Market report Austria

The Austrian Study Abroad Market

Austria is a stable and high-quality student recruitment market with a strong tradition of outward student mobility. Supported by a well-funded public higher education system and open or low-cost access for EU/EEA students, participation in tertiary education remains high and continues to grow.

Socio-Economic & Education Context
Austria places strong value on education, with OECD data showing USD 17,500 average lifetime spending per person, among the highest levels in Europe. The country benefits from low youth unemployment and a clear link between higher education and career security.

Women are significantly more likely to hold a tertiary degree than men (50.2% vs. 38.3% among 25–34-year-olds), a wider gender gap than the EU average. Austria also has a strong STEM profile, with 32% of tertiary-educated adults holding STEM degrees, the third-highest share in the OECD.

Student Mobility Trends
Austria has one of Europe’s strongest outbound mobility cultures. Its Higher Education Mobility Strategy aims for 30–35% of graduates to complete a study-related period abroad by 2025, well above the EU benchmark of 20%, which Austria has already surpassed.

The Erasmus+ program is the primary driver of mobility, enabling around 100,000 Austrian students annually to study abroad for one or two semesters. Mobility for traineeships is also significant, allowing students and recent graduates to gain funded work experience abroad, often leading to further international study.

Recruitment Implications
Austria represents a low-risk, high-quality source market. Students are academically strong, internationally experienced, and price-sensitive despite relatively high national income levels. Key recruitment opportunities lie in:

• Master’s and doctoral programs
• STEM and applied sciences
• English-taught degrees
• Pathways from exchange or traineeships to full-degree study

Outlook
Austria is expected to maintain high tertiary participation and strong outbound mobility beyond 2025. Institutions that align with Austria’s mobility culture, academic strengths, and value expectations are well positioned to recruit successfully from this market.

Austrian Education system

Secondary education

The Austrian secondary-school system plays a key role in the preparation of students for further vocational, technical, and academic education. After completion of the four-year general secondary school, students have several options available for further training or education. The various types of upper-level secondary schools reflect differences in length of further study, as well as increasing specialization in the course of study offered.

Admission to the bachelor’s degree is given by the obtaining of a school leaving certificate (Reifezeugnis), or successful completion of a special university entrance exam. (Source: stateuniversity.com)

Higher Education

For a country with a population of just over nine million people, Austria offers a large and diverse range of higher education institutions which vary in size and structure. There are 22 independently-run public universities.
There are also 21 Universities of Applied Sciences (Fachhochschulen), which offer scientifically-founded and vocational-orientated courses.
There are 13 private universities (Privatuniversitäten) which receive no state funding whatsoever. They are regulated by the Accreditation Council (Akkreditierungsrat)
The oldest university is the University of Vienna founded in 1365. It enjoys a fine reputation and in the past produced graduates of the like of Sigmund Freud, Kurt Adler and pope Pius III. (Source: academics.com)

Bachelor
There is a wide array of different study on offer in Austrian higher education institution. For example, private universities tend to focus on the arts, medical health and social sciences – but this is not defined by statute. A bachelor degree takes 3 – 4 years to finish and amounts to 180 ECTS credits.

Master
After successfully completing a bachelor’s degree, a master’s can be taken to deepen previous studies or explore an additional topic and takes at least four semesters.

Doctorate
After a master’s is obtained, a doctorate can take a further six semesters. Public universities and private universities are entitled to award doctoral degrees. Training is organized according to the academic discipline. The duration is usually three years at both types of institution.

Latest Austrian Higher Education study abroad stats

At this point a total number of 26,416 Austrian students were studying for a bachelor, master or other degree program abroad. According to UNESCO, these are the most popular study abroad destinations for Austrian students:

IB schools in Austria

• Danube International School – Vienna – https://www.danubeschool.com/
• Vienna International School – Vienna – https://www.vis.ac.at/
• American International School Vienna – https://www.ais.at/
• Graz International Bilingual School – Graz – https://www.gibs.at/
• St Gilgen International School – https://www.stgis.at/en/home/
• COLE International School – Innsbruck – https://www.agibk.at/
• American International School – Salzburg – https://www.ais-salzburg.at/
• Linz International School Auhof – Linz – https://lisa.europagym.at/
• Schloss Krumbach International School – Krumbach – https://krumbach.school/

Scholarships for Austrian students