After successful nomination, you will receive an e-mail from us asking you to activate your u:account and to register in Mobility Online. If you have not received this email by 10 May (winter semester) or 10 November (summer semester), please send us an e-mail.

In the course of the registration you will register in u:space. Please only use the link provided by e-mail to register in u:space. u:space is the central access point for students regarding organisation of their studies at the University of Vienna. Once you have successfully registered in u:space, you will be able to log in to the u:space portal using your u: account login data.

You will receive information on all the necessary steps in good time in e-mails sent to the address you provided with your nomination. Please read all the information we provide carefully and only use the links we sent in our e-mails to register – these are personalised links for incoming students.

Solutions to the most common problems regarding the registration in Mobility Online are outlined here: Troubleshooting Incoming

You can find an overview of the steps which exchange students need to take in order to be admitted to the University of Vienna here: Admissions procedure

As part of your registration in u:space you order your u:card (the student ID card of the University of Vienna). For this you must upload a passport photo and a copy of your ID (passport or identity card - also stating your citizenship).

Requirements for the passport photo:

• The head must fill about 2/3 of the picture.
• The background has to be single-coloured and has to provide sufficient contrast to the face.

The photo…

•  must have been taken recently and in colour
•  should be able to clearly identify you
•  you must be the only person in the photo
•  must be uploaded in JPEG or PNG file and have a maximum file size of 5 MB

Please only order the u:card after having received an e-mail asking you to do so! You will receive detailed step-by-step instructions on how to do so with the request.

Further information:
u:card

Following admission to the university, you will receive an e-mail with your student ID number (by the beginning of August for the winter semester or by the beginning of February for the summer semester).

All exchange students are exempt from paying a tuition fee at the University of Vienna. Nevertheless, every student has to pay the fee for the Austrian National Union of Students, including insurance (ÖH = Österreichische HochschülerInnenschaft), which is currently € 21.20 per semester (in the academic year 2022/23). The payment is compulsory to complete your enrolment and in order to obtain a valid student ID card.

You will find information on payment options in your u:space account under "Financial Matters": "Students’ Union fee". Here you can also check whether your payment has been registered ("received on" will appear next to the fee).

One possibility is to pay the fee with a credit card (only Mastercard or Visa) via u:space. In this case the sum is credited to the University of Vienna’s account immediately.

Furthermore, you can find information on what details need to be provided for a bank transfer (IBAN, BIC, and your identification number for the respective semester) on your u:space account. Please enter your identification number in the field "payment reference". If your bank does not provide this field, please ask your bank which field to use instead to ensure that the mandatory identification number is communicated to the receiving bank. After completing the payment it usually takes about a week for the money to be transferred to the University of Vienna’s system.

Alternatively, you can request a payment form which you can then use to pay in cash at any post office. Please request your payment form via email, and pick it up at your orientation session. By using this option, it also takes about a week for the money to be transferred to the University of Vienna’s system. We therefore recommend either paying in advance using the credit card or online banking option, or planning participation at an orientation session in good time in case you would like to have a valid u:card at the beginning of the semester already.

If you have an Austrian bank account, payment per EPS is also possible via u:space. In this case the payment is registered in the University of Vienna’s account immediately.

Please note that if the payment is not received by the deadline (winter semester: 31 October; summer semester: 31 March), your enrolment cannot be finalised.

Exchange students receive their u:card at the orientation session, regardless of whether they have paid the Students’ Union fee or not. However, you cannot validate the u:card until the Austrian Students' Union fee has been registered in the University of Vienna’s system.

You will be able to purchase the semester ticket for public transport and once you have activated your u:account you may register for courses without a valid u:card. However, you will not be able to use the library for free nor get any student discounts (for example for theatre tickets) until your u:card has been validated.

It is possible to get discounted copy cards and discounts for Mensa menus (canteen) through the Austrian Students' Union (ÖH) of the University of Vienna. Please contact the Students’ Union directly for information on how to take advantage of discounts using your u:card.

