Sabbatical leave at Koç University is specifically designed for full-time research track faculty who has the rank of Professor or Associate Professor, and who has completed six years of full-time service as a member of the Faculty at the time of the leave. Note that years in which faculty members are on leave are not counted in the six years, and years of service beyond the six-year requirement cannot be counted toward qualification for subsequent sabbaticals.

The faculty with Associate Professor rank or above holding full-time administrative position may only take a sabbatical leave from their faculty positions after completely relinquishing their administrative positions. However, time in administrative appointments counts toward eligibility for the sabbatical leave.

The usual minimum length of sabbatical is one semester and the maximum length is one year at 100% salary, if the faculty has fulfilled the full-time service requirement of six years.

A faculty member must serve at Koç University, upon return, for a period of time at least equal to the length of his/her most recent sabbatical leave. If this obligation is not fulfilled, the faculty member or his/her new employer must reimburse the University for the salary paid while on sabbatical leave. This requirement is to be strictly enforced with no exceptions.