{"id":1212257,"date":"2026-03-24T20:14:50","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T19:14:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/news-en\/illness-requires-a-change-of-studies-changing-studies-at-a-later-date-may-be-permitted\/"},"modified":"2026-03-24T22:28:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T21:28:36","slug":"illness-requires-a-change-of-studies-changing-studies-at-a-later-date-may-be-permitted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/achieved-for-you\/illness-requires-a-change-of-studies-changing-studies-at-a-later-date-may-be-permitted\/","title":{"rendered":"Illness requires a change of studies – Changing studies at a later date may be permitted"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Student C begins a bachelor\u2019s degree program in the natural sciences. Shortly thereafter, she develops a mental health condition, which prevents her from completing coursework. It is not until five semesters later that she accepts the futility of continuing her studies and withdraws from the program. <\/p>

After several years of working, C begins a degree program in the humanities, which she is able to complete despite her illness. She quickly achieves good academic results. She applies for a self-supporting student grant. On the advice of the social counseling service of the Austrian National Union of Students (\u00d6H), she attaches an explanatory statement to the application, explaining why her ongoing illness made it impossible for her to continue her previous program of study and why she had to switch programs. She also attaches various medical certificates. <\/p>

The Student Grant Office has rejected her application due to a late change of studies. She did not switch programs until after her fifth semester, and the medical certificates she submitted do not explain why her medical condition specifically prevents her from continuing her bachelor\u2019s degree in the natural sciences, but does not prevent her from pursuing her new degree in the humanities. <\/p>

With further support from the \u00d6H, C files an appeal against the denial of financial aid. She argues that changing her major was absolutely necessary because her mental illness is incompatible with a degree in the natural sciences. The Student Financial Aid Act (“Studienf\u00f6rderungsgesetz”) stipulates that students may change their field of study no more than twice. Furthermore, any change must be made no later than after the second semester of enrollment. <\/strong>Changing degree programs at a later stage results in a waiting period. An exception applies if the change is necessitated by an unavoidable event for which the student is not at fault. Changes in degree programs necessitated by illness or accident shall not result in the loss of eligibility for financial aid. However, dropping out of a degree program solely for personal reasons is not an inevitable outcome, even if those personal reasons stem from a medically diagnosed depressive disorder. The decisive factor is the complete lack of hope of continuing the current program, while there is a reasonable prospect of successfully completing the subsequent program. <\/em><\/p>

In C\u2019s case, she has a medical condition that prevented her from continuing her previous course of study. She did not decide to switch programs for personal reasons, but because her medical condition made it impossible for her to successfully pursue a degree in the natural sciences. By contrast, she is able to pursue her new degree in the humanities despite her medical condition. <\/p>

In C\u2019s appeal proceedings, the Student Aid Authority requests the submission of a new medical certificate from a specialist to support C\u2019s claim. C submits a new medical certificate from a specialist stating that, due to her illness, C lacks the cognitive ability required to meet the complex demands of a bachelor\u2019s degree program in the natural sciences. However, she is fully capable of pursuing her current degree program in the humanities. After the new medical certificate is submitted, the authority retroactively grants C a self-support student aid of \u20ac977 per month for her current degree program, effective from the month of application. <\/p>

Achieved through the \u00d6H: The student receives a self-supporting student grant despite changing her major late, as she can prove that the change was necessary due to illness.<\/p>

