Frequently Asked Questions

We only accept applications via our online portal within our application period (see question 2).

Before starting your application, it is important to find out what you want to study, to clarify if you meet our formal requirements and to prepare all relevant documents (see question 3). After you have done that, it only takes a few steps to submit your application:

1) Get started: Create a user account in the online application portal.

2) Fill in the form: Provide your personal and contact details as well as previous education info.

3) Select study program: Pick your favorite option (as you can apply only once per application period, we advise that you list a second choice, too). If you cannot select your preferred option or any study program at all, the cause for that is most probably a passed deadline (see question 2).

4) Upload documents: Please note that the documents cannot be changed or updated after submission. Certifications can be submitted at a later date.

5) Review: Check all data and documents to ensure that everything is correct and complete.

6) Submission: Hand in your reviewed application. If your previous education is not from an EU member state, you will have to pass a short assessment (15 min.) before you can submit your application. This test can neither be practiced (no dummy tests available) nor retaken. 

7) Wait for confirmation: We will confirm receipt of your application via email. Within a few weeks, you will receive feedback and information about the next steps. Please refrain from inquiring about your application status, as we do not provide information on ongoing processes.

Please mind that we have only one intake per year - exclusively for the winter semester (September/October). Earlier admission, for example for the summer semester, is not possible.

Application period (if a visa is required): October 1 until May 31*
Individuals who need a visa to enter Austria may submit their application for the next academic year only between October 1 and May 31. This rule applies without exception. If you miss this deadline, you can start an application on our online portal, but you will not be able to select a study program until the next application period begins. This is not a bug, but an intentional technical restriction.

Application period (visa-free entry to Austria): October 1 until June 30 
EU/EEA-citizens, individuals with a valid residence permit of an EU member state and nationals of countries with visa-free entry to Austria (see full list) can apply from October 1 to June 30. After this deadline has passed, they can still apply for study programs that have not filled all their spots yet.

*Please note that processing applications can take several weeks, and sometimes even up to three months. We therefore recommend that you submit your application as early as possible (ideally by the end of February) to begin the admissions process and secure your spot in the program well in advance. This is especially important if you need an acceptance letter to apply for a student visa and/or residence permit (for details please see Admission).

With a university entrance qualification (Matura/Abitur) obtained in Austria or in an EU member state, the admission requirements for studying at the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria are met. For nationals of other countries, there might be additional formal criteria that have to be fufilled. A list of country-specific requirements* please find here: https://fh-ooe.at/en/adm/ba

You want to study in a bachelor’s degree program at our university but do not meet all the criteria for the Austrian Higher Education Entrance Qualification yet? In this case, you can apply for our one-year study preparatory course "International Foundation Program". Details regarding the costs, duration, admission requirements and application deadline can be found here: https://fh-ooe.at/ifp

*Important: Please note that we cannot evaluate your qualifications based solely on descriptions. We are also not allowed to review documents sent to us unsolicited via email. To ensure that your application is thoroughly assessed, we ask that you to apply through our online portal.

Please mind that a B2 level in English is a minimum requirement for all of our study programs - including those taught in German. If you wish to study in German, you must demonstrate at least a B2 level (in some cases, C1) in German. Please also note that for some of our study programs taught entirely in English, a specific language proficiency level in German (A1 or A2) is required.

In this context, we have to clarify that neither confirmations of public institutions stating English or German as medium of instruction nor progress reports of apps like Duolingo or Babbel will be accepted as proof of language skills. You find a full list of certificates that will be recognized here: fh-ooe.at/en/adm/lang

To apply for a bachelor's program, the following documents* (+ country-specific qualifications, translations and legalizations if required) must be uploaded to our online application portal:

1) School leaving certificate (see question 5)
2) Copy of passport or identity card
3) Letter of motivation 
4) Complete and up-to-date CV (+ creative portfolio for media study programs only)
5) Proof of language proficiency (B2 or C1) in German or English
--> mandatory for applicants with high school diplomas from non-EU countries

To apply for a master's program, the following documents* (+ country-specific qualifications, translations and legalizations if required) must be uploaded to our online application portal:

1) School leaving certificate (see question 5)
2) Bachelor's or diploma degree certificate 
3) Copy of passport or identity card
4) Letter of motivation 
5) Complete and up-to-date CV (+ creative portfolio for media study programs only)
6) Proof of language proficiency (B2 or C1) in German or English
--> mandatory for applicants with high school diplomas from non-EU countries

*Important note: We are legally obliged to thoroughly check applicants’ documents before we can inform them whether they meet the necessary entry requirements for our university or the degree program they aspire to study in. A prerequisite for this review is that we have high-quality scans of all required documents. These documents may only be submitted as part of an application through our online portal. Therefore, please mind that we cannot do pre-checks of documents.

