Education

Irrespective of residence status, it is compulsory for all children living in Austria and from the age of 5 to attend Kindergarten and from the age of 6 to attend school. The general obligation to attend school is met by attending the following forms of schools:
 

• In the first 4 years of school the Volksschule;
• in the 5th to 8th school year the Neue Mittelschule (NMS) or the Allgemein Bildende Höhere Schule (AHS);
• in the 9th school year the Polytechnische Schule (PTS) or a middle or secondary school.

Pre-school
Children of school age who are not yet ready for school can attend pre-school. At pre-school, the child is intended to familiarise himself/herself gradually with the school day.

Children who are 5 years old before 1 September of the respective calendar year and have their main place of residence in Vienna are affected by the obligation to attend Kindergarten. This means that they must attend Kindergarten. This obligation to attend Kindergarten commences with the 1st school day of the school year which normally starts in September. Your child must attend Kindergarten on at least 4 days a week for at least 5 hours per day (20 hours a week). Your child may not stay away from Kindergarten without a reason. Otherwise you will have to pay a fine.

As a fundamental rule, your child can attend Kindergarten from the age of 3. Between November and the end of December you can register your child with the Municipal Department 10 – Vienna Children's Daycare Centres (MA 10) for the following September. For registration, you require the social insurance number of your child and your own.

So that your child can attend school, you have to register him or her on the enrolment dates at the responsible Volksschule. Your child also has to be present at the enrolment date so that his or her readiness for school can be established. The respectively responsible district school inspector decides what public mandatory school your child is assigned to.

Your child can start at a public mandatory school at any time. This means that entry during term time is possible. When your child starts Volksschule, mandatory schooling has commenced for your child and lasts a total of 9 years.

In the 1st semester of the 4th school year, you will be informed and advised about the further educational path of your child. What educational path is recommended depends on the interests and achievements of your child. You can register your child at a secondary school by means of a so-called "questionnaire". This questionnaire is handed out in Volksschule.

There are the following secondary schools:
 

• The Neue Mittelschule (NMS) is a 4-year course of education for all 10 to 14-year-olds. In addition to the usual curriculum, this school focuses on the consolidation of general education and gives the children comprehensive vocational orientation and a preparatory basic vocational education.
• The 1-year attendance of the Polytechnische Schule (PTS) incorporates the 9th school year. The Polytechnische Schule can be attended following the Neue Mittelschule (NMS). The school supports pupils in the consolidation of the general education and in the planning of their further education and vocation path.
• The Allgemein Bildende Höhere Schule (AHS) is a eight-year school form and can be attended directly after Volksschule. It concludes with the "Matura", the general qualification for university entrance that entitles the holder to study at universities of applied sciences and universities.
• Berufsbildende Schulen offer an in-depth general education and an initial vocational education.
• Berufsmatura - „Lehre mit Matura“  is a combination comprising an apprenticeship and school leaving examination.

Interface Wien promotes the social integration of children, youth and adults with a migration background and also offers special educational offers for youth.

You can find more information about Interface Wien and its offers for youth under this link: http://www.interface-wien.at/view/content/2-jugend

lobby.16 unterstützt junge, vor allem unbegleitete Geflüchtete auf ihrer Suche nach Lehrstellen oder anderen Ausbildung. Anmeldungen werden jedes Jahr bis Ende September entgegengenommen, die Voraussetzungen sind: Unter 21 Jahre alt, Pflichtschulabschluss, Meldung beim AMS WIEN. Mehr Infos hier: https://www.lobby16.org/

Migrant children can be classified as an "Extraordinary pupil" for up to 2 years. In this period of time, your child will only be marked in the subjects in which it has positive achievements. From the 3rd school year, he or she will then be comprehensively marked.

So that your child learns the German language more quickly, the attendance of an all-day school can be helpful. At an all-day school, your child will be looked after until at least 4 pm.

