• Empfehlung: USA, Advanced Placement Program (APP), allgemeine Universitätsreife – Advanced Placement Recommendation (in German only) http://www.bmwf.gv.at/startseite/studierende/academic_mobility/
  enic_naric_austria/anerkennungswesen/

Applying to an Austrian university as an international student outside an exchange program is a complex and time consuming process that involves a great deal of bureaucracy and therefore necessitates some planning and patience on the part of applicants. The following is intended as a rough guide:

Familiarize yourself with the process, read through the information provided by the Austrian Exchange Service: http://www.oead.at/index.php?id=235&L=1

Contact the admission office (Studienabteilung) of the university where you wish to study well in advance, keeping in mind the application deadlines for US students: September 1, for the following winter semester, and February 1, for the following summer semester. Note that the general application deadline for Austrians, EU-Citizens and EEA-Citizens is different at each university (if you have a dual or EU-Citizenship please contact the admission office).

Check out the website of the university in question and familiarize yourself with their requirements (application form, online pre-registration). As a rule the following documents will be required:

High School Diploma

German Language requirement

         http://studieren.univie.ac.at/index.php?id=559

• Diplom Niveau B 2 des Gemeinsamen Europäischen Referenzrahmens für Sprachen: http://www.goethe.de/Z/50/commeuro/i3.htm

         or following diplomas and certificates

• Österreichisches Sprachdiplom - B 2 Mittelstufe Deutsch (MD)
• Goethe Institut - Goethe Zertifikat B 2
• Innovationszentrum Universität Wien GmbH - Mittelstufe 3
• Deutsche Sprachprüfung für den Hochschulzugang ausländischer StudienwerberInnen (DSH)
• Deutsches Sprachdiplom der Kultusministerkonferenz Stufe II (DSD II)
• Test Deutsch als Fremdsprache (TestDaF), mindestens Niveau 4 in allen Teilen

German language courses in Austria: http://www.campus-austria.at/

University diploma and transcript

For further information you can consult the following website: http://www.studyineurope.eu/study-in-austria/admission/requirements

Be sure to complete the steps necessary for the Apostille in time for the deadline. In the context of applying to an Austrian university, the Hague Convention means that diplomas of U.S. colleges and universities have to be authenticated by Apostille, before they can be accepted by an Austrian institution.

Follow the instructions given by the university and make sure your application is complete and reaches the university admission office in time for the deadline.

The Apostille is a validation stamp ensuring that a certain document is recognized in certain foreign countries (countries that signed the Hague Convention treaty).

Basically, a document is only valid in the country in which it was issued. Validation for recognition in another country used to be a very complicated and time-consuming matter. In order to facilitate recognition of a document abroad, an international treaty regarding mutual recognition of documents was signed by many countries, including the U.S. and Austria.

This treaty is called the Hague Convention on Legalization of Foreign Public Documents. For more information on the Convention, please see the link collection provided by the U.S. Department of State http://travel.state.gov/law/legal/treaty/treaty_785.html or directly consult the website of the Hague Conference on Private International Law http://www.hcch.net/index_en.php?act=conventions.text&cid=41.

According to that treaty a document originating in one Convention country is recognized in all other Convention countries if it bears the so-called Apostille stamp, which is a validation performed by the superior office in the country and state (province) where it was issued. In the United States the Secretary of State and the Deputy Secretary of State of the individual U.S. states provides the Apostille.

In the context of applying to an Austrian university, the Hague Convention means that diplomas of U.S. colleges and universities have to be authenticated by Apostille, before they can be accepted by an Austrian institution. In order to receive an Apostille for your diploma, you need to contact the responsible state authority that has been designated to issue these certifications.

Note: You need to contact the authority in the state in which your diploma was issued, not in your home state (unless, of course, you attended college/university in your home state).