More seniors are studying in Austria than ever before

According to the education department’s statistical yearbook, a new high was reached in the winter semester of 2023/24 with more than 5,200 seniors enrolled at public universities, or 1.8 percent of all students. Before tuition fees were introduced, the number had halved to 2,300.

• also read: “This is my chance”: Already a student at the age of eleven

As in the past, by far the most senior students are enrolled at the University of Vienna (1,900), followed by the University of Salzburg (almost 1,000). Just over 400 senior students are enrolled at the universities of Graz, Innsbruck and Klagenfurt. The fewest older students can be found at medical and artistic universities, where there are strict admission procedures.

Most are female

The vast majority of senior students are female: specifically, in 2023/24 the proportion of women was 62 percent, which is higher than the total number of students (54 percent). The proportion of foreign students is significantly lower among older students (13 percent compared to 34).

In addition to a classic course of study, for which you have to prove that you have passed a high school diploma or university entrance qualification test, some universities and technical colleges also offer special offers for older students. Thematic focus, scope and costs vary; there are usually no entry requirements. The fifth “Senior UNI” at the IMC Krems University of Applied Sciences, which started in March, is a four-semester course with a focus on “volunteering”, with modules on health, IT and personal development, among other things. The offer costs 400 euros per semester.

Universities with many offerings

The offers at the universities are more open in terms of content: In Klagenfurt, for example, a “senior liberal studies course” was set up in 2007 together with the University of Applied Sciences and the Carinthian University of Education, among others, in which students receive 100 euros per semester from selected courses in subjects such as history, philosophy, geography or can also choose business administration and mathematics. At Uni 55-PLUS in Salzburg, for a participation fee of 250 euros, you get access to over 400 courses in all fields of study or 30 courses specially designed for the target group – from lectures to (computer) courses to seminars or excursions.

At the University of Vienna there is a post-vocational course of study called “Studium Generale”, where you can also acquire your own degree – assuming you have a high school diploma or several years of professional experience. You can choose from modules from disciplines ranging from archeology and botany to theology and contemporary history. The one-semester modules, for which there is only a confirmation of participation, cost 700 euros. The four-semester course to become an “academic graduate” costs 7,800 euros. You can add a “Master’s upgrade” to this for 4,800 euros and continue your training to become a “Master of Arts (Continuing Education)” in two semesters. However, in addition to completing the course, the prerequisite for this is that you have already successfully completed a bachelor’s degree, bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, master’s degree, diploma, PhD or doctoral degree with at least 180 ECTS (equivalent to three years of full-time study).

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