Higher education

Institutions – Requirements – Fees – Academic year

Higher education in Austria is well developed and offers a broad choice of undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate studies.

Institutions and offers

Universities cover a broad range of subjects from “standard” fields like Architecture, Law or Economics to more special interest studies like Egyptology or Byzantine Studies.
Degree programmes are divided into bachelor programmes (BA, undergraduate), master programmes (MA, graduate) and doctoral studies (PhD, postgraduate). Sometimes you can still come across the old two-tier degree system split in diploma and doctoral studies. 

Universities of Applied Sciences focus on more practice-oriented courses including compulsory placements and practical projects involving commercial enterprises. In addition to full-time study programmes also part-time study programmes for working students are available.

University Training Courses/University Level Courses are continuing education programmes for degree and non-degree students who wish to acquire specialist knowledge in a certain field.

At the moment there are 12 accredited Private Universities in Austria, operating mostly in the fields of medicine, economics and music.

Entrance requirements

• General
  - school leaving certificate (A-levels) or equivalent
  - proof of knowledge of German for non-native speakers

• Additional for Non-EU-citizens
  - admission statement (Studienplatznachweis) for the chosen degree programme to prove that you have a place at a university in the same country that issued the school leaving certificate.

Note! For some degree programmes like Medicine there are only limited number of places, so you have to sit an entrance exam!
There are always restrictions for access at the Universities of Applied Sciences, prepare for an assessment centre!

Note! For some degree programmes supplementary qualifications are required.

Please always check with your university of choice for possible entrance exams or additional qualifications needed as well as for admission procedures and deadlines!

Tuition fees per semester

• for EU-citizens, citizens of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland

  € 16,86 Austrian National Students’ Union and insurance fee
  plus (+)

  € 0,- as long as the studies are completed within the minimum time of the degree programme plus two additional semesters.
  OR
  € 363,36 in case the minimum time of study is exceeded.

• for citizens of other countries

  € 16,86 Austrian National Students’ Union and insurance fee
  plus (+)
  € 363,36

Note! There are various options to get a remission or reimbursement of tuition fees. Terms and conditions vary from university to university, please check with the university you plan to attend. The Austrian National Students’ Union and insurance fee is to be paid at all times.

Academic year

winter semester: October 1st – January 31st
summer semester: February 1st – September 30th

Photo: Parken in Freiburg im Breisgau © Hartmut910 / pixelio.de

Related Documents
Studying in Austria: PDF brochure by the Austrian National Union of Students (ÖH), March 2009 studying_in_austria_maerz_2009.pdf (575.14 KB)
Austria Welcomes You - A brief Guide to Educational Opportunities for International Students: PDF brochure by OeAD, April 2010 OeAD_study_2010_web.pdf (1003.88 KB)