Turkey's National Internship Programme (Ulusal Staj Programı) 2027: when to apply, who can apply and how

The 2027 calendar hasn't been announced yet. The previous round's dates:

If the 2026 pattern repeats, 2027 applications will open in the first weeks of January 2027 and run until the end of March. For exact dates, follow ulusalstajprogrami.iskur.gov.tr and your university career centre's announcements.

Applications are taken in winter, but the internships themselves mostly happen during the summer break, while schools are closed: for example, HAVELSAN's 2026 internship periods for interns taken through the National Internship Programme ran 20 or 30 working days between 6 July and 18 September. That is also why the programme expects second-year students to have moved up a year by the internship date.

For many students this is when they do their degree's mandatory internship (zorunlu staj). Check with your department's internship committee in advance whether an internship through the USP counts as your mandatory one and whether its length is enough.

The 2026 criteria (they may change for the next round):

• Under 35 as of 1 January 2026.
• A GPA of at least 2.00 out of 4 (or equivalent). No GPA requirement applied to first-year associate-degree students or to master's and PhD students.
• In Turkey and the TRNC: a full-time first- or second-year associate-degree student, or a full-time second-, third- or fourth-year bachelor's student (medicine, teaching and dentistry excluded).
• Turkish citizens and Blue Card holders studying abroad could apply on the same year conditions; master's and PhD students could apply too.
• On the internship date, second-year bachelor's students are expected to have moved up a year and fourth-year students not yet to have graduated; otherwise the employer may cancel the offer.

The application has two stages, and it isn't valid until both are done:

1. e-Devlet stage: click "Başvuru Yap" on ulusalstajprogrami.iskur.gov.tr and you're sent to e-Devlet. You check and confirm your identity, education (university, department, year, GPA), foreign-language score and university entrance exam details.
2. Application Form: in the "Staj Başvurusu" menu, answer questions on academic/professional, artistic/social and sporting competencies according to the criteria behind each question's "i" button. Applicants who complete only the e-Devlet stage stay as an "incomplete application" and are not assessed.
3. City and district preferences: make the province you want to intern in your first choice; you can pick 1–10 districts per province. Transport and accommodation are the applicant's responsibility, so don't pick places you can't get to. Applicants who choose districts are more likely to receive offers.

Every document you declare is scored if the relevant institutions verify it. The GPA score in the system differs from your university GPA.

• After applications close, your declarations are verified and your academic/professional, artistic/social and sporting competency scores are calculated.
• Your profile enters the "candidate pool" with your identity hidden; employers can't see your name.
• Public institutions and participating private organisations review the pool and send internship offers to suitable candidates.
• You can receive several offers and choose the one that suits you. Offers can also come from outside the districts you chose; accepting or declining is up to you.

Some defence companies take summer interns through the USP: HAVELSAN states that applications to its HİT Summer Internship Programme are made through the National Internship Programme. For programmes in other sectors, see the sector guide.

The USP is a single application channel with limited places; in the same January–April period, private companies' own internship programmes take applications too (ASELSAN a Yetenek Summer Internship 27 February–31 March 2026, Mercedes-Benz Türk Summer Stars in March, Koç Young Talent until 19 April 2026). The safest plan is to run both:

1. January: apply to the USP; complete both stages.
2. January–April: apply to private-sector programmes. These are made in the companies' own systems, and each wants a CV edited for its posting.
3. May: USP offers and company results arrive; compare your offers.

Proyo runs the private-sector side in one place: open internship listings in one feed, your CV tailored to each posting in 15–20 seconds and prepared as an ATS-friendly PDF, your cover letter written, and every application on your board with its stage. Month-by-month dates are in the application calendar.