TÜBİTAK has revised the evaluation criteria for applications to the 2219 Overseas Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program. Under the new regulations, scientific outputs achieved in the year of application and the two preceding calendar years will be included in the scoring system for the first time. Publications indexed in WoS, Scopus, and TR Dizin, as well as certain international conference papers, will play a role in determining the minimum support score for the first time. 

TÜBİTAK has updated the evaluation criteria for the 2219 Overseas Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program. The scientific publication performance criterion, which was not included in the 2025 call for applications, will be taken into account in determining the minimum support score starting in 2026. Under the new criteria, national and international publications obtained in the year of application and the two preceding calendar years will be scored and taken into account in the selection of fellowship candidates. 

The new approach will allow for the candidate’s academic productivity, in addition to the quality of the research proposal, to be considered in the selection of scholarship candidates. This method aims to increase the impact of scientific studies with international visibility in the scholarship evaluation process. With this regulation, scientific publication performance has also been included among the evaluation criteria. This change is considered one of the most notable innovations of the 2219 Overseas Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program.

A separate minimum score may be applied for applications scoring 8 points or higher

With the addition of Article 5.3.5 to the 2026 call for applications, a new evaluation mechanism based on publication performance has been established. According to the regulation, scientific outputs achieved in the year of application and the two preceding calendar years will be calculated based on a specified scoring table. With this regulation, scientific publication performance has been incorporated into the system as a new factor to be considered in determining the support threshold score. 

The regulation makes publication performance a new factor in determining the base support score. The base support score will continue to be determined by the Group Executive Board. The final list of fellowship candidates will also be compiled based on this evaluation.

Internationally indexed publications will be scored

Articles indexed in the Web of Science or Scopus databases will be awarded 2 points, while articles indexed in the TR Index will be awarded 1 point. Books indexed in the Web of Science Book Citation Index (BKCI) or the Scopus database will receive 2 points, while book chapters in the same databases will be evaluated at 1 point, with a maximum of 4 points available in this category. 

In addition, international conference papers published under the Web of Science Conference Proceedings Citation Index (CPCI-S and CPCI-SSH) will also be included in the scoring at 1 point each. All works to be considered for scoring must be indexed in the relevant databases as of the application date. Thus, verifiable scientific outputs indexed in the relevant databases will be included in the evaluation.

New criterion added while maintaining the evaluation system

No changes have been made to the principles regarding the two-stage review of applications, consisting of a preliminary review and a scientific evaluation. In the new period, the scientific evaluation will continue to be based on “the scientific quality of the research proposal,” “the applicant’s scientific competence,” “the rationale for conducting the research at a relevant institution abroad, along with the scientific competence of the host institution and the advisor,” and “career development potential.” 

The scientific quality of the research proposal will continue to carry a weight of 40 percent, the applicant’s scientific competence 20 percent, the evaluation of the host institution and advisor 25 percent, and career development potential 15 percent. In addition, provisions regarding the maintenance of a balanced distribution across scientific disciplines, the establishment of a separate minimum support score for applications targeting critical technology areas, and the prioritization of researchers who have not previously benefited from the program have been retained. 

The only new evaluation criterion introduced with the 2026 call, in addition to this structure, is the “scoring of scientific publication performance” and the provision allowing for a separate minimum support score to be applied based on this score. With this change, the scientific publication performance criterion—which was not included in the 2025 call—was incorporated into the evaluation criteria for the first time.

Thus, while the evaluation system in the 2025 call announcement consisted of four main elements, the 2026 call added a new evaluation criterion based on scientific publication performance to this framework. Consequently, publications indexed in WoS, Scopus, and TR Dizin, as well as certain international conference papers, were included for the first time among the evaluation criteria used to determine the minimum support score.

Application Requirements and Detailed Information:

- https://tubitak.gov.tr/tr/burslar/doktora-sonrasi/arastirma-burs-programlari/2219-yurt-disi-doktora-sonrasi-arastirma-burs-programi

- https://tubitak.gov.tr/sites/default/files/2026-07/2219_2026_yili_Cagri_Duyurusu.pdf