Publishing from Turkey: doçentlik points and PhD rules
In Turkey, the doçentlik (associate professorship) application to ÜAK scores your articles in points, with a separate table for each field. In engineering you need 100 points, at least 40 of them from Web of Science SCIE or SSCI articles in the top three quartiles.
Every rule below links to the official document it comes from. Read on 10 October 2026.
What the rules ask
National (ÜAK): ÜAK publishes a separate table of conditions for each of 12 basic fields, renewed for each application period. (source: Interuniversity Board (ÜAK), read 10 October 2026)
National (ÜAK): Engineering, March 2026 period: at least 100 points, of which at least 90 come from work after the doctorate, not counting papers from your own theses. (source: Interuniversity Board (ÜAK), read 10 October 2026)
National (ÜAK): An article in an SCIE or SSCI journal earns 30 points in Q1, 20 in Q2, 15 in Q3 and 10 in Q4. AHCI earns 20, ESCI or Scopus 10. (source: Interuniversity Board (ÜAK), read 10 October 2026)
National (ÜAK): At least 40 points must come from SCIE or SSCI articles in Q1 to Q3 journals published after the doctorate, with you as principal author on at least one. (source: Interuniversity Board (ÜAK), read 10 October 2026)
National (ÜAK): At least 10 points must come from TR Dizin articles published after the doctorate. One TR Dizin article earns 10. (source: Interuniversity Board (ÜAK), read 10 October 2026)
National (ÜAK): Shared articles are split: with two authors the principal author takes 0.8 of the points and the second 0.5; with three or more the principal author takes half and the others share the rest equally. (source: Interuniversity Board (ÜAK), read 10 October 2026)
Ankara University: Science and health PhD students need one thesis article, or two articles in their field, in Web of Science SCIE or SSCI journals, published or with a DOI, before the defence jury is formed. Case reports, letters and short communications do not count. (source: Ankara University, read 10 October 2026)
Your university's handbook is the final word.
Journals in Turkey
TR Dizin: The national index of journals published in Turkey, run by TÜBİTAK ULAKBİM. ÜAK scores its articles separately from international ones.
Check the references: Reference Check flags retracted papers, broken DOIs and citations missing from the list.
Questions
How many doçentlik points is one Q1 article worth?
In the engineering table for the March 2026 period, 30 points as sole author. Shared articles are divided by ÜAK's author formula, and other fields have their own tables.
Do papers from my PhD thesis count toward doçentlik?
They are scored in their own section for thesis-derived publications. In engineering at least one is required, and that section counts for no more than 20 points.
Will my university ask me to publish before the PhD defence?
Universities set this in their own graduate regulations. Ankara University, for example, asks science and health PhD students for Web of Science articles before the defence jury is formed.
ORBIT