If you’ve been putting off applying to study in Austria because you don’t have an IELTS score, here’s some good news: you don’t necessarily need one. A handful of Austrian universities and scholarship programs will look at your academic record and English proficiency in other ways, which matters if you’re trying to avoid the cost, scheduling hassle, or pressure of a formal language exam.
That said, “no IELTS” and “no English requirement at all” are two different things, and a lot of scholarship roundups blur the line. This guide breaks down exactly which Austrian universities skip the IELTS requirement, which fully funded scholarships in Austria are currently open to international students, and what they actually pay pulled from the institutions’ own admissions pages rather than the numbers that get copy-pasted across scholarship blogs (more on that mix-up below, because it’s a real one).
Why Austria, Specifically
Austria doesn’t get talked about as much as Germany or the Netherlands in study-abroad circles, but it has a few things going for it: low tuition at public universities, a central location for traveling around Europe, and genuinely strong programs in fields like engineering, natural sciences, medicine, tourism management, and the humanities. If you’re weighing options, it pairs well with a look at 7 Fully Funded Scholarships in Germany 2026. The two countries have similar cost-of-living advantages but different application quirks.
Quick Overview
| Host country | Austria |
| Open to | International students, all nationalities |
| Degree levels | Bachelor’s, Master’s, PhD |
| Funding type | Fully funded (varies by program) |
| Strong fields | Sciences, engineering, tourism, health, humanities |
Austrian Universities That Don’t Require IELTS
These universities run at least some admissions tracks where IELTS isn’t a hard requirement, though individual departments can still ask for other proof of English or German proficiency, so don’t assume you’re fully off the hook:
- University of Vienna
- University of Innsbruck
- University of Salzburg
- Graz University of Technology
- Johannes Kepler University Linz
- MODUL University Vienna
- UAS Technikum Wien
- Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU)
Before you apply anywhere on this list, email the admissions office for your specific faculty. Requirements shift by department and degree level, and the university’s general policy page won’t always match what a specific master’s program actually asks for.
The Two Fully Funded Scholarships in Austria Worth Knowing About Right Now
There are only two programs I’d point to as genuinely fully funded and currently documented for international applicants: the ADC/ITH scholarship in Salzburg and the ISTA PhD program near Vienna. Both application cycles for 2025/26 have already closed, but the next rounds should open later this year—here’s what to expect and what each one covers.
1. Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC) Scholarship — ITH Salzburg
This one funds a roughly nine-month Postgraduate Diploma in Tourism & Hotel Management at the Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management (ITH) in Salzburg.
- Deadline: The 2025/26 cycle closed February 6, 2026. The next cycle is expected to open around September 2026 and close around February 6, 2027 (approximate dates, based on the previous schedule); confirm exact dates on ITH’s official scholarship page.
- Program start: The most recent intake began September 7, 2026; the next is expected in September 2027.
- English requirement: You’ll need a recognized certificate—IELTS, TOEFL, Cambridge, or equivalent—if you’re from a non-English-speaking country. This isn’t the IELTS-free option some sites make it out to be.
- Tuition: Fully waived.
- Stipend: Around €205/month in pocket money.
- Health insurance: Included.
- Not covered: Your flights to and from Salzburg, plus a one-time admission fee of roughly €1,500 (a €500 housing deposit and €1,000 accommodation contribution), and a residence permit fee of about €120–160.
- Age limit: 35.
A word of caution here: several scholarship-listing sites quote a €2,460 monthly stipend for this program. That figure doesn’t appear anywhere in ITH’s actual application documents, which state approximately €205/month. It looks like a copy-paste mix-up with the ISTA salary figure below — worth knowing before you build a budget around the wrong number.
2. ISTA PhD Scholarship — Institute of Science and Technology Austria
This is a PhD-only program at ISTA in Klosterneuburg, just outside Vienna, and it’s structured more like a paid research position than a traditional scholarship.
- Deadline: The 2025/26 cycle closed January 8, 2026. The next cycle typically opens around October—check ISTA’s PhD admissions page for confirmed dates.
- Program start: Most recent intake began September 15, 2026; next expected September 2027.
- English requirement: Generally only required if your previous degree wasn’t taught in English.
- Tuition: None.
- Salary: Approximately €2,993–3,601/month gross (2025 rate), paid out 14 times a year.
- Social security: Full coverage included.
- Not covered: Visa costs and relocation expenses.
- Application fees: None.
How to Actually Strengthen Your Application
A few things that matter more than people expect:
- Start earlier than the deadline suggests. Some of these windows open months in advance, and a rushed motivation letter is usually the weakest part of an application.
- Put more weight on your documents than your English score. Transcripts, a clear motivation letter, and solid recommendation letters tend to carry more of the decision than a language certificate.
- Check the actual teaching language before you worry about IELTS. Some programs at these universities are taught in German, which makes the whole IELTS question beside the point.
- Budget for the costs that “fully funded” doesn’t mention. Flights, visas, and deposits are rarely included, even in programs that look 100% covered on paper.
- Go back to the source before you apply. Deadlines and requirements are set by the institutions, not by scholarship blogs, and they do change year to year.
Bottom Line
Studying in Austria without IELTS is realistic, but it takes some digging to figure out where “no IELTS” actually means no English proof at all versus just no IELTS specifically. Right now, the ADC/ITH scholarship and the ISTA PhD program are the two fully funded scholarships in Austria with clear, current, verifiable details — everything else worth pursuing will depend on which university and faculty you’re applying to, so treat the university list above as your starting point for direct outreach.
Scholarship deadlines, stipend amounts, and eligibility rules change without much notice. Double-check the official university or program page before you submit anything.