If you do not yet have your high school diploma at the time of application, this is not a problem. Certificates can be submitted later as soon as they are available.

Our university offers more than 75 practice-oriented bachelor's and master's degree programs in the fields of computer science and digital media, medical technology and social sciences, business and management, and engineering and natural sciences. Sixteen of these programs (7 bachelor's, 9 master's) are fully or at least partially taught in English. 

If you are still not sure which study programs interest you the most after reviewing our available options, we recommend chatting with our counselling tool StudyBot. It can answer general questions about our study programs, outlines the most significant differences between them and can compare them with your educational background to identify the most suitable options.

As soon as you have limited your search to two or three favorite options, we encourage you to look at them in detail on our website. There you’ll find all relevant details regarding the curriculum as well as organisational specifics. The final step would then be getting directly in touch with the study program itself via email or phone. Some of our programs even offer the possibility to book a date for personal counseling via MS Teams.

It is possible to apply for two study programs at the same time with two different priorities. As you can only apply once per application period, we recommend doing so. If you want to upload separate letters of motivation to the application portal, it is best to combine them into one PDF file.

After submitting your application, you can still change your priorities or add something to your application. It is best to send these changes directly to the study program by email.

No. Applying via the online portal of the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria does not incur any costs. Since it's free, there's nothing to lose.

As soon as we have received your application, you will be notified by email. After submission, you can still use your login credentials to access our online application portal to check the status of your application. As a rule, our study programs will respond with initial feedback within a few weeks.

We kindly ask that you wait until the review process is complete and refrain from sending inquiries about the status of your application. Due to the high volume of applications, the degree programs are unable to provide individual responses. However, the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria guarantees that all applications will be reviewed reliably, thoroughly, and as quickly as possible so that every applicant receives a prompt response.

The admission procedure at the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria consists of five steps:

1) Once an application has been received, it is first checked to see whether the candidate meets the formal requirements for admission. These include proof of school (for bachelor's degrees) or academic achievements (for master's degrees) and language proficiency.

2) If the formal requirements are met, applicants are often invited directly to an interview for their chosen study program. This applies to all bachelor's and master's degree programs. In some cases, bachelor's programs conduct an aptitude test before inviting applicants to an interview.

3) After the interview, a committee decides which applicants will be accepted for a program. Applicants are informed of the result by email. If accepted, they will subsequently receive instructions on how to enroll.

4) During the enrollment process, provisionally accepted applicants must submit any outstanding documents and pay the required tuition fees.

5) All applicants who are finally accepted will receive an email from the their study program's office in good time before the start of the program, which will prepare them for the start of their studies.

Only a few bachelor's study programs at the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria conduct assessments* before inviting applicants to an interview. These usually consist of aptitude and personality tests, potential analyses, or the preparation of a case study. Master's degree programs generally do not have these tests. In most cases, however, the interview is the only basis for the acceptance decision, that is why we recommend that you prepare for it thoroughly.

*Since 2026, all candidates who have completed their highest school-leaving qualification or a study program in a Non-EU country must take a short assessment (15 min.) before being allowed to submit their application. This test can neither be practiced (no dummy tests available) nor retaken.

Assessments (with the exception of those conducted through the online application portal) and interviews usually take place during the summer semester. The first appointments are already available in mid-February.

Interviews usually take place on campus. Depending on the degree program, there may be either one joint interview with one or two professors or two separate interviews. The invitation and detailed information will be sent by the respective study program office.

The application interview is similar to a job interview at a company. It is helpful to have already researched the desired study program in detail and compared your own expectations with the curriculum. Feel free to prepare your own questions to find out whether the study program is the best fit for your needs.

Yes, even if you have already received admission to a study program, it is still possible to switch to another study program. However, you must contact the admissions office directly to do so.

