Culture Shock! Austria - A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette

74 CultureShock! Austria

Foreigners are welcome to study

at Austrian universities, but must

have the special diploma called

the Matura. Up until recently,

higher education in Austria was

free. This meant that an Austrian

could be a student until the end

of his or her life. It is said that the

high school years are particularly

stressful as the students try to get into university. Once in,

the students slow down and the pace becomes more relaxed.

The new fees are meant to encourage students to finish their

studies in a more timely fashion and to cut down on the

number of students who register for class but never show

up. Most students finish their studies at about the age of 24,

depending on their discipline. But nothing prevents them

from spreading their education out over a long period of time

or resuming their studies after an interval.

Students must be self-motivated as the system is

impersonal, with classes having up to 100 students.

Attendance is usually once a week for each class, but is not

mandatory. The only thing that you must do is take a written

or oral exam, which is given either once a semester or once

a year. The oral exam is in front of the whole class, which

can be rather nerve-wracking.

Austrian students do not belong to fraternities or sororities

like in the United States. The push to drink to excess or to

perform odd rituals to be accepted into a group is non-

existent. Undergraduates don’t feel the need to conform or

prove themselves. Privacy is important to them. If you are

athletically inclined, there is no outlet for your abilities; a

university education is structured for the intellectual. The

dress code is reserved and dark colours reign supreme.

American-style baseball caps, shorts, sweatshirts and pants

are not the norm.

GAY LIFE

Although Austria is a predominantly Catholic country and its

people tend to be traditional, when it comes to sex, nudity

The idea of a university campus
is non-existent in Austria. In the
case of the University of Vienna,
for example, the main building is
in the 1st district, while myriad
other academic buildings are
located in nearby districts. At
the end of a class or lecture,
students knock on their desks
to show their appreciation for
the professor and the quality of
the presentation.