Country education guide
Austria
Federal law and the Federal Ministry of Education frame the school system, with education directorates and school types administering pathways.
📚 School stages
Grades, stages, and local pathways
Kindergarten / pre-primary class
Early childhood education is followed by the compulsory primary entry stage.
Primary school · Years 1–4
Four years of primary school lead to one of the lower-secondary routes.
Middle school or AHS lower cycle · Years 5–8
Learners attend compulsory secondary school or the lower cycle of academic secondary school.
AHS upper cycle / BMS / BHS / apprenticeship pathways
Upper-secondary routes differ in duration, vocational content, certification, and higher-education access.
Universities / universities of applied sciences / colleges
Access depends on the leaving qualification and any programme selection procedure.
📝 Examinations and qualifications
Selectable records for Austria
Each record links to the authority that publishes its current rules.
Centralised Matura
Standardisierte Reife- und Diplomprüfung
The standardised competence-oriented diploma and Reifeprüfung used in academic and higher vocational secondary routes.
- Completion or score rule
- The award combines school and examination components under the applicable AHS or BHS regulations; programme admission can add selection requirements.
- Where it applies
- Austria
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