A signed written application for admission to a study program is necessary if you have a non-Austrian university entrance qualification or if you want to start a further study program (Master, Doctorate) without a previous degree at the TU Wien. In this case, please note the relevant points on the homepage for admission. 

A successful application for admission leads to an admission letter ("Zulassungsbescheid"). This letter, which may include submitting additional documents, must then be presented upon admission together with the required documents. Some of the requirements stated in the admission letter are to be completed only in the course of your studies. 

Please also note that that the processing time can take up to several weeks. In case of an Austrian university entrance qualification ("Matura" or equivalent certificate) this step is not necessary.

From a legal point of view, a selection procedure is an additional requirement for admission to a study programme. Selection procedures are carried out for studies with a limited number of available places. Therefore, only a certain number of students is admitted per academic year.

Selection procedures have their own registration deadline (usually in spring) within which you can register for participation. In case you miss the deadline, you cannot start the desired study programme in the respective academic year. 

For further information regarding selection procedures, please consult the relevant pages. 

Please note that even though you have completed the selection procedure and have been granted a place on the study programme, you must also fulfill all other general requirements in order to be officially admitted to TU Wien. 

The curriculum is the legal basis of a degree programme. It informs you about the content and structure of a degree programme, the ECTS and other necessary steps in the study programme. Based on this, the digital study plan including semester recommendations for courses is created in TISS. 

If you have positively completed all the required ECTS according to your study plan, you can submit your completion of studies and graduate officially. 

The study plan is a regulation in the legal sense. Therefore, in TISS you will always find the "regulatory text" in addition to the electronic study plan. This always contains the currently valid curriculum.

If you have been admitted to a Doctoral programem and have confirmation of a supervisor at TU Wien that he/she will supervise you, you must conclude a doctoral thesis agreement, opens in new window with your supervisor. This agreement 

  • regulates the rights and obligations of all parties involved
  • specifies the dissertation project,
  • specifies the time and financial framework
  • the intensity of supervision (frequency of feedback meetings) and
  • the tasks to be performed.

While working on the dissertation, doctoral students must also take part in seminars, workshops, conferences, etc. The workload to be completed comprises 18 ECTS credits. They are specified in the dissertation agreement and palnned together with the supervisor. In addition to the agreed activities—such as participation in seminars, lectures, and similar activities—the dissertation agreement should also include participation in workshops aimed at developing key competencies. It may also include other forms of external engagement, such as presenting at conferences or attending summer schools. The selected workload should be tailored to best support the dissertation project and contribute to the candidate’s future professional career.

ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) is a European system for credit transfer and accumulation. Each proof of course completion at TU Wien has a certain ECTS value. This value indicates how much effort is required on average for the successful completion of a course (1 ECTS corresponds to an effort of 25 hours).

In order to complete a Bachelor's degree, you need 180 ECTS. The respective study plan describes exactly which courses must be completed. If you want to study within the prescribed duration of a degree programme ("Mindeststudienzeit"), you have to pass courses amounting to 30 ECTS per semester.

A consecutive degree programme is the subject related subsequent degree programme. This means, for example, that you have completed the bachelor's programme "Architecture" at TU Wien and now you want to start the master's programme "Architecture". Admission to a consecutive master's programme can also be done subsequently to obtaining the bachelor's degree and beyond the admission period by registering online via TISS, provided that you already registered (i.e. payed the tuition/ÖH fee) for the current semester. It is not necessary to come to the Admission Office in person or to submit an application for admission.

A course („Lehrveranstaltung" or „LVA") is the smallest unit you get a grade for. Courses take place during the semester. You must usually register for a course in TISS. Please beware of the course registration deadlines for each individual course you wish to attend. 

You will need your student ID to register for courses. Please note that you often have to register separately for exams or tests. Usually, the exact formalities of the course will be explained to you in detail during the first session and are also available in the course description in TISS.

There are different types of courses. The most important are lectures (Vorlesung - VO), exercises (Übung - UE), lab courses (Laborübung - LU), a combination of lecture and exercise types (Vorlesungsübung - VU) and seminars (Seminar - SE). In addition, there are several other formats. Furthermore, a distinction is made whether a course in your curriculum is a compulsory course, compulsory elective course, elective course or a free elective. Courses can be with or without compulsory attendance - this can be seen in the course description. 

Assessment: There are two assessment forms: final examination (3 examination dates per semester) or continuous assessment (assessment takes place continuously, i.e. in form of tests or partial achievements). This information can be found in the course desription. 

A course can take place on-site (regular way), online or hybrid (i.e. a combination of online and on-site). This information can be found in the course desription. 

STEOP courses are offered in both winter and summer semester. 

After completing a course, you will receive a grade, which will be displayed in TISS and made available for download. This contains the assessment (grade or successful/unsuccessful participation) and the respective ECTS points. 

Upon admission, each student in Austria receives a unique student ID ("Matrikelnummer"). It is the key tool for all procedures during studies. Each student ID is assigned only once and is valid in throughout Austria. Therefore, when enrolling in a degree programme, it is essential to provide this number if you have already received one—whether from an Austrian university or an Austrian university of applied sciences.

If you do not yet have an Austrian student ID, one will be assigned to you during your admission. At TU Wien, the student ID is also used as a user ID for logging on to various university systems.

You have to obtain at least 16 ECTS credits in every bachelor’s and diploma programme within four semesters. This applies to all programmes to which you are admitted since the winter semester of 2022/2023 and to all programmes that you resume from this time. Otherwise, the admission to the degree programme expires. If you would like to apply for re-admission to the same degree programme, you can only do so after two academic years (four semesters).

