Austria sees rising trend in high school students pursuing university studies

The number of high school students enrolling in university courses early is increasing steadily in Austria. Under the pilot project ‘Schüler/innen an die Uni’, which began at the University of Salzburg in 2000, gifted and motivated students can take exams before completing their Matura and credit them toward a regular degree later.

Participation has grown from 58 students in the 2019/20 winter semester to 170 in the 2025/26 winter semester. The number of participating institutions, including universities of applied sciences and private universities, has doubled from 19 to 38. These institutions include locations across all Austrian federal states, as well as the University of Liechtenstein and FernUniversität Hagen in Germany.

According to the Agency for Education and Internationalization (OeAD), the majority of participants originate from Vienna, Salzburg, and Styria. While most students are in their final three years of secondary school, some participants are as young as twelve. Popular fields of study include computer science, natural sciences, and economics and social sciences.