Whether or not approval for the switch is granted depends on whether there are still places available in the desired study program and whether the admission requirements are met.

Our study programs try to provide initial feedback before the official application deadline. However, if the number of applications during the current intake period is very high, the decision on who can be offered a place will be delayed.

Some suitable candidates will therefore be temporarily placed on a waiting list. Nonetheless, we always recommend applying early: This shows us that you are genuinely interested in studying at our university and therefore increases your chances of being accepted.

Conditional acceptance is always granted when a candidates have convinced the committee that they are a good fit for a study program but do not yet meet all the formal criteria. For example, at the time of preconditional admission, a degree certificate, proof of the required language level, or another document required for admission to the program may still be missing. Once all documents have been submitted, a conditional acceptance becomes a regular admission.

Please note that you need an official acceptance letter of our university to apply for a student visa and/or an Austrian residence permit. 

If you have been placed on the waiting list, you should remain calm. There is a good chance that a place will become available before the start of the academic year in autumn. Experience shows that it often happens that some of the candidates at the top of the list decide not to take up their place.

If you are rejected, you can reapply for the desired study program at our university the following year. With the experience you have gained during the first round of the admission process, your chances of being accepted on your next attempt increase: We have several graduates who began and successfully completed their studies on their second attempt.

There are numerous grants and scholarships available for international students. As we are no government agency, however, we can and must not provide detailed counselling regarding sources of funding.

In general, we recommend scheduling a consultation with the "Stipendienstelle" (student aid office) in Linz or the "Arbeiterkammer" (chamber of labor). These organizations provide comprehensive information - unfortunately mostly in German - on options such as family grants, study grants, and continuing education grants, self-support grants, mobility grants, or graduation scholarships, as well as other forms of financial aid from foundations, government agencies, or the ÖH Social Fund. The platform www.european-funding-guide.eu is also helpful; based on the CVs of registered students, it determines which forms of financial aid they would be eligible for.

In addition, there are scholarships, grants, and research awards offered by companies and interest groups. The study programs at the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria also award a certain number of merit-based scholarships each year, which are funded by the Federal Ministry.

In general, all of our campuses are quite close to one another: they are located within a radius of about 45 kilometers of Linz, the capital of Upper Austria, where the widest selection of housing options is available. However, there are also numerous options near the campuses in Hagenberg, Steyr and Wels.

Citizens of EU member states, European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland do not need a visa for entering the Republic of Austria.

Nationals of other countries might require a visa in order to enter the Austrian territory. To find out if your home country is among them, please click on the link to the recent OeAD list list below. Please also check the website of the Austrian Ministry of the Interior for more detailed information (German only).

Please always contact the nearest Austrian embassy or consulate in your home country for personalized visa advice. 

The correct type of visa depends on the length of your stay in Austria. For stays of up to 180 days (6 months) a visa D is sufficient, while for stays of more than 6 months a student residence permit is required. Please note that a visa D cannot be extended in Austria, student residence permits need to be renewed after one year.

Specific visa requirements vary depending on your country of residence. Some non-EU/EEA nationalitites are entitled to visa-free entry to Austria and can apply for their student residence permits upon arrival, others have to apply weeks or months in advance in their home country. 

Please always contact the nearest Austrian embassy or consulate in your home country for personalized residence permit advice. 

Austria has a good public national insurance system with local public providers (Österreichische Gesundheitskasse) in all nine federal states. Under certain conditions, foreign national insurance carriers cover the costs for medical treatment of acute illness in Austria. Therefore, we recommend you to contact your health insurance provider in your home country and enquire about this and if available, procure the necessary forms from them.

If you are a student or visiting researcher from an EU/EEA country or Switzerland and are in possession of valid national health insurance in your home country, you need the European Health Insurance Card. This card is issued by your health insurance provider.

Bachelor's or Master's Degree students as well students of Preparation Programmes who do not fall into the above-mentioned categories may themselves take out a health insurance policy ("Studierendenselbstversicherung") with the relevant Gebietskrankenkasse.

Self-insured students have to pay an insurance fee of approx. EUR 79 (as per 2026) per month. 

Yes. Students from EU and EEA countries are charged €363.36 per semester, students from other countries pay €726.72 per semester. Working students can deduct this from their income tax.

