OeAD (Austria's Agency for Education and Internationalisation)Scholarship

€1,300 a Month Austria Exchange Semester Grant

Feb 01, 2027 23:59:00 Europe/Vienna

Opportunity type

Scholarship

Funding

Partially Funded

Location

Global

Deadline

Feb 01, 2027 23:59:00 Europe/Vienna

About this opportunity

OeAD, Austria's national agency for education and internationalisation, runs the Ernst Mach Grant on behalf of the Austrian Federal Ministry of Women, Science and Research. This strand pays Bachelor's and Master's students at universities outside Europe a monthly rate to spend one or two semesters as an exchange student at an Austrian university of applied sciences (Fachhochschule). You need a place as an exchange student or free mover at the Austrian school before you apply.

What you get:

EUR 1,300 a month for a study stay of 4 to 10 months in Austria
Help arranging accommodation and health insurance, including the option to apply for OeAD student housing (the grant holder pays for both)
A travel subsidy of up to EUR 1,200 for citizens of listed developing countries, paid against original travel invoices
Tuition fees at universities of applied sciences may be waived by the rectorate on application

What you'll do:

Study as an exchange student or free mover at an Austrian university of applied sciences for one or two semesters
Pass exams worth at least 16 ECTS credits each semester; for a two-semester grant, the second semester is paid only if the first reaches 16 ECTS
Stay continuously at your place of study and submit a final report at the end

Key dates:

Online applications open in October 2026 and close 1 February 2027 at 23:59 Central European Time
Proof of 16 ECTS credits from the first semester is due by 15 March 2028
The grant has to be used by the end of 2028

More information:

Full call on the OeAD scholarship database: https://grants.at/en/?=MTc5MjdfMTg5NzVfMw==
FAQ for this grant: https://oead.at/en/study-research-teaching/overview-grants-and-scholarships/ernst-mach-grant/faq-ernst-mach-grant-fachhochschule
List of Austrian universities of applied sciences and their programmes: https://www.fachhochschulen.ac.at/en/
Applications are made online at scholarships.at, where registration is free

Who can apply

Enrolled at a university in one of the listed countries of origin: about 150 countries outside Europe, including the United States, Canada, India, Nigeria, Brazil, China, Australia and Ukraine (full list on grants.at)
Master's students, or Bachelor's students who will have completed at least 4 semesters by the time the grant starts
Maximum age 35 (born on or after 1 October 1991)
Must already be accepted as an exchange student or free mover by an Austrian university of applied sciences (Fachhochschule); contact the school early, as OeAD does not help find one
Only federally funded universities of applied sciences qualify as hosts; other Austrian universities do not
Fields listed on the call: natural sciences, technical sciences, human medicine and health sciences, agricultural sciences, social sciences
Very good English and/or German; no official language test needed
Two letters of recommendation from university lecturers, with letterhead, date, signature and stamp, no older than six months
Written confirmation from your home university that exams passed in Austria will be recognised (for example a learning agreement)
Passport scan and a current transcript of records
Not eligible: regular students at Austrian universities, people permanently resident in Austria, those who completed their education mainly in Austria, or anyone who lived, studied or researched in Austria in the six months before the grant starts
The grant cannot fund a full degree in Austria, and can be held only once in this programme
Use of generative AI must be declared in the application

AI Verification

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Good to know

+Run by Austria's national agency and financed by a federal ministry
+No application fee and no language test
+Open to Bachelor's students after four semesters as well as Master's students
+Free to apply, with no language test

Worth checking yourself

!You must be accepted as an exchange student or free mover by an Austrian university of applied sciences before applying; most only accept students from partner universities, so check with your home international office first
!OeAD calls this a supplementary grant and says own funds are required: EUR 1,300 a month is expected to fall short of living costs in Austria
!Accommodation and health insurance are paid by the grant holder; OeAD puts insurance at EUR 55 to 200 a month
!Non-EU applicants staying over six months may need to show the Austrian residence authority extra funds if rent exceeds EUR 386.43 a month
!The travel subsidy of up to EUR 1,200 is only for citizens of listed developing countries, against original invoices
!Fields named on the call are natural, technical, health, agricultural and social sciences; humanities and arts are not listed
!Grant holders may not take paid work, apart from marginal employment in research up to EUR 551.10 a month (2026)
!The results date for this call is not published yet; last year's results came in early July

Sources checked

OEoead.atApplyOEoead.atApplyGRgrants.atOfficialSCscholarships.atOfficialSCscholarships.atOfficial

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