The language portal "Mein Sprachportal" of the Austrian Integration Funds offers German learning programmes and is available in ten languages: German, English, French, Turkish, Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian, Hungarian, Romanian, Polish, Arabic and Dari/Farsi. An overview of German courses and certificated German language institutes in Austria and abroad can be found as well. The portal also offers online exercises and materials to learn German for children as well as live training sessions free of charge.
The main language of instruction at Austrian universities and universities of applied sciences is German; still, a growing number of programmes are taught in English. www.studienwahl.at/en offers an overview of all study programmes and the opportunity to specifically search for programmes in English.
In order to be admitted to a degree programme students have to prove sufficient knowledge of German. At some universities students need proficiency in German corresponding to level B2, at others corresponding to level C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, CEFR. There are different diplomas that are accepted, e.g. the Österreichisches Sprachdiplom Deutsch (Austrian Language Diploma), which is Austria’s officially recognised examination system for German as a foreign language with licensed examination centres all over the world. If you would like to learn German, you have two choices: you can start taking a course in your home country or you can study German in Austria.
Courses in your own country
The Österreich Institut conducts German language courses outside Austria (Rome, Belgrade, Warsaw, Krakow, Wrocław, Bratislava, Budapest, Brno, Sarajevo and Moscow). It promotes and supports education in German as a foreign language and collaborates with interested partner institutions in the field of German as a foreign language and other languages.
The Österreichische Sprachdiplom Deutsch (ÖSD, Austrian Language Diploma) is a state-recognised four-level examination system for German as a foreign language. It has been designed for people wishing to learn German in Austria and abroad. This diploma is of international importance as a proof of proficiency in German and is recognised as a qualification by universities, other educational institutions and employers in many countries.
The ÖSD is conceived as a central examination that is not dependent on a certain course and that is oriented towards communicative skills. It is not so much linguistic knowledge but rather proficiency in speaking with a view to future situations in which the language will be used that is examined.
Courses in Austria
The University Preparation Programmes offer intensive German language courses for foreign students to prepare them for supplementary examinations prescribed by the universities they applied to. Attention: Only students who have been admitted by an Austrian tertiary education institution can attend these courses. Please note that if the selected study programme is mainly held in German, it is necessary to prove a German level of at least A2 (according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, CEFR) in order to be admitted to a University Preparation Programme German course.