Austria

Country in Europe

Capital: Vienna
Dialing code: +43
Currency: Euro
Population: 8.474 million (2013) World Bank
Official languages: German, Hungarian, Slovenian, Austrian German

Austria is a German-speaking country in Central Europe, characterized by mountain villages, baroque architecture, Imperial history and rugged Alpine terrain. Vienna, its Danube River capital, is home to the Schönbrunn and Hofburg palaces. It has counted Mozart, Strauss and Freud among its residents. The country’s other notable regions include the northern Bohemian Forest, Traunsee Lake and eastern hillside vineyards.

Austria's past as a European power and its cultural environment have generated a broad contribution to various forms of art, most notably among them music. Austria has been the birthplace of many famous composers such as Joseph Haydn, Michael Haydn, Franz Liszt. Austrian contributions to the worlds of film and theatre have traditionally been strong. Sascha Kolowrat was an Austrian pioneer of filmmaking.

Austria's capital city of Vienna, also described as Europe’s cultural capital, ranks as one of the most attractive cities in the world and was recently ranked as the top city in Mercer’s Quality of Living survey rankings. This metropolitan city has a charm, vibrancy and flair that is unique and found no where else.Art and culture have a long tradition in Vienna, including theatre, opera, classical music and fine arts.

Higher Education System

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Austria consists of a wide variety of higher educational institutions. Students are provided with a broad range of study options by 16 Austrian Universities. There are also 13 private universities in Austria. The post-secondary sector also includes Teacher Training Colleges and Institutes, Colleges and Institutes for Training Religious Teachers, etc. Austria also has 246 degree programmes.

There arealso Private Universities. The post-secondary sector also includes Teacher Training Colleges and Institutes, Colleges and Institutes for Training Religious Teachers, etc.

University of Vienna

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The University of Vienna is the highest-ranked Austrian university, placed 155th in the world in the QS World University Rankings. It’s also the largest university in Austria, and, having celebrated its 650th anniversary in 2015, the oldest in the German-speaking world. Today it’s one of the largest universities anywhere in Europe, with around 93,000 students enrolled. It teaches across a broad subject spectrum, mostly in German but with a significant number of English-taught master’s degrees. The university is associated with 15 Nobel Prize winners, including 2004’s recipient of the Literature Prize. Its faculties are spread across more than 60 locations throughout the Austrian capital.

Vienna University of Technology

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Austria’s second representative in the rankings is Vienna University of Technology, in joint 183rd place. Established in 1815, it is one of the most prestigious technical institutions in Europe. The university focuses on the fields of engineering and natural sciences, and has around 28,000 students enrolled, with an impressively high percentage of international students (it ranks just outside the world’s top 100 on this indicator). Again located in the beautiful Austrian capital, Vienna, it offers students the opportunity to take advantage of the city’s vibrant cultural life.

Universität Innsbruck

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Ranked joint 299th in the world overall, Universität Innsbruck outdoes even the University of Vienna when it comes to internationalization.

It ranks within the world’s top 35 for its proportion of international students, and the top 95 for proportion of international faculty members. The university’s total student enrollment is around 28,000, making it the third largest in Austria. Its facilities are spread throughout the attractive city of Innsbruck, towards the west of the country, which is renowned as a major snow sports hub. Given this mountain-surrounded location, it’s unsurprising that Universität Innsbruck is particularly renowned for its work in the field of mountain research.

Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz

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Commonly known as the University of Graz, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz is ranked within the world’s top 470 higher education institutions. It was established in 1585, which makes it the second-oldest university in Austria. It’s also the second largest Austrian university, with almost 32,000 students enrolled. Like Universität Innsbruck, the University of Graz recently separated from its medical faculty, which is now an independent institution, the Medical University of Graz. Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz also collaborates with the Graz University of Technology to offer joint programs in natural and biological sciences.