If you have specific questions about a degree program at the JKU, please do not hesitate to contact the Office of Student Information & Academic Advising Services (SIBS): studium(at)jku.at

If you are not yet sure about your options and what's right for you once you have passed your Matura examination, you can talk with someone at the Office of Student Psychological Counseling Services free of charge: Psychol.studber(at)jku.at.

Detailed information about the Office of Student Psychological Counseling Services is available on their website, opens an external URL in a new window.

In order to find out more about your strengths and interests, ask yourself a few questions such as: "What subjects do I like and enjoy most at school and why? Which of my summer jobs have I liked so far and what exactly did I like about them? What hobbies do I enjoy in particular and what is it that I like so much about them?". Use your skills of observation in your environment and ask your family, classmates and friends what they think your strengths are.

To help discover what best fits your interests, talents, and life goals, ask yourself a series of questions again, such as, "Where do I see myself in ten or fifteen years? What values and goals in life are important to me? Where am I willing to make compromises or not? What am I especially talented at? How well do my interests match up with my talents? How well have I done my research to find out about the educational opportunities out there? How much time, energy, and money am I prepared to invest in order to reach my goals?" In addition, filling out questionnaires to assess your abilities can help provide good suggestions for a profession or major that suits you.

The Office of Student Psychological Counseling Services is happy to help free of charge and talk with you, provide information, conduct an assessment test, or figure out options based on your answers to a questionnaire.

There are many educational opportunities in Austria once you have passed your "Matura" examination. In addition to apprenticeships (in fields of engineering or business, for example), teacher training institutions (to pursue a profession in education) and in-company training (to become a train dispatcher or flight attendant, for example), academies and dual academies, colleges (to become a kindergarten teacher or pursue a profession requiring education in chemistry or photography) and health institutions, there is a wide range of academic degree programs available at educational universities, universities, and universities of applied sciences as well as dual studies.

Review the available opportunities and once you have selected a few programs and narrowed your options, you need to weigh them against each other. The best way is to consider whether or not these options are line with your personal goals and values in life. Once you know what is important to you and how you picture your future, you will be able to weigh the pros and cons of various educational programs for yourself.

We recommend creating a list of pros & cons to review various factors that could play a role in your decision, such as job prospects, where the program takes place, how long is the program, what are the housing options, what is the admissions procedure, should I attend a university or university of applied sciences, etc. In order to be able to best assess these factors, you need information. This is why - in addition to self-examination - we recommend conducting extensive research in advance. Don't forget that a pros & cons list is something very specific and individual to each person and a "con" on someone else's list may be a "pro" on your list.

Once you have looked at all of the alternatives and made your list, weigh the pros & cons.  There may be a number of cons for some programs and you will have to exclude the one or other option but where you have more pros, you can make a decision about that program. Little by little, you will be able to find out what suits you best as well as what the best alternatives are.

Make sure you take note of the deadline(s) for the academic degree program(s) you are interested in. These often vary from degree programs that do not have an admissions procedure.

We also strongly recommend making a "Plan B" in the event you do not pass the admissions procedure and therefore you are not accepted to the degree program of your choice. You could consider a gap year or choosing another major. 

Choosing the type of university to attend depends on what you want to study as well as what your personal preferences are. For example, if you would like to be given a set schedule for your courses, a university of applied sciences may be a good fit for you. If you prefer scheduling your own courses to fit your personal schedule, you would be in good hands at a university.

The majority of students start their university studies immediately after graduating from school or after having taken a gap year. However, you won't have any disadvantages if you prefer to acquire work experience first before you begin to pursue an academic degree.

No. When you start an academic degree program, you start from "scratch", so to say. This way, students can be brought up to the same level before diving deeper into the subject matter. Naturally, however, your scholastic background can help you navigate certain subject areas better. There are some degree programs that allow you to transfer academic credit for certain school subjects or you can take part in preparation courses offered by faculty members at the JKU.