Start of study

I would like to study, but I don’t know yet which study I want to start – what can I do?

Don’t worry, we’ve all been there at one time or another. We even made a video about it 🙂
If you would like to discuss your study choices, please feel free to contact us during our advising hours.
The 1st step to study is always to weigh your own abilities, skills and most importantly interests. Nothing works without interest, at least not in the long term. Interest is an important prerequisite for every study and later also for your profession. On 18Plus, the career and study checker, you can find out about various counseling services and take skills and interest tests. If you are looking for further advice on this topic, you can also contact the psychological student counseling service, where you can make an appointment for a test or an interview.
You can get an overview of the courses offered in Austria on the studienplattform.at. There you search for fields of study that interest you. In addition, you will find further information, such as the contact details of the student representatives, the admission requirements and the study contents in the study plan, the curriculum. Indeed, studies may have similar names but consist of entirely different emphases and courses. Therefore, compare the contents of different fields of study and use them to decide which ones you like. It is also very important that you can be admitted to the program. Directly after the Matura, for example, you can only start bachelor’s and diploma studies; for a master’s program, you would need a relevant undergraduate degree. You can also find out more about study eligibility and admission on the Studienplattform .

To then get a taste of different fields of study, you can use studierenprobieren.at and participate in courses. New dates will be available from 20.03. and the 20.10. unlocked. This way, you can check out majors that don’t have an official open house and talk to students who have already passed their entrance exams.

Study opportunities

There are several types of higher education institutions in Austria, which differ in terms of study programs, focus areas and organization. Some majors are only offered at a certain type of college, while others can be taken at both a technical college and a university, for example. Major differences between these two types of higher education institutions are, on the one hand, that universities provide a scientific education, while universities of applied sciences offer more practical training, but also that study programs at universities of applied sciences are often more clearly structured and, accordingly, usually less flexible. University courses usually require a lot of self-organization, while universities of applied sciences have class groups that follow a common timetable. Ultimately, however, the choice is yours!

How do I get admitted to a degree program?

If your desired degree program does not have an admissions process, you can apply for it within the general admissions period. You can find more information on the website of the university and the studienplattform.at. Pre-registration via internet form or similar may be necessary, which you should present together with other documents, such as your proof of university entrance qualification, at enrollment.
If there is an admissions process, you need to sign up for it early. The deadlines for this sometimes begin several months before the start of your studies, so find out as soon as possible. Please note that these admission procedures vary by field of study and may test learned knowledge, physical skills, artistic expression, as well as reading comprehension and logical reasoning.

Timetable? Study plan?

Every degree program has a plan of study, called the curriculum, where all the courses you need to graduate are listed. There you will also find prerequisites, such as in many university studies the Studieneingangs- und Orientierungsphase (StEOP), which you must pass before you can attend further courses. Your schedule is created from the curriculum, which shows you which classes you will take in which semester/on which day. Some majors have a prescribed course of study, while others only make recommendations. Your schedule should be put together before the semester begins. If you have any questions about this, please contact your departmental representative (faculty representative).

What is a tutorial and do I have to attend?

There are different types of tutorials. On the one hand, the Austrian National Union of Students (ÖH) offers first-semester tutorials. There you will hear useful things about everyday study life, about your university (e.g. “Where is the library?” and “Which computer labs are available to me?”) that are not directly related to a field of study. In these tutorials you can make your first contacts with your fellow students.
Another type of tutorials are subject-specific tutorials. These are offered by the institutes and are designed to help you process difficult material more easily. Attendance at tutorials is usually not compulsory, but it always pays to go. By the way, tutors are always students from your field of study.

I want to change universities and studies, do I have to start all over again now?

It depends on which field of study you want to switch to. If you are transferring to a similar major, you should find out if you can get credit for courses. Information about which courses these might be can usually be obtained from the departmental representatives. The Examination Office or the Office of the Dean of Studies is usually responsible for the crediting itself.
If you want to change to a completely different field of study, and you can’t get credit for any required courses, you can still get credit for the courses you have taken as “free electives”.

Which part-time studies are offered in Austria?

There are several universities of applied sciences that offer part-time studies. You can search for part-time UAS studies on the studienplattform.at. At Austrian universities, there is no course of study that goes under the title “part-time study”. Therefore, there is unfortunately no central listing of study programs that are possible while working. Whether a field of study can be studied part-time depends on whether the courses are also offered in the evening. This question can best be answered by the respective study direction representative.

What is the general procedure for a Student Qualification Examination (SBP)?

  • Obtain application form and related information from the university for the SBP (central administration of the university, administrator for the SBP).
  • If necessary: Supplementation of previous education
  • Determination of the elective subject(s): Agreement with a suitable examiner on the subject matter of the elective examination.
  • Submit the application for admission to the SBP (stating the elective subject(s) including the examination proposal) and the required documents and proofs in the central administration of the university to the person in charge of the SBP.
  • In the semester following the notification of admission, apply for student aid at the scholarship office of the place of study.
  • Exam preparation: course attendance at a university or adult education institution; self-study.
  • Recognition of examinations already taken elsewhere: This is done in the central administration of the university by the SBP administrator.
  • Registration for offered essay and compulsory subject appointments; arrange appointments for elective subject examinations: according to the notice of the central administration of the university, with the respective examiners
  • After positive completion or recognition of all required examinations: Pick up your university entrance qualification certificate at the central administration of the university (administrator for the SBP).
  • If you are receiving a study grant: after the end of the grant in the first 3 months of the following semester, submit proof of passing at least half of the scheduled examinations to the study grant authority, unless the study entitlement certificate has already been submitted for a subsequent application.

The university entrance qualification examination can be taken at the

  • Uni Vienna,
  • University of Graz,
  • Uni Innsbruck,
  • Uni Salzburg,
  • TU Vienna,
  • TU Graz,
  • WU Vienna,
  • Uni Linz and
  • Uni Klagenfurt

be filed. You can find more information on the studienplattform.at.

I have several majors enrolled and am currently trying to put together my schedule. In the process, I found out that my courses overlap.

It is important that you are aware of the differences between the various types of courses. There is a big difference between lectures (abbreviated VO or VL) and all other courses (e.g. UE, PS, SE, EX). Attendance is not compulsory for lectures, but it is for everything else. You also have to register in advance for all other types of courses. So it’s best to take another look at what types of courses you’ve chosen that overlap there, and maybe forgo a lecture in favor of an exercise, proseminar, or something similar.

Attention: If you receive family allowance and/or study allowance, there are certain rules concerning the change of studies. You can find information about this in the social brochure of the ÖH-Bundesvertretung or in the ÖH-Sozialreferaten.