Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien

General information

• Founded: 1898. Today WU is one of the largest specialised universities for economics and business in Europe.
• International focus: exchange programmes, many partner universities and English-language programmes. WU holds Triple Accreditation, which only around 1% of business universities worldwide have.

Bachelor's programmes:

• Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften (WiSo) – in German. The broadest, "classic" economics programme – best if you don't yet know whether you want marketing, finance, management or something else.
• Wirtschaftsrecht (WIRE) – in German. Based on law, but with solid business training. The bachelor's and master's in business law together give a complete legal education; the master's is a further 4 semesters (120 ECTS).
• Business and Economics (BBE) – entirely in English, business and economics with an international focus

Admission and deadlines

All three bachelor's programmes have an admission procedure that runs once a year, in spring. It usually starts with online registration and an Online Self-Assessment, followed by a written exam if needed.

• For 2027/28: WU publishes the details of the 2027/28 procedure in mid-November 2026. Registration usually opens in early March and closes in mid-May, followed by the self-assessment – for 2026/27 registration ran from 2 March to 19 May 2026, and the self-assessment had to be completed by 28 May 2026
• Admission tests: at the end of June or start of July; the 2027 dates have not been published yet. In 2026 they were on 30 June for WiSo and BBE and on 1 July for Wirtschaftsrecht
• Start: for WiSo and Wirtschaftsrecht, a successful procedure allows you to start in the following winter or summer semester; for BBE – only in the winter semester

Fees

• Within the tolerance period: €0 tuition fee – you only pay the student union fee (ÖH) of around €26 per semester
• After the tolerance period: €363.36 per semester
• Tolerance period for a bachelor's: 6 semesters standard duration + 2 semesters = 8 semesters free of charge

Bachelor's programmes

Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften (WiSo) – BSc

• Duration: 3 years (6 semesters), 180 ECTS
• Language: mainly German, with some courses in English. Proof of German is required; if your level is below C1, a preparatory course through VWU is possible if the conditions are met.
• Admission: compulsory procedure, 2,703 places for 2026/27. When there are more applicants than places, a written exam is held – for 2026/27 it was on 30 June 2026.
• Deadline for 2027/28: not yet published – WU announces it in mid-November 2026. For 2026/27, online registration ran from 2 March to 19 May 2026, with the self-assessment by 28 May 2026

Tracks: after the common economics foundation, you can choose, for example, business administration, international business administration, economics and socioeconomics, or business informatics, as well as further specialisations.

Supplementary exams (Ergänzungsprüfungen): these may be required if general education subjects are missing or insufficient – for example German, mathematics, English, geography or history. They are taken through VWU (Vorstudienlehrgang der Wiener Universitäten) before regular studies begin.

Matura subjects: no compulsory matura subjects are required.

Wirtschaftsrecht (WIRE) – LL.B.

• Duration: 3 years (6 semesters), 180 ECTS
• Language: German
• Admission: compulsory procedure, 870 places for 2026/27. If there are more applicants, a multi-stage selection is used.
• Deadline for 2027/28: not yet published – WU announces it in mid-November 2026. For 2026/27, registration ran from 2 March to 19 May 2026 as part of the annual spring procedure

Content: law and economics. At the start there is an economics foundation, and from around the third semester the focus shifts strongly towards legal subjects.

After the bachelor's: company legal departments, compliance, contract management, banks, consultancies, taxation and public administration. The bachelor's alone is not enough for the classic legal professions – a master's is also needed.

Supplementary exams: as with WiSo, these may be required through VWU.

Matura subjects: no compulsory matura subjects are required.

Business and Economics (BBE)

• Duration: 3 years (6 semesters), 180 ECTS
• Start: only in the winter semester, once a year – unlike WiSo and WIRE, there is no summer-semester intake
• Language: entirely in English
• Admission: compulsory selection procedure once a year, in spring; 240 places for 2026/27, with around 16 applicants per place in 2026
• Deadline for 2027/28: not yet published – WU announces it in mid-November 2026. For 2026/27, online registration ran from 2 March to 19 May 2026; registration fee €50

Admission test: in person, with the whole procedure conducted in English. Applicants are ranked and the best-ranked are offered the available places (240 in 2026/27).

After the bachelor's: international management, consulting, finance, banking, marketing, strategy, business development, international companies, or a master's degree at WU or another international university.