Further information:
u:card

We are currently planning to hold orientation session on site with physical attendance. Please mind that this may be subject to last minute changes.

Please note that orientation sessions will be held in English. Materials will be made available in both German and English, and students are welcome to pose their questions in German as well.

• Tuesday, 5 September 2023, 2 - 3:30 pm, max. 80 persons
• Tuesday, 12 September 2023, 11 am - 12:30 noon, max. 80 persons
• Monday, 18 September 2023, 2 - 3:30 pm, max. 80 persons
• Thursday, 21 September 2023, 2 - 3:30 pm, max. 80 persons
• Monday, 25 September 2023, 2 - 3:30 pm, max. 80 persons
• Wednesday, 27 September 2023, 11 am - 12:30 noon, max. 120 persons
• Thursday, 28 September 2023, 2 - 3:30 pm, max. 120 persons
• Friday, 29 September 2023, 11 am - 12:30 noon, max. 120 persons
• Monday, 2 October 2023, TBC

You will receive an e-mail with the place of the event not later than 1 week before the chosen Orientation will take place. The Orientations will be held in or near the Main Building of the University of Vienna (Universitätsring 1, 1010 Vienna).

Online Registration

Registration will be open in July 2023, students will receive detailed information per e-mail.

Please bring the following documents with you to the orientation session:

• Photo ID (passport or ID card)
• Is the start date of your studies the start date of the preparatory German course? In that case please bring a confirmation of registration/certificate of completion for your German course with you if you need to have its start date confirmed on your Certificate of Arrival
• Does your home university need to have its own form signed rather than our Certificate of Arrival? Then please bring the form with you. Please note that if subject-specific information (such as the language of instruction of your courses) needs to be confirmed on this form, the form will have to be signed by your mobility coordinator at the department.

There are two types of courses at the University of Vienna:

Courses with non-continuous assessment ("nicht-prüfungsimmanente Lehrveranstaltungen")

• e.g. lectures ("Vorlesungen", VO)
• Regular attendance is not mandatory
• There is usually a written or an oral exam at the end of the semester 

Courses with continuous assessment ("Prüfungsimmanente Lehrveranstaltungen")

• e.g. training courses ("Übungen", UE), proseminars ("Proseminare", PS) and seminars ("Seminare", SE)
• Compulsory regular attendance
• Assessment criteria are active course participation, presentations, midterm-tests, papers and written and/or oral end-of-term tests

As an exchange student you do not have to take courses from the STEOP module ("Studieneingangs- und Orientierungsphase"). Indeed, it is generally recommended that you do not take any of these courses during your stay. 

Students who have been nominated for the bachelor programme can usually also attend courses from the master's programme provided they have sufficient knowledge on the subject. This must be clarified in advance with the mobility coordinator.

• The course catalogue (or course directory) u:find contains all courses offered at the University of Vienna.
• It is available online from about August or January for the forthcoming semester.
  It will, however, still be updated and new courses can still be added until the beginning of the semester. If you need to know what kind of courses are available in your field of study before the new course catalogue is published, e.g. for your Learning Agreement, please use the one from the previous winter or summer semester, which will give you an idea of the courses on offer. Please keep in mind, however, that not all courses are offered every year/semester.
• Courses taught in other languages than German are marked in u:find with a blue button and an ISO-shortcut for the respective language. (F.i. "en" for courses taught in English). You can find instructions on how to search for English courses here.
• You can find your field of study in the directorates of studies ("Studienprogrammleitungen", SPL). Sometimes one directorate of studies (SPL) lists several fields of study (e.g. SPL 4 Business, Economics and Statistics, which lists Business Administration, International Business Administration, Statistics and Economics as fields of study).
  More detailed information on studying and the individual courses is available directly from your mobility coordinator.

--> Further tips on how to use u:find

Please note that as an exchange student you generally have to select courses in the field of study that you have been nominated for. Incoming students are expected to take at least 16 ECTS during their stay at the University of Vienna. If you are interested in taking courses from a different field of study, this counts as taking courses outside your nominated field of study.

