Austrian university admission process

  Austrian university admission process

After you have decided on the university, it's time to study the organizational issues: how to apply, what requirements for deadlines and documents need to be fulfilled, and how to pass exams. In a word, let's now consider what needs to be done in order to enter and get a dream education at an Austrian university.

1. Requirements

Each study program has different requirements for applicants. This is primarily due to the chosen field of study. Therefore, the criteria for admission to medical specialties are fundamentally different from the criteria for admission to the Sports Science program (this, by the way, is one of the radical differences between the higher education systems in Austria and the CIS countries). It is important to understand here that there are always differences between formal requirements (which are necessary to simply apply to study at the university) and personal requirements (which are necessary for successful completion of their studies. By the way, it is thanks to the last point that fewer applicants drop out in Austria) than, say, in the post-Soviet countries.

For clarity, let's look at two illustrative examples of requirements for applicants, non-EU residents, for admission to a bachelor's degree.

Formal requirements for undergraduate admission

Complete secondary education (matriculation certificate or equivalent)

Certificate from the university at home (only for applicants to state universities) Certificate in German (details in this article)

Depending on the university and the program - a certificate in English

Successful passing of entrance examinations (if provided by the program and depending on the university) Formal requirements for admission to the master's degree

Bachelor's degree (or equivalent), usually in a specialty

Certificate from the university at home (only for applicants to state universities). You do not need a certificate if you are continuing your studies at an Austrian university after receiving a bachelor's degree here.

Certificate in German or English (depending on the university and program)

Successful passing of entrance examinations (if introduced and depending on the university). The entrance exam is not passed if you continue your studies after completing your Bachelor's degree in Austria.

Personal requirements for admission

If the formal requirements for all specialties are basically the same, then the personal ones will be very different, depending on the programs.

For example, for future physicians, this is the following set of requirements.

Responsibility

Stress resistance

No problem seeing blood

No problems with physical intimacy

Empathy (empathy)

Discipline

Sleight of hand

Commitment to lifelong learning, etc.

But for future culturologists, the set of personal requirements will be completely different.

Passion for culture of all kinds

Openness and curiosity

Planning talent

Willingness to work irregularly

Certain stress resistance and flexibility

Teamwork

Desire to work with different personalities