German courses at the VWU

If you've been assigned the German exam, EPD, you learn the language on the preparatory course. The course splits into levels, from beginner to advanced. The onSET test at the start decides which level you begin at, and after the final level you sit the EPD.¹

Where you'll study: at the VWU or with a partner

The VWU itself runs the course, along with three partner schools; the programme and the exam are the same everywhere. You can't choose where you study: it's decided by the group you're assigned at registration and by your German level on onSET. If you've been assigned subjects besides German, the VWU takes you into its own course only once your German is already advanced; everyone else starts by learning the language at a partner. The best onSET scorers get the places, until they run out. How groups are assigned and what a semester costs is covered in the article on the VWU and its partners.^1·2

The onSET placement test

The test is compulsory for everyone assigned the German exam, and you take it in Vienna before places are assigned. It runs 40 minutes on a computer, and a language certificate doesn't exempt you from it. Your result puts you in the level that matches your knowledge.^1–3

The test decides both your level and your place at the VWU, so it's worth preparing ahead: read a lot of German and get used to the C-test format. The onSET trainer gives instant checking for exactly that, and how the test itself works is covered in a separate article.

Levels of the German course

There are five levels, grouped into two modules. The first module has three beginner levels: AN for those starting from zero, AV for beginners with a little prior knowledge, and EV for those who already know some German. The second has two advanced levels, FG and WF. AN is almost never offered any more: the preparatory programme now already requires A2. If you've been assigned subjects besides German, instead of FG or WF you go through two levels in a row, FF1 and FF2, where German runs alongside the subjects.^3–5

With German alone, the VWU itself gives you 24 teaching units a week, 320 to 350 hours a semester. With subjects, German drops to 10 hours a week, and each subject course adds 5 to 10 hours more. Partner schools set their own weekly schedule.^1·3·6·7

To move from the first module to the second, you sit an exam at the VWU, the Aufstiegsprüfung, and its result decides whether you land in FG or WF. Partner schools handle the transition their own way, as the diagram shows. Ask your own partner about its rules at the start of the semester.^5·8–10

The levels are deliberately not tied to the A1–C1 scale: the exam tests what university actually requires — reading long texts and writing coherently — which doesn't fit neatly into a single scale level.¹

If you're at a partner and want to switch to the VWU

Yes — if you've been assigned subjects besides German, and exactly how depends on where you are now. If you're already at a partner on the advanced FG or WF level, the VWU sends you a letter itself with everything you need to register and pay. If you've just reached FG or WF by passing the Aufstiegsprüfung, the VWU invites you to a transfer onSET, and the best scorers get the places. Everyone else continues at the partner from their own level. If only German has been assigned to you, you stay at the partner for the rest of the course.^1·8

How many semesters German takes

A semester runs from late September to late January, or from late February to late June, with around 20 students in a group, and attendance is compulsory. Preparatory programme courses are allotted four semesters, and a fifth only by application. The VWU's own estimate is this: with good prior knowledge, one semester is realistic; with very little, three; and with very good progress, two is enough.^1·3·6

Two examples, if you pass everything on the first attempt:

• Only German, the test placed you in AV. AV, the Aufstiegsprüfung, FG or WF, the exam: one semester per level. Two of your four semesters, with two more in reserve.⁸
• German and mathematics, with German already advanced. A semester each for FF1 and FF2, then the exams. Your week: 10 hours of German and up to 10 hours of mathematics.^1·6

A level you fail can be repeated: at the VWU itself, for a reduced fee, you can retake a course within a module up to twice, and each repeat uses up one of your four semesters. In spring 2026 the VWU announced that the beginner levels AN, AV and EV could only be repeated once, then corrected itself: the rule isn't being introduced, and a first-module course can still be repeated twice or more.^8·11

Where the levels lead

Every level leads to the EPD exam, and the higher you start, the closer it is. How German fits into the whole preparatory year alongside your other exams is covered in the article on preparing in Vienna.

Sources

· 11 checked 24.09.2026

1. 1FAQ — Vorstudienlehrgang der Wiener Universitäten · checked 20.09.2026
2. 2Erstanmeldung — Vorstudienlehrgang der Wiener Universitäten · checked 20.09.2026
3. 3Kurse — Vorstudienlehrgang der Wiener Universitäten · checked 22.09.2026
4. 4Das Kursangebot am VWU im Überblick (Kurssystem) · checked 22.09.2026
5. 5Modulbeschreibung Deutsch — VWU-Kommission · dated 20.11.2017, checked 22.09.2026
6. 6Regeln am Vorstudienlehrgang der Wiener Universitäten · checked 22.09.2026
7. 7Kurse — ZIB Training, German for Vienna · checked 24.09.2026
8. 8Fortsetzer/innenanmeldung — Vorstudienlehrgang der Wiener Universitäten · checked 22.09.2026
9. 9Der Weg zur Ergänzungsprüfung Deutsch — Kurssystem, Sprachenzentrum der Universität Wien · checked 24.09.2026
10. 10Deutschkurse für den VWU — die Berater · checked 24.09.2026
11. 11Allgemeine Bedingungen für die Nutzung des VWU-Studierendenportals sowie für die Teilnahme an Kursen und Prüfungen am VWU · dated 24.08.2026, checked 24.09.2026