General Study Information
Admission Requirements
In order to be admitted into a bachelor degree program at the Carinthia University of Applied Sciences at least one of the following criteria must be fulfilled:
- Secondary School Leaving Certificate (Austrian ‘Matura’ or an equivalent international certificate)
- Higher education (University) entrance examination certification
- Vocational higher education (University) entrance examination
- Vocational (VET) diploma examination (vocational apprenticeship or completion of at least a 3-year vocational secondary school) with additional exams
Moreover, there are degree program specific additional prerequisites as well as more comprehensive information regarding admissions on the individual web pages of the corresponding degree program. The German University of Applied Sciences (Fachhochschule) entrance qualification certificate is only valid as an admission prerequisite for an Austrian UAS/FH bachelor degree program when combined with an applicable vocational certificate.
Later submission of required documents
Persons in their last year of school may apply for a study place in a bachelor degree program before taking their secondary school-leaving exams by submitting their most current secondary school grade/marks report. The secondary school-leaving certificate must be submitted during the registration process at the beginning of the semester.
In order to be admitted into a master degree program at the Carinthia University of Applied Sciences at least one of the following criteria must be fulfilled:
- completion of a bachelor of arts/science degree that corresponds to the respective master degree program
- completion of an equivalent degree program at a recognized Austrian or an international post-secondary institution of higher education
Later submission of required documents
Persons in their last semester of their bachelor degree programs may apply for a study place in a master degree program by submitting their most current transcript of records. The completion of the bachelor degree program certificates must be submitted during the registration process at the beginning of the semester.
Learning Agreement
An educational learning agreement between prospective students and the Carinthia University of Applied Sciences will be agreed upon before students are enrolled in their respective degree programs.
This contract defines the rights and responsibilities of students and the CUAS.
Essential responsibilities of the student
- Personal attendance of courses
- Observation of examination dates and other deadlines
- Payment of the tuition fees as well as the Austrian Students’ Union fee
- Agreement to allow the processing of personal data for administrative purposes of the degree program or to meet legal requirements.
The CUAS is committed to plan and implement the current curriculum of its degree programs in order to guarantee students the possibility to finish in the standard period of study.
Further terms of the contract:
- Due diligence and confidentiality
- Copyright, use and exploitation rights
- Termination of the agreement
Two copies of the educational learning agreement are sent to applicants who have been accepted by a degree program. One copy of the educational learning agreement is to be signed and returned to the CUAS. The acceptance into a degree program is based upon the receipt of a signed educational learning agreement as well as the in time payment of the tuition and the Austrian Students’ Union fees.
Significant legislative basis for a UAS degree program in Austria can be found here:
FHStG - University of Applied Sciences Studies Act (in German only)
HS-QSG - Act on Quality Assurance in Higher Education
Recognition of Prior Learning
General accreditation/transfer of courses and exams
Regarding the accreditation of previously gained academic knowledge through courses and/or exams taken at other institutions of higher education, the respective degree program administration/director will use the principle of ‘course per course relevant accreditation.
The equivalency of the previously taken courses in terms of content and scope to the offered courses in the degree program will be determined by the degree program administrator/director. If an equivalency is determined to exist, then those courses passed with positive marks/grades will be recognized and accredited. Additional examination of academic knowledge in these cases is not foreseen.
Specialized knowledge and relevant experiences acquired through professional and on-the-job experience may also be considered for accreditation for relevant courses. In cases of accrediting professional experience for course credits, additional examinations may be carried out if applicable.
Applications for accreditation are to be submitted directly to the Program Director no later than the start date of the relevant study course(s).
The student must decide where s/he will spend the semester abroad (i.e., a partner university) and will need to coordinate with the responsible Departmental International Coordinator concerning the necessary requirements.
Before the student spends the semester abroad, s/he is required to submit a completed Learning Agreement. This document contains all the courses the student will take abroad and will be recognized at CUAS once s/he finishes the courses successfully. The courses should correspond as much as possible to the courses offered in the curriculum of the student’s CUAS study program in the relevant semester in content and semester hours. It is highly recommended to students to take 30 ECTS credits abroad.
The Learning Agreement is signed and approved by the individual student, the host institution and the program director of the study degree program or a designated faculty member at CUAS.
The Learning Agreement is a declaration of the courses which are to be taken abroad and is not valid as an official recognition document by Austrian law. Therefore, the document is to be linked to the official document “Antrag auf Anerkennung / Application for Accreditation” for academic studies abroad.
