CEEPUS is a mobility programme, not a normal degree application. You go abroad for 1 to 10 months within a network where your home institution and the Austrian institution both take part. If you are accepted, you are exempt from tuition fees for that stay and you get a scholarship from the host country, sized to its cost of living.
That second part is the bit people miss. The money comes from Austria, not from your home university. But the door is the network, so check that first.
What CEEPUS actually is
CEEPUS stands for the Central European Exchange Programme for University Studies. It is a mobility programme supported by the Federal Ministry, aimed at students and lecturers in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe.
Two features shape everything else:
- It runs through networks. Networks sit at faculty or department level, not at whole-university level. Your department has to be in the same network as the Austrian department you want.
- The host country pays. Within a network, Austrian and international students are exempt from tuition fees and receive a scholarship from the host country based on its cost of living.
Stays last 1 to 10 months. You can only study at a partner university through a network in which both institutions take part, though freemover stays are possible in some cases.
Who can apply
The OeAD lists these countries of origin: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia.
If your country is not on that list, CEEPUS is probably not your route. Look at the other entries in our scholarships section instead, where CEEPUS sits alongside options such as the Ernst Mach Grant and Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters.
Beyond nationality, the practical test is your department. Ask your coordinator one question: is our department in a CEEPUS network with an Austrian partner? If the answer is no, freemover is the only remaining possibility, and that is decided case by case.
Deadlines you need to diarise
The OeAD page gives three closing dates, and they are easy to mix up:
- 1 June, for the academic year and the winter term.
- 1 November, for the summer term and for freemovers.
- 30 November, for networks.
Notice the third one. If your department is thinking about joining or renewing a network, that is a different deadline from yours as a student. Students who miss 1 June sometimes find 1 November useful for a summer-term stay.
How it fits with admission and fees
CEEPUS does not replace the admission process. Admission is organised by each institution, not centrally. The OeAD does not handle study applications and there is no central application portal. So even with a network place, the Austrian institution still decides on your admission.
On money, keep the two things separate. Your CEEPUS stay comes with a tuition fee exemption and a host-country scholarship. Anything outside that stay follows the normal rules. At public universities, EU/EEA students pay no tuition within the standard duration plus two semesters, while most other students pay EUR 726.72 per semester. The student union fee (ÖH-Beitrag) is EUR 26.20 per semester and compulsory for all students. You can read more in our guide to all universities in Austria.
If you are coming from outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland for more than six months, you need a Residence Permit, Student. The application fee on oesterreich.gv.at is EUR 218 and the authority decides within 90 days. The residence authority decides on permits, not the OeAD and not us.
CEEPUS versus a full degree in Austria
It helps to see the difference in a table:
| CEEPUS stay | Full degree | |
|---|---|---|
| Length | 1 to 10 months | Whole programme |
| Route in | Network at faculty or department level | Direct application to the institution |
| Tuition | Exempt within the network stay | Public universities: EU/EEA pay none within standard duration plus two semesters; most others EUR 726.72 per semester |
| Funding | Scholarship from the host country, based on its cost of living | Not included; check our scholarship directory |
| Decided by | Network selection plus the host institution | The institution |
If your plan is a full degree rather than a short stay, the general application deadline at public universities for most bachelor's programmes is 5 September for the winter semester and 5 February for the summer semester. Other programmes, and applicants from outside the EU/EEA, can have different deadlines.
Our catalogue, imported from the Austrian national register, lists 65 Austrian higher education institutions and 589 programmes with English among their languages of instruction. Of those, 455 are taught in English only and the rest in German and English. Those are our own counts and a good starting point for shortlisting.
Practical steps
- Ask your departmental coordinator whether your department is in a CEEPUS network with an Austrian partner.
- Identify the Austrian department in that network and the months that fit your studies.
- Note the right closing date: 1 June for the academic year and winter term, 1 November for the summer term and freemovers, 30 November for networks.
- Confirm admission requirements with the Austrian institution directly.
- Sort out your residence permit early if you need one, and budget the EUR 218 fee.
One caution on numbers. Programmes and fees on this site come from the Austrian national register as of October 2026, and you must confirm them with the institution. The same goes for the CEEPUS scholarship amount: it is set by the host country according to its cost of living, so check the current figure with the OeAD or your network coordinator rather than relying on a figure you saw in a forum.
Sources
- OeAD, CEEPUS programme page, data/facts/sch__oead-ceepus.txt
- OeAD, programmes A to Z, data/facts/oead__programmes-a-to-z.txt
- Study in Austria, application and admission, data/facts/sia__application-and-admission.txt
- oesterreich.gv.at, admission of foreign students, data/facts/oesterreich__zulassung-auslaendische-studierende.txt
- Study in Austria, tuition, data/facts/sia__tuition.txt
- oesterreich.gv.at, Residence Permit, Student, data/facts/oesterreich__aufenthaltsbewilligung-student.txt
- Austrian national register open data, data/facts/register__open-data.txt
Frequently asked questions
How much is the CEEPUS scholarship in Austria?
The scholarship comes from the host country and is based on its cost of living. The OeAD does not publish a single fixed figure on the page we used, so check the current amount with the OeAD or your network coordinator before you budget.
Can I apply for CEEPUS as a freemover?
Sometimes. The programme normally requires a network in which both your home and the Austrian institution take part, and stays last 1 to 10 months. Freemover stays are possible in some cases, with a closing date of 1 November for the summer term and freemovers.
What are the CEEPUS deadlines?
The OeAD page lists 1 June for the academic year and winter term, 1 November for the summer term and freemovers, and 30 November for networks. Note that the network deadline is separate from the student deadline.
Do I still pay tuition fees during a CEEPUS stay?
Within a network, Austrian and international students are exempt from tuition fees and receive the host-country scholarship. Outside that stay, normal rules apply, including the EUR 26.20 per semester student union fee, which is compulsory for all students.