Study grant measures under the Student Support Act
You will find below a brief description of the study grant measures provided in the Student Support Act. More detailed information on the individual grants and on applying, as well as the procedure for allocating these, can be found at www.stipendium.at/english-information/.
Study grants
- Austrian degree programme students – and foreign students who meet the requirements for equivalence – are entitled to a study grant if they
- are studying at an Austrian educational institution eligible for support,
- are eligible for support based on their personal circumstances (depending on their own income, their parents’ or spouse’s income or that of a registered partner),
- are progressing with their studies,
- have not yet completed a course or equivalent training (except in the case of consecutive degrees), and
- do not exceed the age limit of 30 (or exceptionally 35) years at the start of their studies.
In the case of students who have been self-supporting for four years prior to the first award of a study grant (self-supporting students), their parents’ income will not be considered when assessing their personal circumstances.
Applications for study grants should be made to the Austrian Study Grant Authority. Applications may be made electronically.
Grants for study abroad
Students in receipt of study grants who travel abroad for the purposes of their studies are entitled to a grant for their study abroad, where
• they are at least in the third or later semesters of their studies, and
• their period of study abroad lasts at least one month.
Grants for study abroad will be authorised for a maximum of 20 months and may be applied for retrospectively (up to three months after the period of study abroad has ended). Applications should be made to the Austrian Study Grant Authority.
Mobility grants
Mobility grants are aimed at supporting studies which take place entirely at a foreign higher educational institution within an EEA country or Switzerland. The conditions are largely the same as those for study grants.
Mobility stipends are awarded by the Austrian Study Grant Authority in accordance with guidelines from the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF).
Stipends for completing studies
Stipends for completing studies are aimed at students who were previously working. These allow them to give up their work during the final phase of their studies in order to devote themselves fully to completing these. Stipends for completing studies are awarded by the Austrian Study Grant Authority on the basis of a Regulation of the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (in German only; upper age limit: 41 years).
Childcare allowance
Students who are in the final phase of their studies, are eligible for support based on their personal circumstances, and have childcare responsibility for at least one child living in the same household are eligible for an allowance for childcare costs actually incurred (upper age limit: 41 years).
Travel cost allowance
Travel cost allowances are granted at a flat rate, in amounts which vary according to the student’s living arrangements. Payment will be made by the Austrian Study Grant Authority in ten monthly instalments. No separate application needs to be made.
Contribution to insurance costs
Austrian Study Grant recipients who have reached their 27th birthday will receive a contribution to health insurance costs if they have ‘preferential self-insurance’ (begünstigte Selbstversicherung).
Payment will be made by the Austrian Study Grant Authority. No separate application is required.
Study supplement
Austrian Study Grant recipients who are required to pay tuition fees for the course for which they are in receipt of the study grant will receive a refund for these fees, the amount of which is set out by law. Applications for study supplements should be made jointly with Study Grant applications.
Merit-based stipends (Leistungsstipendien)
Merit-based stipends recognise excellent academic achievements. They are not dependent on the student’s financial situation. They are not distributed by the Austrian Study Grant Authority, but by the individual educational institution, which also establishes the conditions for application.
Scholarship stipends (Förderungsstipendien)
Scholarship stipend awards promote academic or artistic work at public universities, private universities, universities of applied sciences and theological teaching institutions.
They are not dependent on the student’s financial situation. They are not distributed by the Austrian Study Grant Authority, but by the individual educational institution, which also establishes the conditions for application.
Student financial aid
Student financial aid is aimed at helping students who find themselves in particularly difficult personal circumstances to finance study-related costs not covered by other student support measures. The BMBWF determines how these are distributed, in accordance with the applicable guidelines. Applications may be made directly to the BMBWF, or to any Grants Desk.
Links
Contact
Alexander Marinovic
T + 43 1 53120 7000
alexander.marinovic@bmbwf.gv.at
Eduard Galler
T +43 1 53120 7004
eduard.galler@bmbwf.gv.at
Elvira Mutschmann-Sanchez
T +43 1 53120 7006
elvira.mutschmann-sanchez@bmbwf.gv.at
Sylvia Gössner
T + 43 1 53120 7007
sylvia.goessner@bmbwf.gv.at