During the first four weeks of the study abroad semester the student is allowed to change the Learning Agreement. For example, previously selected courses do not take place or overlap. The host institution and CUAS must agree upon the courses to be changed. If this is approved, the changes must be listed separately on the Learning Agreement (section “Changes to the original Learning Agreement). Afterwards the document is signed and approved by the individual students, the host institution and the program director of the study degree program or a designated faculty member at CUAS.
After the semester abroad the courses taken abroad will be recognized at CUAS. Therefore, the original Transcript of Records from the host institution and the legally valid document “Antrag auf Anerkennung / Application of Accreditation” (which is linked to the Learning Agreement) are obligatory. The student lists on the document the successfully finished courses abroad. After the recognition process is positively completed, the CUAS Transcript of Records will contain those courses.
In cases where the semester abroad is not completed successfully, the Departmental Coordinator and program director of the relevant study degree program will determine on an individual basis if and what courses will be accredited and what a student can do to make up those missing credits which were not accredited.
Detailed information about a semester abroad
For further questions please contact the International Relations Office.
General Registration Procedures
- General Information
- Specific Information
- Application deadlines for students
- Admission of Incoming Exchange Students
- Enrollment
Degree programs at University of Applied Sciences fundamentally only offer a limited number of study places.
In the framework of the application process each applicant will carry out an interview which will influence the allocation of the study places. Additionally, specific degree study programs may require written application tests as well as content-specific/technical aptitude tests. Detailed information regarding the degree program specific application requirements are provided on the degree programs’ web pages.
Repetitive applications for a study place at the same study degree program (e.g., in the following year) is generally allowed; however, the entire application process will start anew and candidates must resubmit all documents and carry out all steps again.
Carinthia University of Applied Sciences accepts both exchange students from partner institutions and so-called ‘Free Mover’ students. The decision to accept Free Movers is made on an individual basis by the relevant Degree Program Director. In the first case an official nomination (via e-mail) from the partner institution is necessary. After the nomination the student will be provided information regarding the application procedure.
Free Movers may apply directly.
Detailed information and deadlines
In order to register as a student at CUAS, each student must fulfill the following:
- Pay the tuition fee within the prescribed time limit (Erasmus Incoming Exchange Students are exempted from this fee)
- Pay the Austrian National Union of Students fee within the prescribed time limit
- Sign the Learning Agreement
The enrollment periods for each degree program will be announced in advance to all applicants.
Examinations and Grading
Exams are graded according to the FHStG [Fachhochschul Studies Act]) § 17 (1), in the Austrian Grading System:
Austrian grading scheme | Definition |
1 | EXCELLENT: |
2 | GOOD: |
3 | SATISFACTORY: |
4 | SUFFICIENT: |
Successfully completed | Positive Leistung, wo eine genaue Differenzierung nicht tunlich ist. |
5 | UNSATISFACTORY: |
Not completed | Negative performance, where a strict differentiation is not adequate |
Recognised | Transfer credits for courses with equivalent learning outcomes |
The final bachelor's and master's examinations before a committee are graded according to FHStG § 17 (2) in the following grading scale:
- "mit ausgezeichnetem Erfolg bestanden" - Pass with distinction (in case of excellent performance)
- "mit gutem Erfolg bestanden" - Pass with merit (in case of performance that is well above average)
- "bestanden" - Pass (in case of positive assessment)
- "nicht bestanden" - Fail (in case of negative assessment).
In applying this grading system, it has to be noted that the grades “Pass with merit” and “Pass with distinction” are reserved exclusively for an examination performance clearly exceeding the level of performance required to pass these final exams.
Validation
Validation
Please note: This part of the Website is only available in German.
ECTS Information
The European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) is a student-oriented system to accumulate and transfer different study credits.
The ECTS is one of the main characteristics of the Bologna Process and is used within the European tertiary system to allow universities and other institutes of higher education to recognize and accredit students’ previous post-secondary coursework. Moreover, this allows students to accumulate credits from different institutions as well ensure that their tertiary degrees are recognized internationally. Thus, the ECTS-system regulates not only student mobility within Europe but also the admission to institutes for further studies.
The system is based upon the transparency of defined learning outcomes and learning processes. The acquisition of experience and knowledge is made transparent through the defined learning outcomes in the course description, the corresponding curriculum module and the degree program’s entire curriculum; this significantly contributes to quality assurance.
ETCS credits are calculated based upon a student’s workload, which in normal cases is necessary to pass a course successfully.
The learning outcomes describe what students should know, understand and be able to do after the successful completion of a learning process. The work load defines the amount of time typically necessary for all learning activities (e.g., lectures, seminars, projects, lab exercises, self-study, exams) in order to achieve the expected learning outcomes.
