Informatics in Vienna: the entrance test

Two universities in Vienna admit students to informatics, TU Wien and the University of Vienna, and each selects them with its own written test, held on the same day. Neither has a pass mark: the places go to whoever scores best on the test.¹

Registration runs in spring and the test itself is in summer: in 2026 registration closed on 4 May and the test was on 13 July.^2·3

If you're choosing between TU Wien and the University of Vienna

Both tests fall on the same day, so you cannot sit both, and you can only be admitted at one university anyway. You have to choose before you apply, and you get one attempt a year.^4·5

There is no backup date for the test, so falling ill on test day costs you a whole year: plan your trip to Vienna with room to spare.²

What registration requires

You have to register for the test separately, in spring. TU Wien asks for three things: a guest account in TISS, the university's system for students, an online self-assessment, and a €50 fee. The self-assessment, the Online-Self-Assessment, is a set of tasks and questions on the university's website that let you check for yourself whether the subject suits you. You have to complete it, or your application won't be considered, but the result itself has no effect: only the written test decides who gets a place. In 2026 the self-assessment and the payment had to be confirmed in TISS by 4 May. TU Wien publishes new dates on the same admissions page.^2·4

The test runs once a year, and registering for it lets you start in the nearest winter semester or the summer semester that follows it. If you register and don't show up for the test, the fee isn't refunded. The University of Vienna charges the same fee, and posts its own self-assessment on its admissions page. A letter of motivation wasn't required in 2026.^1·3

The test doesn't replace the admission application itself: you file that separately. From 2026, TU Wien requires graduates of Russian schools to submit their EGE results: a legalised copy with an official translation. The University of Graz requires the same, while Uni Wien doesn't yet list Russia among the countries it requires this from. Legalising and translating documents is covered in the article on documents for university.^6–8

How the informatics test is structured

The test is written, in German, lasts exactly two hours, and you choose the order of the parts yourself. Neither university tests programming. There are three parts, and the two universities weight them differently.^5·9

That's why the same preparation helps differently at the two universities. If you're strong on number series and matrices, TU Wien suits you better, since half the result there comes from the cognitive part. If you learn quickly and reliably from a book, the University of Vienna suits you better, since half its result comes from the book material.

How informatics places are allocated

There are fewer places than applicants. In 2026, 1,030 people registered for TU Wien's 670 places, and 525 sat the test for the University of Vienna's 415 places. Places go out by test score, top to bottom, until they run out. Nobody knows the cut-off in advance: it depends on how many people score higher than you. School grades don't count toward the TU Wien ranking, ties are broken by lot, and a place nobody takes stays empty, because there's no waiting list for places that open up. We couldn't find how the University of Vienna handles these cases in its public documents.^1·2·10

TU Wien skips selection altogether, but only if, by the end of registration, applications don't outnumber places.¹

What level of German you need for informatics

The test itself doesn't check your German, but both universities require level C1 for admission. Without it, you'll be assigned the German exam along with your place. If German is the only thing you get assigned, you'll prepare for it either at the VWU prep course or at one of VWU's partners, language schools where a semester costs three times as much as at VWU itself. How that's decided, and how the list of exams comes together, is covered in the overview of the prep course.^11·12

How to prepare for the informatics test

1. Choose your university: it decides what to spend your time on.
2. Take a timed practice test on our Reihungstest trainer: it covers all three parts, with a time limit. See which part is holding you back, adjusted for your university's weighting.
3. Prepare the subject part from the book "Abenteuer Informatik" by Jens Gallenbacher, fourth edition. The chapters are the same at both universities: 2, 3, 9, 11, 12, 14 and 15.^5·13
4. For TU Wien, most of your time will go to the cognitive part: number series, logic, analogies and matrices.
5. Repeat the practice test and compare the parts.

Sources

· 13 checked 25.09.2026

1. 1Verordnung des Rektorats über das Aufnahmeverfahren Informatik (TU Wien) · dated 07.03.2019, checked 20.09.2026
2. 2Aufnahmeverfahren Informatik und Wirtschaftsinformatik — TU Wien · checked 20.09.2026
3. 3Aufnahmeverfahren Informatik — Universität Wien · checked 20.09.2026
4. 4FAQ zum Aufnahmeverfahren Studienfeld Informatik — TU Wien · checked 20.09.2026
5. 5Testdetails Aufnahmeverfahren — Universität Wien · checked 20.09.2026
6. 6Admission with an international school-leaving certificate — TU Wien · checked 25.09.2026
7. 7Bewerbung Bachelor-/Diplomstudium — Universität Graz · checked 25.09.2026
8. 8Infos für Drittstaatsangehörige — Universität Wien · checked 25.09.2026
9. 9Informationsblatt zum Aufnahmeverfahren Informatik und Wirtschaftsinformatik 2026 (TU Wien) · dated 02.03.2026, checked 20.09.2026
10. 10Anzahl der Teilnehmer*innen bei den Aufnahme-/Eignungstests — Universität Wien · dated 15.07.2026, checked 25.09.2026
11. 11Competence in German — TU Wien · checked 20.09.2026
12. 12Nachweis der Deutschkenntnisse — Universität Wien · checked 20.09.2026
13. 13Prüfungsstoff zum Aufnahmeverfahren Studienfeld Informatik — TU Wien · checked 20.09.2026