Academics in vienna

While studying abroad, your home base is the Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU). This is where participants complete their required courses and where the IiVP office is located.  Students enroll in a wide range of courses at all of our partner universities, where they study alongside Austrian and other international students: 

Austrian academic culture resembles, but is not identical to, U.S. academic culture.  Here are some similarities and differences:

• Semester lengths equal those at Illinois.  They begin in October and March.  IiVP scheduling accommodates this very well.

• Students generally have fewer exams and engage more in self-learning.  There are exceptions.  IiVP advising addresses this topic.

• Some instructors at some universities bundle their contact hours into parts of the semester.  For example, they may choose to schedule more contact hours at the beginning and end of the semester, encouraging independent research and learning in between. IiVP advising addresses this topic, too.

• Not all university campuses are built around a quad.  However, we will introduce to at least one very beautiful example in Vienna. And most will  conclude that the WU campus design is highly successful.