Within the European tertiary system, a semester is assessed to have 30 ECTS credits and an academic year 60 ECTS credits. The workload for an academic year ranges between 1.500 and 1.800 hours. In Austria, one ECTS credit is equivalent to a workload of 25 real hours.
The Learning Agreement (an agreement to accredit courses completed in a semester abroad) encompasses a listing of all the courses/modules/learning units that a student is to attend and complete at the partner university during the semester abroad. The courses’ ID-numbers and the ECTS credits to be transferred are listed in this document as well. When a ECTS credit transfer is to take place, then the learning agreement must be signed and approved by all three parties involved before the semester abroad: the student, the host institution and the sending institution. It is possible to make amendments to the learning agreement four weeks after the begin of the semester abroad.
The document Confirmation of Stay (Aufenthaltsbestätigung) confirms the actual stay of students at the host institution and is normally issued by the International Relations Office. The document may be issued by the host institute’s International Relations Office at the earliest two weeks before students abroad depart back to their home countries. This document is mandatory for Erasmus+ students.
The Transcript of Records (Datenabschrift) provides an overview of all study courses (completed courses/modules, grades/marks and the number of achieved ETCS credits). The ToR provides a proof of courses successfully completed and thus is very useful for student mobility (before the semester abroad, the ToR can be provided to the host institution and after the semester abroad, it provides the foundation for the recognition/accreditation of courses completed abroad at the sending institution).
The Diploma Supplement (Diplomzusatz) contains a standardized description of a completed degree program. The diploma supplement aims to improve the overall international transparency of degrees as well as to serve as a document for the recognition of academic and professional qualifications.
Academic calendar
Dates for the academic year 2020/21
Start of the semester
- Winter semester: 01.10.2020
- Summer semester: 01.03.2021
End of the semester
- Winter semester: 28.02.2021
- Summer semester: 30.09.2021
Deadlines for registration
- Early registration: 01.07.2020 - 31.08.2020
- Registration period WS 2020/21: 01.09.2020 - 30.09.2020
- Registration deadline SS 2021: 01.02.2021 - 28.02.2021
- End of the payment period: 30.09.2020
- For study fee and ÖH contribution: 28.02.2021
- Additional period for payment: 31.10.2020
- For study fee and ÖH contribution: 31.03.2021
For payments within the additional period, the tuition fee increases by 10%. Registration is only possible after receipt of payment at the account of CUAS!
Application deadlines**
- Application period 1: 01.11.2020 - 15.03.2021
- Application period 2: 16.03.2021 - 15.05.2021
- Application period 3: 16.05.2021 - 15.07.2021
- Application period 4: 16.07.2021 - 30.09.2021 (for places still available)
**Please refer to the websites of the respective degree programs to find out which application periods are open.
Holidays and lecture-free days - summer semester 2020/21***
- National Holiday 26.10.2020
- All Saints' Day 01.11.2020
- Mary Conception 08.12.2020
- Lecture-free period (Christmas) 24.12. - 06.01.2021
- Lecture-free period (semester break) 01.02. - 28.02.2021
- Lecture-free period (Easter) 27.03. - 05.04.2021
- State Holiday 01.05.2021
- Ascension Day 13.05.2021
- Whitsun 22.05. - 24.05.2021
- Corpus Christi 03.06.2021
*** Deviations and changes concerning the lecture-free periods are possible! Please inform yourself about your study program in your administration.
Graduation ceremony dates
- 16.07.2021
- 21.10.2021
- 22.10.2021
Other dates
- IRO – Online Welcome Day for international students: 28.09.2020
- IRO – Welcome Day for international students: 30.09. & 03.10.2020
- Erasmus Days at FH Kärnten 15.10. – 16.10.2020
- CUAS Open Campus-Online 03.12.2020
- Academic ski and winter adventure day 11.01.2021
- FH Day central 29.01.2021
- CUAS Open Campus 05.03.2021
- Tag der Lehre 2021, 15. 03.2021
- CUAS Research Forum 07.04. – 08.04.2021
- CUAS Sport GEOLAUF 09.04.2021
- CUAS Open Campus - Online 15.04.2021
- Matura project contest 23.04.2021
- Meet & Match 06.05.2021
- CUAS Open Campus 07.05.2021
- Research Day 11.05.2021
- CUAS Open Campus - Online 01.07.2021
- CUAS Sports Camp 02.07.2021
- Tag der Lehre - Follow Up 2021, 20.09.2021
- CUAS Sports Day 01.10.2021