Students with a disability in accordance with § 3 BGStG (Bundes-Behindertengleichstellungsgesetz) do not have to obtain the minimum number of credits. § 3 BGStG reads: “Disability within the meaning of the federal law is the effect of a not merely temporary physical, mental or psychological functional disability or disability of sensory functions which is likely to make participation in life in society, in particular in general working life, more difficult. A period of more than six months is deemed to be not merely temporary.”

If you have any questions, please contact the dean's office responsible for your degree programme.

The term semester refers to a very specific period of time (e.g. winter semester 2022 =2020W).

An academic year is divided into two semesters: The winter semester always starts on 1 October, the summer semester always on 1 March. A winter semester and the following summer semester form an academic year (e.g. 2022W + 2023S => academic year 2022/23).

Courses are always offered for the duration of one semester.

The study semester is a semester (see above) in which you were registered for studies. The number of study semesters constitutes the duration of studies. This affects the eligibility for various grants (scholarships, family allowance, tuition fees, etc.).

The lecture-free period during the winter semester takes place in February, in the summer semester from July to September. Please note that courses may be offered or examinations may take place during these periods. You can find the exact deadlines in the Academic Calendar.

The confirmation of enrolment is one of the so-called study documents. It is proof that you have registered to continue each of your degree programmes in the current semester. As soon TU Wien receives your tuition fee, you can print out the confirmation of enrolment in your TISS Student Account under „Student Self Service".

The student record sheet is one of the so-called study documents. You will receive it once you have been admitted to TU Wien. The student record sheet is a semester-specific document and serves as confirmation of the current status of all your studies at TU Wien. You can print out the study sheet in your TISS Student Account under „Student Self Service“ as soon as your tuition fee/study grant for the respective semester has been received. 

The Introductory and Orientation Period (STEOP) is specified for each Bachelor's degree programme in the respective study plan. The STEOP serves to check whether the chosen degree programme meets one's own expectations and whether the requirements of the degree programme can be fulfilled. The StEOP is designed in such a way that it can be completed in the first semester of the degree programme.

Please note that further courses can only be attended after the STEOP has been fully completed. Please also note that without the STEOP only a certain number of ECTS can be completed in the degree programme. You may retake STEOP courses. However, you can only countinue your studies after passing all STEOP courses. 

Information on the curricula can be found in TISS, opens an external URL in a new window. 

Courses that are part of the STEOP are marked in TISS. However, please also always note the "Verordnungstext". There, the STEOP is described in detail. In some curricula, you can also choose between different courses in order to complete the STEOP.

Please note that repeated failure to pass STEOP may result in deregistration from your degree programme.

From a legal point of view, the study preparation and reflection phase (VoR-Phase) is an additional requirement for admission to the degree programme. The VoR-Phase is set up for all bachelor's degree programmes without an admission procedure. These courses do not have a limited number of places. Nevertheless, you cannot start your studies if you have not completed the VoR-Phase on time. 

For the exact procedure and all information on the VoR-Phase, please refer to the pages on the respective degree programme.

Please note that you must fulfil all other general requirements for admission to a degree programme even if you have completed the VoR-Phase.

The timetable is not a fixed grid like at a school, which you have to complete in exactly the same way as a student in a class. Rather, the timetable is created by your personal choice of which courses to attend in the coming or current semester and when they take place.

Basically, you are free to decide which courses you would like to attend. However, some courses require positive completion or at least knowledge of the contents of other courses as a prerequisite.

To support you in this, you will find a semester view for each study plan in TISS, which indicates which course is recommended in which semester in order to complete the degree programme in the minimum time. From there you can also switch to the timetable view for orientation.

For each semester of a degree programme, a timetable can be called up in TISS, which contains all time-bound dates for courses in the selected semester. This view makes it easier for students to select their courses without overlaps. Please note that some courses offer several groups (e.g. exercises in exercise groups at different times), but only one of them has to be attended.

TISS (TU Wien Information-Systems and Services) is the campus information system of TU Wien.

TISS allows you to create a guest account before you start your studies, with which you can complete those parts of your application that take place online. This way you can participate in selection procedures or Programme-PRe-Phases, enter your personal data and make your choice of studies. Please note that in some cases (e.g. Matura not in Austria) you additionally need a written application for admission. Check the homepage in good time to find out which documents are necessary in your case.

Later, as soon as you have been admitted to the programme, TISS enables you to register for courses, retrieve certificates and much more.

TU Wien uses TUWEL, the learning management system based on the open source software Moodle, as a central tool for organising courses. With this platform, it is possible to carry out a wide range of tasks in the areas of classroom, online and hybrid teaching. The following activities, among others, can be realised very well with TUWEL:

  • Communication with students
  • Provision of learning materials (course recordings, scripts, supporting learning resources, ...)
  • Checking learning progress (e.g. with the help of online/offline tests, feedback, ...)
  • Organisation of the course with the help of activities such as group management, etc.
  • Central point for linking other tools that complement teaching

Further information can be found on the corresponding TUWEL coLAB page or in the TUWEL Tutorials course for students: tuwel.tuwien.ac.at/course/view.php, opens an external URL in a new window.

Admission to the degree programme is the official start of studies. Admission has to be done in person by presenting all required documents at the Admission Office during the admission period for the following semester. With the admission you will receive your student ID, or an existing student ID will be transferred into the system of the TU Wien. It is only possible to register for courses after being admitted. The student ID card is also issued within the scope of admission.

Please find the exact modalities and the classification to which group of persons you belong at admission to TU Wien.

The TU Wien offers additional services at the start of studies to make it easier to get started.

Please note that you must also register for these offers in good time.

Furthermore, we can recommend the following general offers around studying and the TU Wien.