For organizational reasons, payment in installments is not possible, nor is a refund of the fee in the event of early withdrawal. For contractual reasons, the invoice cannot be issued to a company. If the employer covers the costs, the refund must be arranged within the employment relationship.

The set tuition fee must be paid by all enrolled students regardless of their origin – on time and in full. This also applies if you are currently unemployed or on parental leave, receiving a study grant or a self-support scholarship, or have no or only a low income for other reasons.

In rare exceptional cases, the tuition fee can be reduced by 50%. However, this only applies to third-country nationals who have a close relationship with Austria (e.g., recognized refugees, diplomatic staff, or holders of a Red-White-Red Card). The legal department of the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria will check whether you are eligible upon request.

Tuition waivers are granted for only two reasons: if a student has a disability rating of at least 50% or if the student has taken a leave of absence from his/her studies.

Timely payment of the full tuition fee is a prerequisite for taking exams and using the services of the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria.

Ideally, the tuition fee should be paid immediately after it has been invoiced. However, there are certain deadlines which, if exceeded, will inevitably lead to de-registration: in the winter semester, this is 31 October, and in the summer semester, 31 March.

In addition to tuition fees, a membership in the Austrian Student Union (ÖH) costing 26.20€ per semester is mandatory. 

Tuition fees at the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria are very low compared to other countries. If you study in Austria, however, you must also find a way to cover your living expenses (accommodation, clothing, food, transportation) and the necessary health and accident insurance. These costs range from 600 to 850 Euro per month. In addition, there are expenses for textbooks, consumables (writing materials, notebooks, etc.), lecture notes, copying and printing costs, and participation in excursions (travel costs, entrance fees, etc.).

The standard period of our study programs is six (bachelor's) or four semesters (master's).

How much time you spend on campus depends primarily on the type of program:

In a full-time program, your days are filled with classes, leaving little time to work on the side (mostly only part-time).

In contrast, for part-time studies, the timetable is usually designed so that courses are primarily held on Friday afternoons and Saturdays in person, online, and/or in blocks. In some degree programs, distance learning is also used intensively, for example for evening classes during the week. Sundays are generally free of lectures.

There are study programs at the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria that are organized in an atypical way.

These include, for example, a dual study program: Here, the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria is responsible for imparting theoretical knowledge, while practical training takes place in a company. This gives students the opportunity to grow into their future position while still in training. If you want to pursue a dual study program, you must apply to a partner company of the relevant study program at the same time as applying to the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria.

In addition, the Wels faculty offers the Easy Start introductory phase for bachelor's programs: Students enroll in a study program and start their first year together with students from other study programs. For two semesters, they can then get a taste of the related programs in their chosen field. If they realize during this time that another direction suits them better, they can easily switch to another bachelor's program at the end of the second semester without losing any time.

At the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, we mainly offer the following teaching formats: lectures, practice-oriented sessions, integrated courses, seminars, laboratory sessions, and projects.

Lectures are used to teach theoretical principles. Practice-oriented sessions and laboratory sessions serve to reinforce the lecture material in a practical manner and are usually held in groups in computer rooms, laboratories, or studios. Integrated courses are a combination of lectures and practice-oriented sessions.

Seminars focus on independent study of topics, presentation, and group discussion. During the course of study, several projects are also carried out with external partners from industry or organizations. Some study programs also organize mandatory excursions, which students must attend at their own expense.

Apart from lectures, all teaching formats have continuous assessment and therefore a certain attendance requirement (see question 4). The formats are explained in detail in § 4, para. 3 of the Study and Examination Regulations of the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria.

For courses with continuous assessment, attendance of at least 80% is mandatory. Continuous assessment means that not only the result of the final examination is used for performance evaluation, but other components are also considered. These can include participation, the quality of solutions submitted for exercises or reports, results of midterm examinations or short tests.

The University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria primarily offers courses with a continuous assessment, which generally results in a high attendance requirement. If this requirement is not met for a valid reason (e.g., illness or caregiving responsibilities), a compensatory performance may be provided as a substitute. In insufficient or unjustified cases, courses with less than 80% attendance will be graded negatively.

A detailed description of this regulation can be found in the Study and Examination Regulations of the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria (§ 5, para. 3), which is linked below.

Most study programs at the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria consist of compulsory courses. These are all subjects that are fixed in the respective curriculum.

