Fachhochschulen in Austria: All 21 Universities of Applied Sciences (2026)

Which Are the 21 Fachhochschulen in Austria?

Source: Fachhochschul-Konferenz member list and each FH's website, checked 12 October 2026. "Not verified" means the FH's own site did not state the teaching language where we looked; search studienwahl.at by language.

The Fachhochschul-Konferenz (FHK) lists 21 Fachhochschulen as of October 2026. Five are based in Vienna, and each of the nine states hosts at least one. FH Oberösterreich alone lists 77 degree programmes on four campuses, and IMC Krems teaches over half of its programmes in English. AQ Austria accredits every FH and each of its programmes.

Several FHs renamed themselves recently, which trips up older lists. FH Kärnten is now CU Hochschule Kärnten, FH St. Pölten is USTP, FH Kufstein is HOK, and FH Campus Wien is Hochschule Campus Wien. Two FHs train only for health professions: FH Gesundheitsberufe OÖ and fhg Tirol. The FH für angewandte Militärwissenschaften admits only officer candidates of the Bundesheer, so civilians cannot apply.

The English column is deliberately strict. It names a programme only where the FH's own website marked it as taught in English on 12 October 2026. Third-party portals publish counts per FH, but they disagree with each other and with the FHs. A programme with an English title is not always taught in English: FHWien der WKW, for example, runs its Management & Entrepreneurship bachelor bilingually.

Should You Choose a Fachhochschule or a University?

Our assessment from the Fachhochschulgesetz, UG 2002 and the fee pages cited on this page, October 2026.

Choose a Fachhochschule when structure and speed matter more than freedom. An FH bachelor runs as a fixed timetable in a small cohort, carries a mandatory internship, and ends after 6 semesters. Choose a public university when you want to change subject, set your own pace, aim for a doctorate, or pay the least as an EU student who finishes on time.

Passport changes the money row more than any other. An EU student pays €0 at a university within the tolerance window but up to €363.36 at an FH from the first semester. A third-country student on a § 64 NAG permit pays a flat €726.72 at every public university, while an FH sets its own rate. Our university vs Fachhochschule table compares the governing laws, quality assurance and private universities as well.

How Much Does a Fachhochschule Cost?

Method: semester fee plus the €26.20 ÖH fee for WS 2026/27, times 6 semesters, assuming no fee change. University rates from UG 2002 § 91; FH cap from FHG § 2 (2); IMC Krems rates from its study fees page, which marks them "fee status 2024". Checked 12 October 2026.

Fachhochschulgesetz § 2 (2) caps the fee for regular students at €363.36 a semester. For third-country students on a § 64 NAG student residence permit who are not covered by the Personengruppenverordnung, an FH may charge cost-covering fees instead. The cap also does not apply to programmes run entirely abroad. This wording is in force since 2 July 2026, after the amendment in BGBl. I Nr. 48/2026.

Each FH sets its own rate in its fee rules, so the same degree can cost very different amounts. IMC Krems charges EU students the full €363.36 and third-country students €6,900 a semester for business and health, or €9,500 for science and technology. Over a six-semester bachelor, that third-country student pays 9 to almost 13 times what the same student pays at a public university. Non-EU applicants covered by the Personengruppenverordnung pay the EU rate.

Two smaller rules protect your budget. FHG § 2 (4) bans flat fees for materials, supplies and routine services that a programme needs to run; only other actual costs may be billed individually. And the public-university tolerance window does not exist at an FH: if your FH charges the cap, you pay from semester 1, not only after running late.

How Does the FH Admission Procedure Work?

Source: FHG § 11 and FHG § 4 on RIS, read 12 October 2026.

Every FH programme has a fixed number of places, and FHG § 11 requires an Aufnahmeverfahren whenever applicants outnumber them. The FH ranks applicants on performance-based criteria, usually a written test plus an interview. The procedure is free, you may inspect your assessment within 3 months, and you may retake it without limit in a later intake.

Entry to a bachelor needs the general university entrance qualification (Matura or an equivalent foreign certificate) or a relevant professional qualification, under FHG § 4 (4). Professionally qualified applicants may have to pass additional exams, normally before the second year. In bachelor procedures, applicants are grouped by prior education, and at least one group is reserved for people with a professional qualification. A master needs a relevant bachelor of at least 6 semesters.

