Master's in Austria with an Algerian Licence: Admission Guide

Your licence and the Austrian bachelor's

In Algeria, the licence lasts three years, and the master's lasts two. Austrian universities compare your licence with the bachelor's degree that leads to the master's you want. They check two things: that your degree is at least at the same higher-education level, and that its content is close enough to the Austrian bachelor's.

The check is done by the university, subject by subject, so a licence in the same field as the master's usually has a better chance than one in a different field. There is no automatic list of accepted Algerian degrees that we could find in an official source, so treat each application as a case that will be reviewed.

What TU Wien asks, as an example

TU Wien publishes its rules for international bachelor's degrees:

• You may apply once your bachelor's degree is complete, with at least 180 ECTS and no outstanding exams. A degree certificate, or a university confirmation with a transcript, is accepted.
• The head of studies checks whether your degree is substantially equivalent to the corresponding TU Wien bachelor's programme.
• Small gaps lead to conditional admission: you must pass supplementary exams, which must be taken within the first two semesters of the master's.
• If the missing content exceeds 30 ECTS, admission is not possible.

Other universities have their own rules. The University of Vienna, for example, publishes an access guide for each master's programme, so read the one for your programme.

Language

• German-taught master's: at TU Wien you need German at A2 or C1. If you do not have C1, the admission decision can require a supplementary German exam, which you take through the preparatory course (VWU). Once you enrol in it, only its exam counts.
• English-taught master's: no German is needed, but English at B2 is. At the University of Innsbruck, this is shown for example with IELTS 6.5, TOEFL iBT 87, Cambridge B2 First or PTE Academic 62.

Even in English-taught programmes, learning German helps with daily life and work.

Deadlines for master's applicants from outside the EU

These are the 2026/27 dates. They change every year. The University of Vienna dates apply to non-EU applicants, and the Innsbruck dates are the general admission period, so check the application window for non-EU applicants on the Innsbruck page.

Documents and legalisation

At TU Wien, a master's application contains (certified copies):

• the signed application form with a valid email address;
• your degree certificate;
• the transcript or proof of completed exams;
• the language certificate, where applicable;
• a copy of your passport.

For an Algerian licence, the legalisation chain is the traditional one: the university and the Ministry of Higher Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, translation and the Austrian embassy. Translations are done after diplomatic legalisation, must be official and permanently attached to the original. TU Wien warns that express couriers from non-EU countries may be refused because of customs charges, so check how to send your file.

After admission

The next steps are the same as for a bachelor's: housing, the residence permit at the Austrian embassy (at least three months before travel, with funds for 12 months), health insurance, and registration of your address within three days of arrival. See our guides on each.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• TU Wien: master's admission with an international bachelor's degree
• TU Wien: supplementary and additional exams
• Nuffic: Algeria, higher education
• University of Vienna: application and admission deadlines
• University of Innsbruck: application and admission deadlines
• University of Innsbruck: language proof for admission