Nine years of education are mandatory for everybody.Normally, children in Austria go to school at the age of 6 years. There publicand private schools. After the first four years at a elementary school, calledin Austria “Volksschule”, you can choose what to do next. You can either go toa middle school, “Hauptschule” for four years and then into a schoolconcentrated on a specific professions, “Berufshochschule” (BHS), or you can goto an higher school of general education, “Allgemeinbildende Hoehere Schule”(AHS).

Matura: The Matura in Austria is also called“Reifepruefung”. This is the final school-leaving examination, which isequivalent to the IB-levels and SAT tests. You need to pass this examination atthe end of you education in order to begin your studies at an university. TheMatura consist out of an written and oral part and has to be passed in front ofa board of teachers and the head master.

GRADING:

1 (Sehr gut ) = A (Excellent)

2 (Gut) = B (Good)

3 (Befriedigend) = C (Satisfactory)

4 (Genuegend) = D (Sufficient)

5 (Nicht genuegend) = F (Failed)

Students finish the university after four to six years. Inorder to finish their studies in most fields, students need to submit a“Diplomarbeit”. This is a research paper, which is incredibly long and you haveto defend in front of a board. They normally graduate with the title “Magister”or “Diplom- Ingenieur” (engineering and agriculture). They can then continuetheir education and obtain the title “Doctor”. In medicine, students have tostudy six years, but obtain the title “Doctor” without further studies.

There have been a lot of reforms in the past years and thereis a debate going on, if the Austrian educational system should be reformedfurther.