This must be discussed with the mobility coordinator of the other field of study AFTER your arrival in Vienna. However, there is no guarantee that a place will be available.

Each field of study handles this topic a bit differently. You will find some initial information regarding the possibility of attending courses outside your nominated field of study in this list.

Exceptions: specific courses related to Austria, which are, in principle, open for every exchange student, and language courses at the Language Center of the University of Vienna.

Please note that you must always register for a course, even if you are just interested in taking it. Students cannot attend a course unless they have registered online within the registration period.

Information about the confirmation of courses outside your nominated field of study on the Learning Agreement can be found below under the item “Learning Agreement”.

A nomination for an Erasmus+ stay for research purposes means that you are independently conducting research at the University of Vienna.

In case you are going to come to the University of Vienna for research purposes and would also like to have additional support beside your independent research, please discuss this matter with your mobility coordinator at the University of Vienna at your earliest convenience.

However, there is no guarantee that additional support can be provided.

According to the curricula of the University of Vienna, no ECTS credits are awarded for pure research activities for bachelor, master or PhD theses or other scientific papers. During their stay at the University of Vienna, exchange students can only obtain ECTS credits for completed courses and exams. Therefore it is not possible to sign ECTS credits for research activities on the Learning Agreement.
 

The deadlines for course registration depend on your field of study and are usually listed in the course catalogue u:find in the individual course details. Registration for courses in the winter semester usually starts in the beginning of September; registration for courses in the summer semester in the beginning of February.

The first-come-first-served principle does not apply during the course registration periods. Please note that it is mandatory to register for a course, even if you are not yet sure that you will eventually take it. It is not possible to attend a course without prior registration by the respective deadline, nor is it possible to be registered by the course instructor after the deadline.

In most cases, course registration is done online via u:space. In some cases, course registration must take place via e-mail or in person. You will find the relevant information in the course directory.

--> General information incl. registration deadlines

--> Additional information on how to register for courses via u:space

Please note that in the case of courses with continuous assessment (UE, PS, SE), course registration itself does not guarantee a spot in the course: if you do not attend the first session of the course without prior notification, you will be de-registered, and your spot will be given to someone on the waiting list.

Therefore contact the course instructor IN ADVANCE if you are not able to attend the first class, otherwise you will lose your spot even though you registered correctly.

Should you change your mind during the semester and decide not to attend a course after all, you will have to de-register from the course. As a rule, de-registration from courses will be possible in u:space within the first two weeks after the course has started.

Students who do not de-register from a course in time will most likely receive a negative grade (5).

If your home university uses the Erasmus Without Paper (EWP) network to process Learning Agreements, please create your Learning Agreement in your home university's system. You will receive an email as soon as your Learning Agreement has been sent to the University of Vienna. You then have to choose in Mobility Online whether you want to attend courses outside your nominated field of study or not. Once you have completed this step, your Learning Agreement will be forwarded to your mobility coordinator.

Confirmation of courses outside your nominated field of study

Please note that in general your mobility coordinator can only confirm courses from the field of study you have been nominated for on your Learning Agreement. Therefore, please only include courses from your nominated field of study in your Learning Agreement before your arrival in Vienna. You can add courses outside your nominated field of study to your Learning Agreement after you arrive. Once your edited Learning Agreement has been sent to the University of Vienna, you will receive an email with more information on how to have courses outside your nominated field of study confirmed on an extra form ("Approval form for courses outside your nominated field of study") and how to have your courses signed on your LA.

Please note that you must always register for a course, even if you are only interested in taking it and even if your course(s) have not already been confirmed on your Learning Agreement. Students cannot attend a course unless they have registered for it online within the registration period.

Exceptions:

Normally your mobility coordinator can also confirm participation in courses related to Austria on your Learning Agreement, as these courses can be selected by all exchange students irrespective of their nominated field of study. In order to have them signed, state in Mobility Online that you want to attend courses outside your nominated field of study and upload the list of courses related to Austria instead of the approval form.
Unless there is a specific departmental regulation to the contrary, participation in language courses at the Language Center of the University of Vienna can also be confirmed by your mobility coordinator. To have them signed on your Learning Agreement, please upload a confirmation of registration or your certificate of completion in Mobility Online.

