Strict allocation of places
The trick is the so-called “dedicated study places” in the MedUni Five percent of all medical study places (that is 85 places) are dedicated to those students “who declare themselves willing to work in the public interest after graduating,” according to the Ministry of Education. The current distribution of medical study places is as follows: 75 percent go to applicants who have an Austrian school-leaving certificate or equivalent, and 20 percent to people from the European Union. The remaining five percent were previously intended for third-country nationals, but are now available for dedicated study places.
The general allocation of study places is complex and serves to ensure that sufficient doctors Doctors“who can be assumed to work in Austria”, will complete the course. This is intended to counteract the shortage of doctors, which is particularly noticeable in rural areas. The dedicated places are intended to close these gaps. The first institution to consider the possibility was the Federal Army. And that was three years ago. In 2023, Kerstin Strein to get a place. After graduating from high school, she trained as a paramedic and is still a volunteer today. Why did she choose a dedicated place?
“I have always been interested in becoming a doctor and this desire has accompanied me throughout my entire school career.” She found out about studying military medicine from her trainer during a job abroad. “I trained Krav Maga at the Army Sports Club,” says the student. “The logical next step was to do training with the Federal Army and apply to study military medicine.”
Two striking advantages
How to get such a place is easy to explain: Interested students contact the requesting parties (providers of the dedicated places) and conclude a preliminary contract with them. “This has two major advantages for students,” says the Ministry of Education. Selection procedure a “bonus”: If they are among the best 25 percent of applicants, they are guaranteed a place at university. And they receive financial support of around 1,000 euros per month for the entire duration of their studies. This is particularly exciting for those applicants who would not normally be able to afford the course.
What do they have to do? Commit themselves. Depending on the need, they have to work as a medical officer after graduating or, in rural areas, as a Family doctor available. “The maximum is twenty years,” says the Ministry of Education. That sounds a lot, but it’s easy to argue. The training alone can take over ten years. “The remaining eight to ten years of commitment don’t seem that long,” says Kerstin Strein. Her contract also states that she can work in a barracks during her study-free time. That doesn’t seem to bother her. On the contrary: “I think it’s good because we can see the practical relevance of the medical field straight away and work directly with the military doctors.” In addition, her degree is not much different from the civilian one, “where you also have to work in the summer months to finance your studies.”
Possible disadvantages
What happens if you realise halfway through your studies that you can’t stand the sight of blood, for example, and want to quit? There are penalty payments. This means that you have to pay back all the funding you received during your studies, according to the ministry. This depends on the respective contract. There is no concern that students will struggle and fail the exams. They have passed the demanding MedAT: “So we can assume that the applicants will complete the course successfully.”
A recipe for success?
The system proved to be a great success in the Federal Army, which is why this year other institutions are offering dedicated places at the three medical universities in Austria and the Medical Faculty of the University of Linz: the nine federal states, the Federal Ministry of the Interior and the Austrian Gesundheitskasse (ÖGK). ÖGK study applicants work as statutory health insurance doctors or employed doctors in health facilities around five years after graduating. A total of 156 people applied for the 13 dedicated study places. Only six people achieved the required quota. Not a good result.
“In principle, many were interested,” said the Ministry of Education. The problem, however, was that the required performance was not met or even exceeded, and some applicants were able to get a place at university through the normal quota. “The system needs to get into its stride first, but we are convinced that it will improve in the next few years,” the ministry said. The number of courses on offer is being continuously increased so that a total of 2,000 places will be available from 2028. This also means that the five percent quota will be larger.
Important: Dedicated study places that are not used are not lost, but are given to the next students on the waiting list.