Deadlines are set by each FH, and visa holders apply earlier. FH Oberösterreich opened applications for 2027/28 on 1 October 2026, with a general deadline of 30 June 2027 and 31 May 2027 for applicants who need a visa (FH OÖ: application). Places go to the ranked list, so applying early helps. IMC Krems asks non-EU applicants for a €300 registration fee, credited to the first tuition payment if admitted.

Third-country applicants should plan backwards from the visa. The first student residence permit is filed at the Austrian embassy before arrival and costs €218 in 2026. You need the FH's admission letter for it, plus proof of funds such as a blocked account, so a June deadline leaves little slack for a September start.

Is the Internship Mandatory, and Can You Do a PhD After an FH?

Yes, the internship is mandatory in every FH bachelor. FHG § 3 (2) Z 3 requires a Berufspraktikum as a training-relevant part of the degree, and it does not extend the standard duration. A bachelor is 180 ECTS over 6 semesters; a master is 60, 90 or 120 ECTS. A PhD is possible too, but only at a university, because a Fachhochschule awards no doctorate.

The placement length differs by programme. FH Wiener Neustadt sets at least 15 weeks in the sixth semester of its English-taught Business Consultancy International bachelor, at a company in Austria or abroad. Because the placement is built into the curriculum, the FH helps find and approve it. A paid placement is still employment, so third-country students should confirm the permit position with the FH's international office before signing.

The doctoral route is written into the law. Under FHG § 6 (4), an FH master entitles you to a matching doctoral programme at a university. If your FH master was shorter than the comparable university master, the doctorate is extended by the difference, and the ministry regulates the details by ordinance. For a research career, a university master is the shorter path.

Can FH Students Work While Studying?

Source: AuslBG § 4 on RIS and migration.gv.at: graduates, October 2026.

EU, EEA and Swiss students work without a permit and without an hour cap. Third-country students need their employer to get a Beschäftigungsbewilligung from AMS. Under AuslBG § 4 (7) Z 2, there is no labour market test for student jobs up to 20 hours a week. The permit is needed even for marginal work, so a few shifts a week still need the paperwork.

A fixed FH timetable leaves less room for a job than a university course plan does, especially in full-time programmes with daytime attendance. The renewal of a student permit also needs proof of progress, 16 ECTS in the previous academic year. After graduating, a third-country student can renew the permit once for 12 months to look for work, then switch to the Rot-Weiß-Rot-Karte for graduates, which has no points test.

Which Laws and Authorities Govern Fachhochschulen?

The Fachhochschulgesetz (FHG) governs all 21 Fachhochschulen, while public universities run under the Universitätsgesetz 2002. AQ Austria accredits each FH and its programmes, the federal science ministry BMFWF funds most FH places through its development and financing plan (§ 2a FHG), and the Fachhochschul-Konferenz (FHK) represents the sector. Under § 2 (1) FHG, an FH can be run by the federal state, another public body, or a private-law entity whose main purpose is running the FH.

An FH degree is a full Bologna degree. A bachelor carries 180 ECTS, a master 60 to 120 ECTS, and both are equal to university degrees. The difference lies in the doctorate, which only universities award. For international students, the OeAD also runs an Ernst Mach Grant for study at a Fachhochschule, open to students from universities outside Europe, with applications from October to 1 February.

Fachhochschulen in Austria: Frequently Asked Questions

How We Checked This

The legal rules come from the consolidated Fachhochschulgesetz and Ausländerbeschäftigungsgesetz on the federal legal information system RIS, read on 12 October 2026. The list of 21 FHs comes from the Fachhochschul-Konferenz. Fees, deadlines and English-taught programmes come from each FH's own website, never from a comparison portal, and anything we could not confirm there reads "Not verified".

We left out student numbers per FH and counts of English programmes per FH. The figures in circulation are estimates that disagree by source and year, and a wrong number in a directory is worse than an empty cell. We are independent of every institution named here. Spotted a change? Tell us and we will recheck it against the source.