If the courses related to Austria or language courses cannot be signed by your mobility coordinator, they can also be confirmed by us in the International Office.

Changes to your Learning Agreement

Changes to your Learning Agreement have to be made in your home university's system. If you have any questions on how to change your Learning Agreement, please contact your home university.

General information on how the Learning Agreement on paper/as PDFs are handled at some of the departments of the University of Vienna can be found in this list. If your field of study is not listed, please contact your mobility coordinator directly.

If you also need the signature of the "Institutional Coordinator", the Learning Agreement will additionally be signed by us at the International Office after your mobility coordinator at the University of Vienna has signed it.

Confirmation of courses outside your nominated field of study

Please note that in general your mobility coordinator can only confirm courses from the field of study you have been nominated for on your Learning Agreement. Therefore please only include courses from your nominated field of study in your Learning Agreement before your arrival in Vienna. We strongly recommend that you list courses from other fields of study on a separate Learning Agreement for each field of study. Learning Agreements for other fields of study are signed only after your arrival in Vienna by the respective mobility coordinators of the other fields of study.

Please note that you must always register for a course, even if you are only interested in taking it and even if your course(s) have not already been confirmed on your Learning Agreement. Students cannot attend a course unless they have registered for it online within the registration period.

Exceptions:

Normally your mobility coordinator can also confirm participation in courses related to Austria on your Learning Agreement as these courses can be selected by all exchange students irrespective of their nominated field of study. In order to have them signed, please bring a copy of this list with you.
Unless there is a specific departmental regulation to the contrary, participation in language courses at the Language Center of the University of Vienna can also be confirmed by your mobility coordinator, if you provide a confirmation of registration or a certificate of completion.

If the courses related to Austria or language courses cannot be signed by your mobility coordinator, they can also be confirmed by us in the International Office.

Changes to your Learning Agreement

Changes to the courses chosen can be made using the form "Changes to the Original Learning Agreement" (B. Section to be completed during the mobility).

Registration for exams is conducted via u:space and u:find. Only students who have registered for exams in due time are allowed to sit them.

Should you decide not to take an exam after you have registered for it, you have to de-register. Students who are registered for an exam and do not show up without prior notice to the teacher will not be allowed to take part in the next sitting. 

Austrian grading system

1    = excellent (outstanding performance)

2    = good (generally good, but with some errors)

3    = satisfactory (generally sound work with a number of substantial errors)

4    = sufficient (performance meets the minimum criteria)

5    = failed (substantial improvement necessary; requirement of further work)

ECTS

At the University of Vienna, the workload of an individual course is measured in ECTS credits. In Austria the full workload for students comprises 30 ECTS per semester.

Incoming students are expected to take at least 16 ECTS during their stay at the University of Vienna.

The home university is in charge of the approval of courses. Please contact your home university directly if you have questions regarding this.

Please note that the course fee must be paid in full when you register for the course. You will be refunded the discount subsequently when you present confirmation of your exchange student status to the Language Center.

By presenting their Certificate of Arrival, incoming students can obtain a discount of 20% on preparatory intensive courses in February and September, on summer language courses and on the trimester course. There is no reduction for German semester courses.

For the preparatory intensive courses (in September and February), incoming students who participate regularly and complete the course successfully receive a further rebate from the International Office so that they only have to pay a contribution of €130 (winter semester 2023/24) themselves. The rebate is available both for offline and online courses. As this is a preparatory course, you can also only be awarded this rebate if the course is completed before you begin your studies at the University of Vienna. Students who spend a full academic year studying here can thus only claim a rebate for the September intensive course.

Please note that you can only apply for this rebate until 15 October (September course) or 15 March (February course) and that your application must be made directly to the Language Center of the University of Vienna.

Course books are not included in the course fee.

Incoming students get a discount of 25% on the regular price of language courses for languages other than German.