FAQ

For all other ques­tions, please write to of­fice@vgsf.ac.at.

Wel­come to our FAQ page! Find below answers to some of the most com­monly asked ques­tions.

PhD Pro­gram

When will the new ap­plic­ants start?
The next co­hort starts in Septem­ber of every year.

Do I need to learn Ger­man?
No, Ger­man is not re­quired. The pro­gram is com­pletely taught in Eng­lish. If you wish to im­prove your Ger­man skills, you can at­tend Ger­man classes at the uni­versity.

Can I at­tend se­lec­ted VGSF Ph­D-­pro­gram courses if I am not ad­mit­ted to the PhD in Fin­ance?
No, courses of the VGSF Ph­D-­pro­gram can only be at­ten­ded if you are a re­gistered stu­dent of our PhD in Fin­ance.

How long does the pro­gram take?
Usu­ally stu­dents fin­ish the pro­gram in five years.

Is this a full-­time pro­gram? Can this pro­gram be done part-­time?
This is a full-­time pro­gram which re­quires per­sonal at­tend­ance on the cam­pus. A part-­time par­ti­cip­a­tion is not possible.

How high is the per­cent­age of VGSF stu­dents who re­ceive a de­gree?
More than 90% of our stu­dents re­ceive a PhD de­gree.

How much is the fin­an­cial sup­port gran­ted to VGSF stu­dents?
The fin­an­cial sup­port is about 2000 Euros gross per month (14 salar­ies/year). Stu­dents are em­ployed by one of the part­ner uni­versit­ies. More in­form­a­tion on our Fund­ing page.

Are stu­dents en­titled to a travel budget?
Stu­dents whose pa­pers are ac­cep­ted for present­a­tion at ma­jor con­fer­ences are eli­gible for travel grants. Sub­mis­sion to con­fer­ences is co­ordin­ated with your su­per­visor(s) and the pro­gram dir­ector.

Ap­plic­a­tion to the pro­gram

Can I ap­ply to the VGSF even though I did not yet fin­ish my gradu­ate stud­ies?
Yes, you are wel­come to ap­ply even if you have not fin­ished your gradu­ate stud­ies yet. However, you should be con­fid­ent to fin­ish your gradu­ate stud­ies by the end of the up­com­ing sum­mer term.

Can I ap­ply to the VGSF even though I did not take a GMAT or GRE test?
No, up­load­ing a GMAT or GRE tests is man­dat­ory. You can up­load ad­di­tional evid­ence demon­strat­ing your ana­lyt­ical/mathem­at­ical skills. However, such evid­ence is no sub­sti­tute for GMAT or GRE.

Can I ap­ply to the VGSF even though I did not yet take a TOEFL or IELTS tests?
Yes. What mat­ters is that you can doc­u­ment your com­mand of Eng­lish (writ­ten and verbal skills) in a con­vin­cing way (e.g. us­ing cer­ti­fic­ates, dip­lo­mas, etc.). 

Do I need to find a su­per­visor and/or sub­mit a thesis pro­posal in ad­vance?
No, you do not need to find a su­per­visor in ad­vance and we do not ex­pect you to have a re­search pro­posal. However, in your mo­tiv­a­tional let­ter you can describe your re­search in­terests.

What is the "self-state­ment of pur­pose"?
The state­ment of pur­pose should provide a de­scrip­tion of your back­ground, your main skills and strengths, your re­search in­terests and ca­reer goals. Two or three pages should be enough. Please note that this is NOT a re­search pro­posal.

Do I have to ap­ply for ad­mis­sion to the PhD stud­ies at the Uni­versity of Vi­enna or the WU (Vi­enna Uni­versity of Eco­nom­ics and Busi­ness) be­fore I ap­ply to the VGSF?
No, you need to ap­ply only from our web­site. The VGSF runs the PhD as a joint pro­gram of the Uni­versity of Vi­enna and the WU Vi­enna, there­fore, prior ad­mis­sion to those uni­versit­ies is not re­quired.

Liv­ing in Vi­enna

Do I need to get a health in­sur­ance my­self?
No, in Aus­tria uni­versity em­ploy­ees are auto­mat­ic­ally in­sured with BVA (only in Ger­man).

Which type of Visa do I need?
As you are em­ployed by one of the uni­versit­ies, you are en­titled to a work­ing visa. We will help you with your visa ap­plic­a­tion if re­quired.

How high are liv­ing costs in Vi­enna?
Liv­ing costs in Vi­enna are about € 800/900 per month de­pend­ing on your life­style. You can find more in­form­a­tion on the WU Vi­enna web­site, click here.