VWU or a language school

You learn German for the preparatory year either at the VWU itself, or at one of its three partner schools: the University of Vienna's Sprachenzentrum, die Berater, or ZIB Training. The programme and the final exam are the same everywhere, but the price is not: a semester costs €612 at the VWU and €1,890 at a partner. You cannot simply pick the VWU — your citizenship and the exams the university assigned you decide that. Among the three partners, though, the choice is yours. If the university has not assigned you any exam, you don't need the preparatory course at all, so there is nothing to choose.^1–3

Who studies at the VWU, and who at a partner

In short: if German is the only exam on your list, you study at a partner. If you have other subjects besides German, you compete for a place at the VWU; if German isn't on your list at all, you study at the VWU. The remaining cases depend on your citizenship and status:

• German only — you study at a partner.¹
• Other subjects only, no German — you study at the VWU itself, whatever your citizenship.¹
• German plus other subjects — a place at the VWU is competitive: you need advanced German and a high score on onSET, the German placement test. There is no fixed pass mark; the VWU takes the best applicants until places run out. If you don't make the cut, you learn German at a partner, at the level the test placed you in, and prepare for the other subjects on your own, since partners don't run courses for them. How to prepare for mathematics, for instance, is covered in the article on the EPM.³
• Citizenship of one of the 46 countries on the VWU's list (check the box above: type in your country or open "All six groups") — you study at the VWU itself, whatever you've been assigned.¹
• Nationals of Albania, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova and six further countries and territories, refugees, and holders of subsidiary protection — study at the VWU while places last. When places run short, applicants are ranked by their onSET score.^1·4

On the VWU's page, these cases are labelled groups A to F. You only need the letters to find yourself on that page — at registration, your group is worked out for you.¹

The VWU lets you sit the subject exams without taking its course. You can switch from one partner to another after each semester.³

Can you transfer to the VWU later

Yes, if other subjects besides German are on your list — exactly how depends on where you are now. The German course runs through levels from beginner to advanced, and the two highest are called FG and WF; the article on German course levels covers them in detail. If you're already at a partner on the FG or WF level, the VWU sends you a letter with everything you need to register and pay. If you've just reached FG or WF by passing the step-up exam, 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 current level. With only German on your list, you stay at the partner for the rest of the course.^3·5

When to register

The earlier you register with all your documents, the better your chances of a place at the VWU: when places are scarce, the registration date can be what decides it. For the 2026/27 winter semester, pre-registration ran from 31 July to 13 August, and the allocation was announced on 21 August. Anyone who got their D visa or admission decision in the last days of August or later could still register after the ordinary deadline of 3 September, but without any guarantee of a place. The VWU publishes next semester's dates on its registration page.¹

What the course costs, and how to pay

On top of the course fee comes the ÖH contribution, the Austrian student union fee that every student pays, and at a partner there's also textbooks, around €100 a semester, and reading material for class, about €30 more. Altogether that's €638.20 at the VWU and €2,046.20 at a partner. Exams are paid separately: €66 per attempt for German, English and mathematics, €46 for the other subjects. What that adds up to over the year, together with insurance and living costs in Vienna, is worked out in the article on costs.^2·3·6

You can't pay in instalments at die Berater or ZIB Training: die Berater rules out instalments entirely, and ZIB requires the full amount before the course starts. At both, you can cancel free of charge no later than 14 days before the start, attaching proof that you've deregistered from the university and from your health insurance fund. After that deadline, the fee isn't refunded. The Sprachenzentrum refunds within its own cancellation period, with confirmation from the university that you're not registered for the preparatory course that semester, and also to anyone who passed the EPD in September and is moving on to university.^7–9

How to improve your chances of a place at the VWU

This section is for anyone with subjects besides German: with German alone, you study at a partner either way. The gap between the VWU and a partner is more than a thousand euros a semester, and in the competitive selection, onSET decides it. So it's worth preparing for the test ahead of time: read a lot of German and get used to the C-test format, a text with gaps inside words. How it works is covered in the article on onSET, and you can practise in the onSET trainer with instant checking.

Sources

· 9 checked 25.09.2026

1. 1Erstanmeldung — Vorstudienlehrgang der Wiener Universitäten · checked 20.09.2026
2. 2Deutschkurse für den VWU — Sprachenzentrum der Universität Wien · checked 20.09.2026
3. 3FAQ — Vorstudienlehrgang der Wiener Universitäten · checked 20.09.2026
4. 4Kundmachung der VWU-Kommission: Lehrgangsbeiträge ab WS 2026/27 (Fassung vom 27.08.2026) · dated 02.06.2026, checked 24.09.2026
5. 5Fortsetzer/innenanmeldung — Vorstudienlehrgang der Wiener Universitäten · checked 22.09.2026
6. 6ÖH-Beitrag — Österreichische Hochschüler_innenschaft · checked 20.09.2026
7. 7Ergänzende Geschäftsbedingungen Deutschkurse für den VWU (Stand: Juni 2026) — die Berater · checked 25.09.2026
8. 8AGB, VWU-Kurse der ZIB Training GmbH (Stand: August 2026) — German for Vienna · checked 25.09.2026
9. 9Fortsetzungsanmeldung, Stornobedingungen für das Wintersemester — Sprachenzentrum der Universität Wien · checked 25.09.2026