See more success stories from our consulting services at: www.oeh.ac.at\/geschafft<\/a><\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Student C begins a bachelor\u2019s degree program in the natural sciences. Shortly thereafter, she develops a mental health condition, which prevents her from completing…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":138,"featured_media":1212245,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3497],"tags":[6523],"class_list":["post-1212257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-achieved-for-you","tag-oeh"],"yoast_head":"\nIllness requires a change of studies - Changing studies at a later date may be permitted - \u00d6sterreichische Hochsch\u00fcler_innenschaft (\u00d6H)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/achieved-for-you\/illness-requires-a-change-of-studies-changing-studies-at-a-later-date-may-be-permitted\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Illness requires a change of studies - Changing studies at a later date may be permitted - \u00d6sterreichische Hochsch\u00fcler_innenschaft (\u00d6H)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Student C begins a bachelor\u2019s degree program in the natural sciences. Shortly thereafter, she develops a mental health condition, which prevents her from completing...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/achieved-for-you\/illness-requires-a-change-of-studies-changing-studies-at-a-later-date-may-be-permitted\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"\u00d6sterreichische Hochsch\u00fcler_innenschaft (\u00d6H)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/bundesoeh\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-24T19:14:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-24T21:28:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Geschafft_neu.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2160\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Valentina Kloibhofer\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/achieved-for-you\/illness-requires-a-change-of-studies-changing-studies-at-a-later-date-may-be-permitted\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/achieved-for-you\/illness-requires-a-change-of-studies-changing-studies-at-a-later-date-may-be-permitted\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Valentina Kloibhofer\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/c773f8c1f2d9cb17c276f68ee31d089d\"},\"headline\":\"Illness requires a change of studies – Changing studies at a later date may be permitted\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-24T19:14:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-24T21:28:36+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/achieved-for-you\/illness-requires-a-change-of-studies-changing-studies-at-a-later-date-may-be-permitted\/\"},\"wordCount\":607,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/achieved-for-you\/illness-requires-a-change-of-studies-changing-studies-at-a-later-date-may-be-permitted\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Geschafft_neu.png\",\"keywords\":[\"\u00d6H\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Achieved for you\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/achieved-for-you\/illness-requires-a-change-of-studies-changing-studies-at-a-later-date-may-be-permitted\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/achieved-for-you\/illness-requires-a-change-of-studies-changing-studies-at-a-later-date-may-be-permitted\/\",\"name\":\"Illness requires a change of studies - Changing studies at a later date may be permitted - \u00d6sterreichische Hochsch\u00fcler_innenschaft (\u00d6H)\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/achieved-for-you\/illness-requires-a-change-of-studies-changing-studies-at-a-later-date-may-be-permitted\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/achieved-for-you\/illness-requires-a-change-of-studies-changing-studies-at-a-later-date-may-be-permitted\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Geschafft_neu.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-24T19:14:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-24T21:28:36+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/achieved-for-you\/illness-requires-a-change-of-studies-changing-studies-at-a-later-date-may-be-permitted\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/achieved-for-you\/illness-requires-a-change-of-studies-changing-studies-at-a-later-date-may-be-permitted\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/achieved-for-you\/illness-requires-a-change-of-studies-changing-studies-at-a-later-date-may-be-permitted\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Geschafft_neu.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Geschafft_neu.png\",\"width\":2160,\"height\":1080},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/achieved-for-you\/illness-requires-a-change-of-studies-changing-studies-at-a-later-date-may-be-permitted\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Startseite\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Illness requires a change of studies – Changing studies at a later date may be permitted\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/\",\"name\":\"\u00d6sterreichische Hochsch\u00fcler_innenschaft\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"\u00d6H\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"\u00d6sterreichische Hochsch\u00fcler_innenschaft\",\"alternateName\":\"\u00d6H\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/OeH_Logo_white_RGB.