Multilingual children and young people are receive an additional tuition offering in Vienna: They are taught together with the class but specifically assisted: Through the use of accompanying teachers and native-tongue teachers in team teaching and/or through courses offered with individual assistance measures in the area of language. For pupils who only have minimal or no knowledge of German, language support classes of eleven hours per week are offered to enable them to learn German, the language of instruction.

As part of Förderung 2.0 - VHS Lernhilfe an Wiener Schulen a comprehensive learning support programme is offered at public Viennese schools. All pupils attending public New Middle Schools (NMS) or high schools (lower grades) in Vienna can use these learning support offers free of charge.

The mandatory school-leaving qualification can be subsequently taken at the following providers:

abz*austria – Girls and women aged 16 and over
Simmeringer Hauptstraße 154
1110 Vienna
Tel.: 01 66 70 300 73
www.abzaustria.at

bfi Berufsförderungsinstitut Wien
Gudrunstraße 184
1100 Vienna
Tel.: 01 607 88 09 11
www.bfi-wien.or.at

Bildungsinstitut Germanica
Felberstraße 2/8
1150 Vienna
Tel: 01 681 819 411 81
www.germanica.at

Die Wiener Volkshochschulen GmbH
Hollergasse 22
1150 Vienna
Education telephone: 01 893 00 83
www.vhs.at

PROSA - Projekt Schule für Alle!
Vielmehr für Alle! Association for Education, Housing and Participation
Sparkassaplatz 3
1150 Vienna
E-mail: info@vielmehr.at
www.prosa-schule.org
www.vielmehr.at

UKI – Unterstützungskomitee zur Integration von MigrantInnen ("Support Committee for Integration
of Migrants")
Johnstraße 4
1150 Vienna
Tel.: 01 914 88 70-20
www.uki.or.at

WUK m.power
Niederhofstraße 26-28
1120 Vienna
Tel.: 01 812 57 22
www.wuk.at

For you to be accepted for university study, certain requirements apply depending on the course of study and the university. Please therefore obtain information from the respective university regarding the requirements, registration deadlines and accepted documentation. In most cases, teaching is done in German. Some subjects are offered in English.

An overview of the universities, universities of applied sciences and private universities in Vienna can be found here:
 

• Universities in Vienna
• Universities of applied science in Vienna
• Private universities in Vienna

Here you find an overview of all degree programmes in Austria:
www.studienwahl.at/en

The Vorstudienlehrgang der Wiener Universitäten (VWU) is a preparatory course for university studies for international students. The VWU offers foreign prospective students intensive courses as preparation for supplementary examinations stipulated by the universities.

oead4refugees provides an overview for refugees in Austria, who want to study or need a recognition (nostrification) of the university degree they acquired abroad.

Austrian Database for Scholarships and Research Grants
https://grants.at/en/

Berufsmatura
www.berufsmatura-wien.at

Bilingual schools
www.eb.ssr-wien.at

Bundesministerium für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Wirtschaft/Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research
https://www.bmbwf.gv.at/

Caritas Lerncafé
https://www.caritas-wien.at/hilfe-angebote/asyl-integration/ausbildung-arbeit/jugend-lerncafes/lerncafes/

Education system in Austria
http://www.bildungssystem.at/en/

Grants for pupils
https://bildung.bmbwf.gv.at/schulen/befoe/index.html

Grants for students
www.integrationsfonds.at
www.stipendium.at

Information on entitlements acquired abroad
www.migrant.at

Interspace - basic education for young people
www.interface-wien.at

Kindergarten - Registration with MA 10
www.kindergaerten.wien.at

School info for migrants with initial consultation
www.wien.gv.at/sozialinfo

Vienna board of Education
https://www.wien.gv.at/kontakte/bildungsdirektion/index.html
https://www.bildung-wien.gv.at

Student counselling University of Vienna
http://slw.univie.ac.at/studieren/

Universities
Points of contact for persons with qualifications obtained abroad
www.anlaufstelle-anerkennung.at

VHS - Learning support
www.vhs.at/gratislernhilfe/vhs-lernstationen

Wiener Kinderdrehscheibe (Counselling)
www.kinderdrehscheibe.at