Even non-EU students living and studying in Austria can expect a yearly tuition bill in the hundreds – rather than thousands – of euros. Vienna in particular is consistently ranked in many surveys as among the best cities to be a student anywhere in the world. The quality of education is high and due to Austria’s skilled worker shortage, the process of staying to take on a job after you finish your degree is simplified.
Sounds good? At first glance, it might seem like a student experience that’s impossible. You might even speak German decently well, but not be quite up to the academic C1 level many university programmes here require.
The good news is that many degree programmes in Austria are offered in English – particularly, but not exclusively at the graduate level.
READ ALSO: How do I stay in Austria after graduating from an Austrian university?
Taking a Master's
Austria is home to dozens of public universities, polytechnic institutes, and private universities – many of which offer English-language graduate degrees. A search on the Masters Portal website yields 328 graduate degrees you can earn in Austria while studying in English. Many of these are given at private universities or are executive education degrees. However, over 200 English-language programmes are still offered at prices of less than €1,000 a year.
These programmes are also offered across a wide range of disciplines – including Business, Computer Science, Design, Engineering, Hospitality, Medicine, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences.
Vienna doesn’t have a monopoly on the offered English-language degree programmes either. Depending on what you’re studying, you might also be able to take your courses in any of Austria’s other major cities – including Linz, Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, and Graz, among others.
READ ALSO: How do I get a student visa for Austria and what does it let me do?
Taking a Bachelor’s
The options for an English-language Bachelor’s in Austria are considerably less than those offered at the graduate level. In contrast to the hundreds of Master programmes offered, Bachelors Portal only lists 21 for Austria.
Over half of these programmes are in Business and Management and about a third in Social Sciences. A few are offered by private universities like Central European University – although these run tuition fees into the thousands every year. Most courses though, are either largely free of charge or come with the nominal fee of €726 per year.
Although Bachelor offerings in the English language in Austria are far fewer than Master offerings, there are still English-language Bachelor programmes offered around the country in places like Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Krems, Linz, Graz, and Klagenfurt.
EXPLAINED: The language requirements for studying in Austria
What documentation will I need?
In addition to your admission requirements, you will need to submit proof of English-language proficiency.
If English isn’t your mother tongue, this can be done in a few ways. This includes having a Bachelor’s degree completed in an English-speaking country, or by taking a TOEFL or IELTS test, for example.
At the University of Vienna, which has almost 40 Master programmes offered in English, B2 English is required for most degrees of study. The notable exceptions to this are courses offered in the English department, which require English at a C1 level.
Otherwise, make sure your other admission documents are translated into either German or English if necessary.
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