Entry Requirements in Austria

To apply to study in Austria, you have to send the application and necessary documents to either the university, the university of applied sciences Fachhochschule / UAS) or the UAS degree program. Applications submitted to the Austrian representative authorities will be forwarded to the educational institution.

Applications must arrive at the university on time. Bear in mind that forwarding may take some time and submission of the application at the representative institution must be done at the earliest. Some universities offer online applications and will then send specific further information to you via e-mail.

Closing dates/Deadlines for applications in Austria

• All documents have to arrive at the Austrian university by September 1^st for the winter semester and February 1^st for the summer semester. These deadlines are not extendable. Since it takes a while to process the applications it is advisable that you submit the application as early as possible.
• For Austrian residents and nationals of EU/EEA member countries and Swiss nationals, the general application deadlines of each university is approximately mid/end of October for the winter semester and mid/end of March for the summer semester, depending on the chosen university. An additional application period is available (November 30^th for the winter semester, April 30^th for the summer semester) to apply.
• Some programs need students to complete an entrance examination, for example Medical universities, universities of the arts and UAS degree programs. Please inquire in good time about application deadlines, special requirements and dates for the entrance examinations. Closing date for applications for entrance examinations can be up to 6 months before the beginning of the semester.

Needs for admission to study in Austria

• Application for admission- University application form (can be downloaded from the university’s homepage or will be sent by them). The candidate must mention the program he/she wishes to study and relevant personal information.
• Proof of nationality along with a copy of official ID along with photo or valid travel document (if required).
• General university entrance requirements (attested copies for International students)

– for bachelor and diploma degree studies: secondary school leaving certificate or equivalent

– for master studies: bachelor or equivalent degree

– for doctoral studies: diploma, master or equivalent degree

• For many programs proof of proficiency in German: is necessary and should also be included in the application documents, if available (e.g. German examination with the school leaving examination, language course diplomas).

Foreign documents have to be presented along with the original copy and have to be legalized. If documents are drawn up in languages other than German, legalized translations have to be added. Translations done abroad have to also be legalized.

Universities of the arts and UAS degree programs often do not require proof specific university entrance qualification; instead, prospective students have to pass an entrance examination or produce proof of relevant professional qualification. Information about the prerequisites (these differ from one institution to the other) is available from the universities of the arts, the universities of applied sciences and UAS degree programs.

If all prerequisites are met, the educational institution will send the notification of admission or the invitation to sit an entrance examination to the address specified by the applicant. Students may be admitted as degree program students or – if supplementary examinations are required and in the case of university training courses /university level courses Universitätslehrgänge) – as non-degree program students.

On arrival to Austria students have to enroll in person with the university or UAS degree program.

• Entry Requirements: For the pre-Masters courses, typical entry requirements are at least 3 years of higher education and UKVI IELTS 5.5 (minimum of 5.0 in all skills).
• If you do not meet the English language entry level but have at let UKVI IELTS 4.5 (minimum 4.0 in all skills) you can do a course that includes extended English and skills (EES).
• Intake: Students may be able to start in spring (January – April), summer (May – August) or autumn (September – November)

Requirements for the Admission to Austrian Universities

The following requirements must be fulfilled for the matriculation of a foreign citizen (or a stateless person) as a regular student in Austrian university degree programmes:

• A place to study has to be available at the university for the desired course of studies.
• The applicant must have an A-level or high school diploma, that can be considered equivalent to an Austrian Matura examination certification (either regulated by an agreement or in individual cases decided by the vice chancellor, possibly with certain requirements) or furnish proof of completion of a three-year (minimum) study at another certified post-secondary educational institution.
• The certification must be sufficient for acceptance to the desired course of study at a university in the country in which it was acquired. Any study-related requirements (e.g. entrance examination) must be fulfilled in the country in which the A-level or high school diploma was issued.
• If the desired course of study in Austria is not offered in the home country, then this proof is to be furnished regarding the most similar course of study. Only if the country does not have a university, this proof does not have to be submitted.
• In addition, the applicant must have sufficient German knowledge. If necessary, an examination is to be taken.

Deadline

At the latest by 5 September or 5 February every year for the following semester.

Exceptions

• To EU and EEA citizens, the same application periods apply as to Austrian residents.
• At the universities of the arts, the same application periods apply to foreigners as to Austrian residents, and admission is based on the entrance examination.

PLEASE NOTE:

Only those foreigners who come to Austria for a short time in the context of an Erasmus programme (and thus do not intend to complete an entire course of study) do not need to take an entrance examination.

Responsible Authority

The respective university (the decision is made by the vice chancellor).

Tuition fees

As of summer semester 2013, the following provisions on the university tuition fee are applicable:

Regular students with EU/EEA citizenship and persons enjoying equal rights as Austrians before the law (permanent residents, residence in Austria of at least five years before start of studies, etc.) have to pay a tuition fee of €363.36 per semester if they exceed the minimum period of study of a BA, MA or PhD programme by more than two semesters.

Students from third countries have to pay a tuition fee of €726.72 per semester.

Irregular students who are only admitted to certain lectures have to pay a tuition fee of €363.36 per semester irrespective of their citizenship.

PLEASE NOTE:

The tuition fee has to be paid only once per semester, even if several courses of study are followed concurrently at several universities.

Kinds of employment

In Austria, a person may in principle be employed from the age of 15, eg. for professional training (Lehre), of for an apprenticeship during school holidays. After completion of compulsory education at school, there is an obligation to continue educational measures until the age of 18. Any form of employment can therefore only accompany educational measures.

Part-time working is widespread in trade. Seasonal work is common in tourism and the hotel and catering trade in cities and tourist areas as well as agriculture and forestry. In the building trade, fixed-term employment contracts are also possible. Freelance service and work contracts are replacing conventional employment contracts in all fields of employment.

The type of employment stipulated in the employment contract does not necessarily correspond to the real-life situation: e.g. a contract may state a freelance services contract, although the occupation is carried-out in personal dependence, meaning the employed person is bound by instruction, directions regarding working hours, place of work, etc. In this case the contract is in fact a regular employment contract and the respective rules apply. Full and part-time work.