Ferdinand Porsche FERNFH

About Ferdinand Porsche FERNFH

FERNFH was founded in 2006, and its formal teaching operation began in 2007 with a bachelor’s program in Business Information Systems. It operates from Wiener Neustadt as Ferdinand Porsche Fernfachhochschule GmbH and uses the brand Ferdinand Porsche FERNFH. Its legal form is a private limited company, while its regular degree places receive public funding and its higher-education activity is subject to Austria’s university-of-applied-sciences regulatory framework. The institution’s defining feature is its specialization in distance learning. Study is not entirely asynchronous: students work primarily through the Moodle-based Online Campus but also participate in three attendance phases per semester. These normally occur near the beginning, middle, and end of the semester, commonly on Fridays and Saturdays. Depending on the program and scheduled activity, attendance may be online through live sessions or at the Wiener Neustadt campus. Workshops, introductory sessions, assessments, and direct interaction can form part of these phases. The official 2026/27 catalogue lists six regular degree programs and confirms activity in both the winter and summer semesters. The portfolio is intentionally focused rather than comprehensive, covering Aging Services Management, Business Administration and Business Psychology, Business Information Systems, Digital Health Management, and Information Technology. Prospective students should distinguish these regulated bachelor’s and master’s degrees from FERNFH’s separate continuing-education and micro-credential offerings, whose awards, admissions arrangements, and prices may differ.

Admission is program-specific and distinguishes clearly between bachelor’s and master’s applicants. For a bachelor’s place, the standard routes include Austrian general university entrance qualification, a corresponding study-authorization qualification, an equivalent foreign certificate, or completion of at least a three-year program at a recognized postsecondary institution. Applicants with a relevant vocational qualification may also be eligible, normally with prescribed supplementary examinations. The precise relevant qualifications and required examinations depend on the intended bachelor’s program. Master’s applicants need a relevant completed higher-education degree. The admission process checks whether the prior program supplies the subject preparation required by the selected master’s curriculum; the official process refers to relevant bachelor-level study totaling at least 180 ECTS. Applicants educated abroad are assessed through their submitted documents. Since teaching is in German, international applicants must demonstrate appropriate German proficiency; FERNFH’s international information specifies B2 where German is not the applicant’s first language. Selection is not based on automatic open enrollment. Bachelor’s procedures generally include an aptitude test and an interview, with content and weighting varying by program. Master’s selection begins with formal review and ranking of documents, followed by an aptitude test and interview. Some tests or interviews may require attendance at Wiener Neustadt. The published 2026 intake deadlines had already passed by the profile date of 20 August 2026, and no complete 2027/28 deadline set was verified. Applicants should therefore consult the individual program page for the next application window rather than relying on expired 2026 dates.

The 2026/27 regular portfolio contains three bachelor’s and three master’s programs. Bachelor’s options are Aging Services Management, Business Administration and Business Psychology, and Business Information Systems. Master’s options are Business Administration and Business Psychology, Digital Health Management, and Information Technology. FERNFH does not list an institutional PhD program. All six programs are taught in German and organized as employment-compatible distance degrees. The bachelor’s curricula generally run for six semesters and carry 180 ECTS credits. The master’s programs listed in the current catalogue run for four semesters and carry 120 ECTS credits. The model combines guided independent study, digital learning materials, exercises, group work, discussion forums, video communication, and scheduled live or campus-based teaching. This requires substantial self-organization even though students receive a defined semester structure and access to teaching staff. The fields are applied and interdisciplinary. Aging Services Management connects health sciences, gerontology, public health, management, law, and technology. Business Administration and Business Psychology combines organizational and economic analysis with human behavior. Business Information Systems links computing, software, digitalization, and business processes. At master’s level, Digital Health Management addresses e-health, health systems, management, accessibility, and digital transformation, while Information Technology develops advanced technical, leadership, and project-management capabilities. Students should examine the current curriculum and attendance schedule for their intended program before applying. The mix of live sessions, campus dates, examinations, electives, and specialization options is program-specific and cannot be assumed to be identical across the institution.

