Study in Austria

Austria is situated in the heart of Europe and offers an ideal place to live and study for Hong Kong students. Its capital Vienna has been ranked as the city with the highest quality of living worldwide for ten consecutive years and has been awarded with the title of greenest city worldwide in 2020. Not only is Vienna known as the world’s music capital full of traditions and culture, but it is also an important hub within Europe. Due to its location, Vienna has the ideal connection between Western and Eastern Europe and therefore is an interesting city for students from all over the world. But also the universities located in other student cities within Austria (such as Innsbruck, Salzburg, Linz, Graz or Klagenfurt) have rich history and offer interesting study programs for internationals. Given that Austria is a member of the European Union, all offered programmes are internationally acknowledged.

The Education System

Kindergarten
In Austria, the educational career has its start in Kindergarten. One year before entering primary school, children are obliged to attend one Kindergarten year. The idea behind this mandatory year is to provide children with the necessary skills they need for school.

Primary Education (Volksschule)
After Kindergarten, children enter primary school at the age of 6. Primary school has a duration of 4 years and is mandatory for everyone. Most primary schools in Austria are taught exclusively in German, however, there are individual private primary schools across the country who have specialized in English.

Secondary Education
Austria offers 2 levels of secondary education:

• Secondary level 1 lasts for 4 years. Students can choose between new secondary school (Neue Mittelschule – formally known as Hauptschule), academic secondary school lower level (AHS Unterstufe) as well as special needs schools and inclusive education. 
• Secondary level 2 also lasts for a total of 4 years, with the following options: secondary technical or “polytechnical” schools (= schools preparing students for an apprenticeship or job), vocational schools and apprenticeships (dual system), vocational secondary schools, vocational colleges (3-year education), upper level of grammar schools (higher secondary schools of general education) as well as the vocational preparatory year and integrative vocational education.

Higher Education
There is a wide variety of higher educational institutions in Austria. A total of 22 Austrian universities (www.studienwahl.at/en) offer a broad range of study options for students. 6 Austrian Universities of Arts offer creative education programmes on music, theatre, film, fine or applied arts. Furthermore, Austria has 21 Universities of Applied Sciences (Fachhochschulen; www.fachhochschulen.at) that offer a combined total of 264 degree programmes. In addition, there are 12 private universities (Privatuniversitäten; www.oepuk.ac.at) and 14 Teacher Training Colleges and Institutes.
Some 500 different study options in numerous fields are available in Austria. Depending on the field of study, the number of applicants and the size of the university the application criteria varies. In total, international students make up 26% of Austria’s college student body. The majority of international students originate from one of Austria’s neighbouring countries (mostly Germany and Italy) or from another EU Member country. After the EU, students from Asia form the second largest group with 8.4%. Please visit https://studyinaustria.at/en/ for study programmes offered in Austria, as well as a leaflet
with listed Austrian universities, the structure of the Austrian education system and all relevant details regarding tuition fees, accommodation, residency & visa etc.
You can find more information on the Austrian education system and Austria’s participation in international exchange programmes on the following webpage: www.advantageaustria.org/cn/education

Language Requirements
As Austria is a German-speaking country, you might wish to attend a German-speaking study program. Please consider that you should start learning German early enough to ensure that your German level is high enough in order to follow an academic class.
Those who do not want to attend an entirely German university program have the chance to enrol in a study program taught in English. please visit https://www.studienwahl.at/en for further information on English programs. In general, there are no universal language requirements which can be applied to all universities. For the specific required language level please refer to the homepage of the respective university you are interested in.

Residency and Visa
In order to study in Austria as a non-member of the European Union, you need to apply for a residence permit for study purposes. You should hand in your application including your letter of admission at least three months before entering Austria. In addition, you will have to prove your sufficient financial means, which comes up to HK$ 100,000 for students under the age of 24 and HK$ 120,000 for students above this age. For more information please visit the homepage of the Austrian Foreign Ministry
https://www.bmeia.gv.at/en/gen...

Financial Means
One academic year comprises two semesters, each of around four or five months. When preparing and considering a study program in Austria, the cost of living should be considered. Living expenses, especially housing, can vary greatly depending on the city of study. But in general, all living expenses will be approximately HK$8,000 per month. In order to help you with your living expenses and your studies in Austria, various grants and scholarships are provided at the following database: https://grants.at/en/. Furthermore, you can check out the website of OeAD to check whether you are eligible for affordable housing. In general, the OeAD-Housing Office allocates vacant residence places to international scholarship holders and exchange students at Austrian universities and colleges as well as other educational institutions and recognized private universities in Austria. https://housing.oead.at/en/

Scholarships
The Austrian government, many private institutions and some universities offer scholarships for students. Scholarships are managed by a special agency – the Austrian Exchange Service (OeAD - Österreichischer Austauschdienst). If you are interested in financial support for studying in Austria please visit www.grants.at/en.