University of Arts Linz

The University of Arts Linz is a public university in Linz, the capital of Upper Austria and the third-largest city in the country. Linz sits on the Danube in the far north of Austria, about 30 km south of the Czech border. The city has a long industrial history, steel and chemical production among it, and its economy has since diversified, with services, higher education and research institutions becoming important. Linz was a European Capital of Culture in 2009 and has several universities, museums and annual festivals.

The institution was founded in 1947, in the years of postwar reconstruction after Linz had been part of the American occupation zone. The city itself is much older: it began as the Roman fort of Lentia, was first documented under the name Linz in 799, was mentioned as a fortified city in 1236 and gained city rights in 1324. It has been a commercial and administrative centre on the Danube for centuries.

The register lists the institution in the Universität category as a public university. It records 28 programmes of all kinds and languages, and 7 English-taught degree programmes: 6 Master's degrees and 1 PhD or doctorate. Subjects taught span arts, design and architecture, materials engineering, music and performing arts, philosophy and industrial design. The English-taught offer sits at postgraduate level, so a student coming from abroad should expect to arrive for a Master's or a doctorate rather than a first degree.

For an international student, the practical points matter as much as the programme. You apply directly to the institution, which sets its own application period and its own entrance procedure, so check its website for the dates and requirements rather than working from a central deadline. Students from outside the EU and EEA need a Residence Permit for Students. At public universities, students from the EU, EEA and Switzerland pay no tuition within the standard duration of their programme plus two semesters, and most other students pay a per-semester fee. Every student also pays the student union fee.

Linz is a manageable city to land in. It is a transport hub, with motorways running south of the city and connections north toward Czechia, and it has a working waterfront on the Danube. The institution's own site, kunstuni-linz.at, is the place to start on programmes and admissions.