However, there is a certain degree of flexibility in each study program that is granted to students: For example, they have the option of taking compulsory elective courses, which they must select from a predetermined catalog. These courses are counted as compulsory courses later on. In addition, there are elective subjects that, according to the curriculum, can be chosen completely freely to a certain extent and which, if successfully completed, are credited as compulsory courses.

In addition to compulsory, elective, and elective subjects, there is also the possibility of taking optional courses. These are voluntarily chosen additional courses that can also be graded. If an optional course is successfully completed, ECTS credits are awarded for it. However, these are not counted as compulsory courses, or only in exceptional cases.

An academic year consists of a winter semester (intake) and a summer semester (no intake).

The winter semester begins in early September (part-time) or early October (full-time) and ends in mid-February. The summer semester begins in early March and ends in mid-July.

Exams are held during the semester, with final exams often taking place in February and July.

There are no lectures during the Christmas season, Holy Week, and from mid-July to September.

Yes, all bachelor's study programs include a professional internship lasting several weeks, which must be completed in a company. Students organize their own internship placements but receive support from the study program if necessary. In this regard, special rules apply to part-time study programs. Master's study programs generally do not include a mandatory internship.

The professional internship can be completed in Austria or abroad. The International Offices at our university support students who decide to do an internship abroad in their preparations and also provide comprehensive information about funding opportunities.

The University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria enables all its students to spend a semester abroad at one of over 200 partner universities worldwide.

If the stay abroad is planned in good time and coordinated with the head of the study program, it can usually be easily integrated into the study plan. For some full-time programs, a semester abroad is mandatory. The International Offices are happy to assist students with the organization.

Pregnancy, conscription into military service, or serious illness: events can always occur that force students to put their studies on hold for a certain period of time. However, this does not mean that they have to drop out of their studies.

If there are valid reasons, an absence of between one and two semesters can be agreed upon in consultation with the head of the study program. During this time, students are not enrolled and therefore cannot take exams. The regulations governing leaves of absence are described in detail in § 8 of the study and examination regulations of the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria.

If you fail an exam, it's annoying, but it's not the end of the world: each exam can be retaken twice.

In principle, students are required to attend the scheduled retake dates. However, if a student is unable to attend for health reasons, the exam is not lost: if a medical certificate is submitted in good time, an alternative date will be offered.

If a student fails to pass an exam on the third attempt, this does not automatically mean the end of their studies: they have the option of repeating the academic year once. However, this intention must be communicated to the head of the study program within one month of receiving the negative assessment. The head of the study program will then determine which subjects from the last academic year must be repeated. These may also include courses that were successfully completed if this is deemed appropriate for the student's academic progress.

The FH Upper Austria is a public university of applied sciences that is subject to the Fachhochschulgesetz (University of Applied Sciences Act).

Yes, every study program offered at FH Upper Austria is rigorously reviewed by AQ Austria - the Austrian Agency for Quality Assurance and Accreditation - before it is approved.

Some study programs even have a second accreditation (e.g., according to FIBAA standards) or offer graduates a double or triple degree thanks to close cooperation with partner universities abroad.

The University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria focuses on the application of scientific knowledge. Accordingly, teaching is closely interlinked with research. In addition, experts from the field are consulted in the design of the curricula.

Students can directly apply the knowledge they acquire in lectures and integrated courses in projects with cooperation partners from science and industry.

The performance of the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria is continuously reviewed by an independent body: as the results of recent surveys show, the degree programs offered by the Steyr, Hagenberg, and Wels faculties are happily ranked among the top programs by the CHE (Center for Higher Education Development).

However, our graduates are best placed to assess what their studies at the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria have brought them in terms of their careers. They are regularly asked to share their opinions on review portals such as StudyCheck (DACH region) and EduOpinions (international).

Yes, a master's degree from the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria fulfills the requirements for writing a dissertation.

The University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria actively promotes this higher academic qualification for its graduates through cooperation programs with universities that have the right to award doctorates.

Our graduates are in high demand in science and business: proof of this is that they are regularly awarded science prizes for their achievements.

Another indicator is the numerous partner networks of the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria: Over 200 companies are involved as sponsors of the Hagenberg and Wels support associations, as customers of our job portal, and/or as participants in our career fairs, in order to establish early contact with the specialists and managers of tomorrow.