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/OeH_Logo_white_RGB.png\",\"width\":1600,\"height\":1330,\"caption\":\"\u00d6sterreichische Hochsch\u00fcler_innenschaft\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/bundesoeh\",\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/bundesoeh\",\"https:\/\/youtube.com\/bundesoeh\",\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/bundesoeh.bsky.social\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/c773f8c1f2d9cb17c276f68ee31d089d\",\"name\":\"Valentina Kloibhofer\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Illness requires a change of studies - Changing studies at a later date may be permitted - \u00d6sterreichische Hochsch\u00fcler_innenschaft (\u00d6H)","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/achieved-for-you\/illness-requires-a-change-of-studies-changing-studies-at-a-later-date-may-be-permitted\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Illness requires a change of studies - Changing studies at a later date may be permitted - \u00d6sterreichische Hochsch\u00fcler_innenschaft (\u00d6H)","og_description":"Student C begins a bachelor\u2019s degree program in the natural sciences. Shortly thereafter, she develops a mental health condition, which prevents her from completing...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/achieved-for-you\/illness-requires-a-change-of-studies-changing-studies-at-a-later-date-may-be-permitted\/","og_site_name":"\u00d6sterreichische Hochsch\u00fcler_innenschaft (\u00d6H)","article_publisher":"https:\/\/facebook.com\/bundesoeh","article_published_time":"2026-03-24T19:14:50+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-03-24T21:28:36+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2160,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Geschafft_neu.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Valentina Kloibhofer","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/achieved-for-you\/illness-requires-a-change-of-studies-changing-studies-at-a-later-date-may-be-permitted\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/achieved-for-you\/illness-requires-a-change-of-studies-changing-studies-at-a-later-date-may-be-permitted\/"},"author":{"name":"Valentina Kloibhofer","@id":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/c773f8c1f2d9cb17c276f68ee31d089d"},"headline":"Illness requires a change of studies – Changing studies at a later date may be permitted","datePublished":"2026-03-24T19:14:50+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-24T21:28:36+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/achieved-for-you\/illness-requires-a-change-of-studies-changing-studies-at-a-later-date-may-be-permitted\/"},"wordCount":607,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/achieved-for-you\/illness-requires-a-change-of-studies-changing-studies-at-a-later-date-may-be-permitted\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Geschafft_neu.png","keywords":["\u00d6H"],"articleSection":["Achieved for you"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/achieved-for-you\/illness-requires-a-change-of-studies-changing-studies-at-a-later-date-may-be-permitted\/","url":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/achieved-for-you\/illness-requires-a-change-of-studies-changing-studies-at-a-later-date-may-be-permitted\/","name":"Illness requires a change of studies - Changing studies at a later date may be permitted - \u00d6sterreichische Hochsch\u00fcler_innenschaft (\u00d6H)","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/achieved-for-you\/illness-requires-a-change-of-studies-changing-studies-at-a-later-date-may-be-permitted\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/achieved-for-you\/illness-requires-a-change-of-studies-changing-studies-at-a-later-date-may-be-permitted\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Geschafft_neu.png","datePublished":"2026-03-24T19:14:50+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-24T21:28:36+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/achieved-for-you\/illness-requires-a-change-of-studies-changing-studies-at-a-later-date-may-be-permitted\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/achieved-for-you\/illness-requires-a-change-of-studies-changing-studies-at-a-later-date-may-be-permitted\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/achieved-for-you\/illness-requires-a-change-of-studies-changing-studies-at-a-later-date-may-be-permitted\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Geschafft_neu.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Geschafft_neu.png","width":2160,"height":1080},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/achieved-for-you\/illness-requires-a-change-of-studies-changing-studies-at-a-later-date-may-be-permitted\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Startseite","item":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Illness requires a change of studies – Changing studies at a later date may be permitted"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/","name":"\u00d6sterreichische Hochsch\u00fcler_innenschaft","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/#organization"},"alternateName":"\u00d6H","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/#organization","name":"\u00d6sterreichische Hochsch\u00fcler_innenschaft","alternateName":"\u00d6H","url":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/OeH_Logo_white_RGB.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/OeH_Logo_white_RGB.png","width":1600,"height":1330,"caption":"\u00d6sterreichische Hochsch\u00fcler_innenschaft"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/facebook.com\/bundesoeh","https:\/\/instagram.com\/bundesoeh","https:\/\/youtube.com\/bundesoeh","https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/bundesoeh.bsky.social"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/c773f8c1f2d9cb17c276f68ee31d089d","name":"Valentina Kloibhofer"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1212257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/138"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1212257"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1212257\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1212258,"href":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1212257\/revisions\/1212258"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1212245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1212257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1212257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oeh.ac.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1212257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}