WU has received 3,916 registrations for the 2,703 places available in the German-taught Bachelor’s Program in Business, Economics and Social Sciences (WiSo) this year. This is roughly equivalent to last year’s figure. 1,595 people also registered for 870 available places in Business Law (WiRe), WU’s bachelor’s program combining business administration with legal studies. This is also about the same as last year. The English-taught Bachelor’s Program in Business and Economics (BBE) met with strong interest as well. The demand for this program reached a new high, exceeding 2,000 for the first time, with 2,068 applications for 240 available places. Close to 70% of the applicants registered for this program come from outside of Austria.

Strong interest as an indicator of high quality

WU Rector Edeltraud Hanappi-Egger is pleased to see so much interest in WU’s academic programs. “This continued demand is a positive sign for us. It confirms that our business, economics, and law programs are widely known for their high quality, both nationally and internationally,” she says. WU’s example also demonstrates that selection procedures are by no means a deterrent, but can even have positive effects on students’ academic progress. “If future students are encouraged to carefully consider their choice of a program and what it offers, this will obviously have positive effects. We have noticed in the past that the selection procedures at WU lead to increased academic activity within individual degree programs and to lower dropout rates," says Hanappi-Egger, and continues, “We are looking forward to meeting our future students, and want to give them the full university experience in spite of the ongoing pandemic-related distancing requirements. To make this possible, we’ve planned welcome events and the introductory lectures are also scheduled to be held in person at the Austria Center, like last year.”

Next deadline: May 31

Most of the applicants have already completed the online self-assessment test, the rest have until May 31 to do so. Students applying for BBE also have to submit a motivation statement. Due to the COVID-19 situation, entrance exams will again not be held this year for the WiSo and WiRe programs. Instead, applicants are asked to submit a written assignment for the Business, Economics and Social Sciences program or an essay for Business Law; these are due between June 3 and June 25. The entrance exam for BBE is scheduled for July 6, but due to the high number of international applications, it will be held online. 

Bachelor’s admission procedure timeline:

By May 31: Completion of the online self-assessment test (WiSo/BBE/WiRe) and submission of the motivation statement (BBE only)
After May 31: Students are notified of whether stage 2 will be carried out

If stage 2 is carried out:
June 3–25: Completion of written assignments (WiSo) or essay (WiRe)
July 7: Entrance exam (BBE)