How your university works

Webster Vienna is a private American university accredited in both the US and Austria. You graduate with two diplomas: one from Webster University in St. Louis and one recognised in Austria and the EU. All teaching is in English.

The academic year runs Fall, Spring and Summer. Undergraduates take between 24 and 36 ECTS per semester, which in practice means four to six courses. Your programme page in Atlas shows the total ECTS you need to graduate.

Academic advisor

The person you plan every semester with. Advisors are assigned by the first letter of your surname: A–L Mr. Jaroslav Jorik, M–Z Ms. Chryssi Tsounta. You meet before each registration period to pick courses, and you go to them for anything about your programme, prerequisites, or changing your major.

Admissions Department

Processes registrations, transcripts, and enrolment confirmations (the letters you need for your residence permit or a bank).

Student Affairs

Housing, student life, counselling, and anything that isn't academic.

Department head

The faculty member responsible for your major. You rarely need them directly; your advisor will escalate if needed.

Every undergraduate degree has three parts: core courses for your major, your university's Global Citizenship Program (general education across several knowledge areas), and electives you choose freely.

Many courses have prerequisites — you can't take an advanced course before its introductory one. Atlas shows prerequisites on every course card, and Degree Progress on your dashboard tracks which requirements are still open.

You don't register yourself. Before each semester you sit down with your advisor, go through the catalogue together, and settle on up to seven courses. Your advisor prints a registration form listing them, you sign it, and the registration is sent to the St. Louis campus for processing.

Come to that meeting prepared: a schedule built in WBU with no time overlaps saves you both a second appointment.

After the semester starts you have one week to add or drop courses. After that week, changes are no longer routine — talk to your advisor immediately if something isn't working.

Webster uses the American letter scale (A, A−, B+ … F), converted to a 4.0 grade point average. Your GPA is the weighted average of all your courses, and it matters more than in most European systems:

• 2.0 is the minimum to stay in good academic standing.
• Scholarships typically require 3.5–3.6, checked every semester — if you hold one, know your threshold and watch it.

The GPA Calculator shows what you need in your current courses to hit a target.

Coursework is scored as a percentage, then turned into a letter and a grade point. How a course reaches your percentage is up to the course; the scale below only turns a percentage into a letter:

Academic standing

A cumulative GPA of 2.0 is the minimum for good standing. Below it you may be placed on academic probation, and a GPA that stays under 2.0 for two consecutive semesters can lead to dismissal. Your standing is set and communicated by your university — this platform only ever shows your GPA, never a standing decision.

Key deadlines

• Add/Drop — the first Friday of semester. A course dropped by then leaves no trace on your record.
• Withdrawal — the Friday of week 9. After Add/Drop, leaving a course is a withdrawal and shows as a W.
• Registration opens — Spring 2027 on 7 October 2026; Summer and Fall 2027 on 3 March 2027.

Exact deadline dates shift each term — always confirm them with your university.

• Connections — the student portal: registration records, grades, official transcripts, tuition.
• WorldClassRoom — the learning platform: course materials, assignments, submissions, grades per course.
• Starfish (Student Success Portal) — connects you with your advisor and instructors: book advising appointments, receive early alerts if a course is going badly, and find the support services that help you finish your degree.
• Microsoft 365 — your @webster.edu email in Outlook, OneDrive for files, Teams and Zoom for online sessions. Check that inbox: official communication goes there, not to your personal email.

Attendance — there is no single rule. Some courses cap how many sessions you can miss, some don't track attendance at all. It's in every syllabus, first week. Read it.

Academic integrity — plagiarism and unauthorised collaboration are treated seriously under the US model, and AI-generated work counts unless the syllabus allows it. When in doubt, ask the instructor before submitting, not after.

Missed exams and grade disputes — contact the instructor first, in writing, as early as possible. Your advisor is the next step if it isn't resolved.

Key dates for Fall 2026:

• Add/drop ends: 18 September 2026