How to Get Into a University in Austria as an International Student

Fee figures: catalogue of 6 October 2026.

Austria has no national application portal. You apply directly to each university, Fachhochschule or private university, and each one checks your documents itself. The good news is that most bachelor's programmes at public universities have no selection at all: if your school certificate and your language level meet the requirements, you are admitted.

Three kinds of institution

• Public universities admit to most bachelor's and Diplom programmes without selection. The exceptions are medicine, dentistry, psychology, arts and music, and a few other fields with a test or selection procedure.
• Fachhochschulen (universities of applied sciences) always run their own admission procedure, with a limited number of places, often a written test and an interview, and their own deadlines.
• Private universities set their own rules, usually an application, an entrance exam or interview, and their own deadlines.

Our catalogue covers 776 bachelor's and Diplom programmes at 77 institutions and campuses in Austria. Diplom programmes, such as Medicine or Law at some universities, start straight after school and lead directly to the final degree.

German or English

Most undergraduate teaching is in German. Our catalogue lists 87 programmes taught in English, many of them at Fachhochschulen and private universities.

For German-taught programmes you must prove your German. Universities set the level themselves, and C1 is common: the University of Vienna, for example, requires C1 before you can be admitted as a regular student, and the medical test requires C1 too. See German language exams: TestDaF and DSH for the certificates.

If your German is not yet good enough, a public university can still accept your application and require a German exam (and sometimes subject exams) before you start the degree. These are called supplementary exams (Ergänzungsprüfungen). The OeAD runs pre-study courses (Vorstudienlehrgänge) in Vienna and Graz to prepare for them. Places are limited, so this route adds time and is not guaranteed.

Your school certificate

You need the Austrian Matura or a foreign school-leaving certificate that is equivalent to it. In practice, your certificate must give you access to the same kind of programme in the country where you got it: if it would not let you study Medicine at home, it will not let you study Medicine in Austria. The university decides this when it checks your documents, and it may set supplementary exams if something is missing.

Documents from outside the EU usually need legalisation or an apostille and a certified translation. See apostille and legalisation and sworn translation.

Entrance tests and selection

• Medicine and dentistry use one shared test, the MedAT. For 2027, registration is expected to run through March and the test is expected on 9 July 2027. At least 75% of medicine places go to applicants with an Austrian Matura and at most 5% to applicants from outside the EU, so places for non-EU applicants are very few.
• Psychology and some other popular fields have their own entrance tests at certain universities, with registration that opens earlier than for other programmes.
• Arts and music programmes hold aptitude exams, often in spring.

Austria does not publish cutoff scores. Where there is a test, the university ranks applicants and fills its places.

Step by step

1. Choose programmes and check, on each programme page, whether there is a test or selection procedure.
2. Check the language of teaching and the German level you need.
3. Prepare your school certificate with legalisation and a certified translation.
4. Apply online to each institution. Programmes with tests and Fachhochschulen close earlier, sometimes six months before the semester. For other public university programmes the general admission deadline for the winter semester is 5 September, but applicants with a non-EU certificate should apply months earlier, because checking foreign documents takes time and some universities set earlier application windows.
5. Sit any test or supplementary exam you are required to take.
6. Enrol, pay the fees and register for courses.

If you are not an EU citizen

You need a residence permit for students (Aufenthaltsbewilligung Student). The first application is normally made in person at an Austrian embassy or consulate before you travel, with your admission letter, proof of money, health insurance and other documents. Allow plenty of time. See the overview of student visas in Europe.

Where to look next

• How much it costs to study in Austria
• All 776 programmes in Austria

Official sources

• Study in Austria (OeAD): application and admission
• Studienwahl.at: requirements and deadlines (Ministry of Science)
• MedAT: entrance test for medicine and dentistry
• OeAD pre-study courses: preparation for supplementary exams

Always check current information on the official website of the university before you apply.