tekirdag Namik Kemal University	70	Tekirdag
119	Sakarya University	14	Sakarya
129	Bilecik Sheikh Edebali University	88	Bilecik
166	Kirklareli University	74	Kirklareli
182	Balikesir University	44	Balikesir