Admission to Austrian universities with a foreign school certificate

A foreign school-leaving certificate can be used to apply for admission to a bachelor’s or diploma programme in Austria, but the procedure depends on the university, the country that issued the certificate and the chosen programme. Some programmes have a selection or aptitude procedure before admission. 1112

Who needs this

• This guide is for applicants with a school-leaving certificate from an EU/EEA country, Switzerland or a non-EU country. For programmes without a selection or aptitude procedure, the Universität Wien sets out different steps depending on the country that issued the certificate. 11
• For programmes with a selection procedure, selection takes place before admission. Dates and procedures can differ from programme to programme. 12

Step by step

1. Choose your university and programme and check whether there is a selection or aptitude procedure (Aufnahme-/Eignungsverfahren). At the Universität Wien, the steps depend on this and on your previous education. 11
2. Submit the admission application (Antrag auf Zulassung) within the application period (Antragsfrist). At the Universität Wien, you must then complete the required steps and meet the admission requirements within the admission period (Zulassungsfrist). 8
3. Submit the evidence required for your case in the required form. At TU Wien, documents are handed in by post or in person; electronically submitted applications are not processed. At JKU Linz, you select your programme in JKU MyAdmission and must apply personally; applying through an agency is unlawful. 52
4. After the review, complete admission as your university requires. TU Wien sends the admission decision (Zulassungsbescheid) by post once its review is finished. At the Universität Wien, applicants with a school-leaving certificate from a non-EU/EEA country seeking a programme with a selection or aptitude procedure wait for their Zulassungsbescheid and then tell the Servicedesk within the admission period that they wish to begin studying. 510

Documents

• TU Wien lists a copy of a passport or identity card and certified proof of German at A2 or C1. Applicants who are studying or have studied must also provide evidence of those studies in a certified and, where needed, translated copy. Non-EU/EEA citizens with an Austrian address must provide a registration confirmation (Meldebestätigung). 5
• TU Wien has certification rules for documents not issued in Austria. Documents not originally issued in German or English must be officially translated and inseparably attached to the original; translations should be made only after any required certification. 5
• In MyAdmission, JKU asks for data and evidence of previous education as a PDF and a portrait photograph for the JKU Card as a JPEG. Documents not issued in German or English must be translated after certification by a court-sworn translator (gerichtlich beeidete Übersetzerin or gerichtlich beeideter Übersetzer). 2
• For an application to a German-language bachelor’s programme at Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien (WU), proof of German at level A2 or higher, no more than two years old, is required. For admission to the regular programme, a recognised C1 certificate or another accepted proof must be presented at the latest at personal admission; the C1 certificates listed there are valid for three years from the examination date. 14
• Country-specific requirements may apply: for previous education from certain countries, the Universität Wien requires additional evidence, such as a national university entrance examination with an apostille. 9

Cost and time

• At public universities, the tuition fee (Studienbeitrag) is €363.36 per semester for certain groups of regular students once they exceed the prescribed study duration by more than two semesters. Other regular third-country students holding a student residence permit generally pay €726.72 per semester. 14
• Tuition is payable in advance for each semester. Applying for admission at JKU Linz is free; at TU Wien, the review of an admission application can take 10–12 weeks. 245

Deadlines

• At the Universität Wien, application periods for bachelor’s and diploma programmes differ by nationality and, where relevant, by programme and selection or aptitude procedure. Do not miss the application period, or you cannot complete the admission procedure. 8
• TU Wien recommends submitting complete winter-semester applications from early February to late July (EU/EEA) or from 16 January to 15 July (non-EU/EEA), and summer-semester applications from early August to late January or from 16 July to 15 January. Personal enrolment with a Zulassungsbescheid is possible until 31 October for the winter semester and until 31 March for the summer semester. 5

City by city

• Linz: Non-EU/EEA citizens apply at JKU six months before the start of studies: from 6 February to 31 March for the winter semester and from 6 September to 31 October for the summer semester. For the application period from 6 September to 31 October 2026, JKU accepts notarised copies of correctly certified original documents, or the correctly certified originals with any required translations. 2
• Wien: For bachelor’s and diploma programmes without a selection or aptitude procedure, the Universität Wien lists application periods from 22 June to 5 September 2026 (winter 2026/27) and from 16 November 2026 to 5 February 2027 (summer 2027) for EU/EEA/Swiss nationals and equivalent third-country nationals, and from 22 June to 3 August 2026 and from 16 November 2026 to 7 January 2027 for non-EU/EEA nationals. Sport and Human Movement Science and programmes with a selection or aptitude procedure may have other deadlines. At WU, the general admission period for bachelor’s programmes runs from 9 July to 5 September 2026 (winter 2026/27) and from 7 January to 5 February 2027 (summer 2027). 815
• Innsbruck: The Universität Innsbruck provides separate admission information for school certificates from EU/EEA countries and from non-EU countries. 7