Key Highlights

• Founded in 2006; formal degree teaching began in 2007.
• Recognized Austrian university of applied sciences operating from Wiener Neustadt.
• Six regular degree programs are listed for the 2026/27 academic year.
• Most study occurs online, with three scheduled attendance phases per semester.

Student Life & Environment

Student life at FERNFH is shaped more by online collaboration and periodic cohort meetings than by a residential campus environment. The Online Campus provides continuous access to learning materials, exercises, communication tools, and group-work spaces. Students interact through forums, online office hours, video calls, learning groups, and the attendance phases held three times each semester. These scheduled sessions create opportunities to meet classmates and instructors, but they also mean that distance students must reserve specific dates rather than expecting a completely self-paced program. FERNFH explicitly designs its degrees for students balancing education with work, caregiving, or other responsibilities. That flexibility comes with practical demands: students need reliable technology, consistent weekly study time, and the ability to manage independent learning. The institution offers an online information course and a distance-study self-check so applicants can test the learning environment and consider whether the format suits them before enrolling. Because the institution is primarily a distance-learning provider, applicants should not expect the daily clubs, residence halls, dining facilities, or continuous on-campus social calendar associated with a residential university. Community is instead built through digital contact, group assignments, program cohorts, and occasional in-person sessions. An electronic library supports study and research, while program and central service teams provide organizational guidance. Students needing disability-related adjustments, counseling, or specialized support should confirm the available arrangements directly before accepting a place.

Location & Surroundings

FERNFH’s registered campus is at Ferdinand Porsche Ring 3 in Wiener Neustadt, Lower Austria. Wiener Neustadt is south of Vienna and functions as the physical meeting point for campus-based attendance phases, examinations, workshops, and institutional services. Since most academic work is completed online, the location affects students differently from a conventional full-time campus: many will travel there only on designated dates. The university’s travel information identifies Wiener Neustadt Hauptbahnhof approximately 0.4 kilometres, or about five minutes on foot, from the campus. It provides guidance for arrival by rail, car, bicycle, and from Vienna International Airport, together with information about nearby parking. This proximity to the station is useful for students commuting from Vienna or elsewhere in Austria, although actual journey times and connections should be checked for each attendance weekend. FERNFH does not advertise university-operated student housing. Its travel page instead lists nearby hotels and other short-stay accommodation for students attending campus sessions. Applicants who plan to relocate, rather than commute occasionally, should research the independent Wiener Neustadt rental market and should not treat the listed hotels as long-term student residences.

Costs & Career Outcomes

For regular bachelor’s and master’s students, FERNFH’s fee regulation sets tuition at €363.36 per semester from winter semester 2026/27. The 2026/27 Austrian Students’ Union contribution is €26.20, producing a billed semester total of €389.56 for that academic year. The regulation states that the amount is payable in one installment and that tuition continues during a required internship or study-abroad semester. These figures apply to regular degree programs; freemover, micro-credential, and continuing-education prices follow separate rules. Distance delivery can reduce routine relocation and commuting costs, but it does not eliminate indirect expenses. Students should budget for a suitable computer and internet connection, learning materials not supplied digitally, and travel or short-term lodging whenever a scheduled phase is held in Wiener Neustadt. FERNFH does not provide residential room-and-board pricing. Its funding page says it does not award scholarships that reduce tuition, although high-performing students may be considered for merit support and eligible students can investigate Austrian public study assistance or tax treatment of education costs. Career preparation reflects the applied program portfolio. Business and psychology graduates prepare for organizational, human-resources, change, consulting, and marketing-related work. Information-systems and information-technology programs target roles connecting technical delivery, digital transformation, project leadership, data, security, and business operations. The health programs address management, coordination, innovation, and digital transformation in health, care, public, and nonprofit settings. These are curriculum-linked occupational directions, not employment guarantees. FERNFH publishes no verified institution-wide placement rate, starting salary, or employer list, so applicants should judge likely returns against their existing experience, intended sector, and ability to combine the degree with professional work.