The first semester
This course is not held regularly once a week per semester, but is rather an intensive half or full-day course on one or multiple weekdays.
ECTS stands for the European Credit Transfer System, corresponding with the workload required for individual study achievements. This means that students are credited with a certain number of ECTS credit points after successfully completing the course depending on the workload required. One ECTS credit point amounts to 25 hours of work. A bachelor’s programme normally has 180 ECTS.
Contact hours are the amount of time that instructors and students meet during courses. One contact hour lasts for 45 minutes per week of teaching during the semester.
Study programmes include a wide range of teaching methods. A general distinction is made between courses where presence is mandatory and part of the overall assessment and courses where this is not the case. Lectures are not courses where presence is mandatory and part of the overall assessment; they do not require attendance and are completed with actual performance. Seminars, introductory seminars, courses, study groups, excursions, laboratories, etc., on the other hand, belong to the courses where presence is mandatory and part of the overall assessment, and performance must be achieved on a recurrent basis, e.g. in the form of presentations, mid-term examinations and group work. The course types are described in more detail in the curriculum.
A student ID number is a student’s registration number at the university. Students obtain this number when they enrol – i.e. the very first time they sign up at a university – and they keep this for life, including when they change universities (within Austria).
The minimum length of study is the number of semesters provided for in the curriculum to complete a course of study. Bachelor’s programmes with a total of 180 ECTS generally require 6 semesters at a minimum.
The sample course of study is contained within the curriculum. It assigns all courses planned in the course to a specific semester. The sample course of study does not necessarily have to be adhered to, but it does serve as guidance for drawing up timetables and takes into account requirement chains for courses and modules.
The fee for the Austrian National Union of Students must be paid each semester in order for a student to remain enrolled at the University of Graz. The Austrian National Union of Students fee allows the Union to provide a comprehensive range of services and to act as a strong and independent representative of students in relation to the Ministries responsible. The compulsory membership with the National Union of Students ensures that it can act in a politically independent way owing to financial independence. Seventy percent of the Austrian National Union of Students fee goes directly into the Union’s accident and liability insurance. This guarantees comprehensive accident and liability insurance which covers (almost) all events during university or on a USI course, for example.
Currently the fee amounts to € 22.70. As of study year 2024/25 it will be € 24.70.
Students can decide which date they sit for examinations on lecture courses themselves. A minimum of 3 examination dates are offered, usually spread over several months. Completion of examinations should be scheduled in such a way as to meet any prerequisites for any additional courses.
Students have the opportunity to resit examinations that have been marked with a fail up to 3 times, i.e. four attempts in total. Students of cooperative studies with Graz University of Technology (NAWI Graz) can repeat examinations four times (a total of five attempts). Examinations that have been passed successfully may also be repeated once up to one year after they have been taken. Please note, however: the grade achieved for the last examination is the one that counts, even if this is worse than the initial one.
The semester plan can be accessed via UNIGRAZonline and displays the courses recommended for a study programme each semester. This shows which lectures, seminars, etc. should be completed in the first semester according to the curriculum, followed by those in the second semester, etc. The semester plan can be used as an aid in creating the timetable and is based on the sample course of study in the curriculum.
STEOP exists at the start of every bachelor’s and degree study programme (except Psychology) and can be used as a guide for the main course contents. A certain number of courses must be completed successfully in the STEOP depending on the applicable subject area. However, additional courses up to 22 ECTS credit points can also be completed that do not fall within the STEOP. STEOP examinations may be retaken three times (total of four attempts). If the student fails the examination four times, he/she is barred for two semesters from the respective study program, as well as from studies in which the course also counts towards the STEOP. The maximum four attempts in total to pass the examination then start all over again. This process may be completed twice.
Degree study programmes are divided into stages. Certain courses must be completed in each stage of a degree programme. The respective stage of a degree programme is concluded once all the designated courses have been completed.
Each degree programme is identified by a three-, six- or nine-digit number (administrative characteristic). For instance, the Law study programme has the course identification number “101.”
The UNIGRAZCard is the official student ID card for the University of Graz. It also doubles as a library card and can be used to obtain discounts in the Mensa (cafeteria). After initially requesting the card via UNIGRAZonline, you can pick it up in the Academic Affairs Office or in the university library entrance area. Every semester you will have to update it at the service points (main building, RESOWI, the Austrian Students' Union Service Centre, 24/7 learning zone). Here, you can also print out the access to the copy function and, if necessary, the Austrian National Union of Students note for the Mensa (cafeteria) discount.
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