Bank Austria Scholarships 2026

Deadline: Tuesday, Sep 8, 2026, 11:00am

As part of the project “The Sum of Its Individual Parts” (LINK), Bank Austria, in cooperation with the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, awards eight support scholarships of EUR 18,000 each to students of the Academy who are in the final phase of their studies or preparing for their diploma or master’s degree.

The call is aimed at students who are the first in their family to pursue higher education and/or who experience disadvantage due to their background and/or socio-economic circumstances.

The purpose of the scholarship is to provide financial support during the final phase of study and to ease recipients’ living expenses. This support is intended to enable more focused work on the final thesis or project, enhance its quality, and facilitate the transition from academic study to an independent artistic career.

Through the project package “The Sum of Its Parts,” the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and Bank Austria jointly establish an art and funding platform to strengthen Vienna as a center for the arts. In addition to awarding scholarships to students (“The Sum”), key components include the realization of a temporary public sculpture by an alumnus/alumna (“The Parts”) and a discourse format aimed at positioning Vienna internationally as a hub for contemporary art (“The Sum of Its Parts”). The project title refers to the question of when and how an art location benefits from synergies – so that the whole becomes more than the mere sum of its individual parts.

Target Group

Students enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna who:

are in the final phase of their studies or preparing to complete their diploma or master’s degree;
are first-generation students and/or are disadvantaged due to their background or socio-economic circumstances (e.g. students from Austria, non-EU countries* or stateless persons, beneficiaries of subsidiary protection and Convention refugees, first-in-family students, etc.).

* Excluded are all contracting states of the European Economic Area (EEA), as well as Switzerland and the United Kingdom (EEA contracting states comprise the 27 EU Member States and the EFTA states Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway). Exchange students and dual citizens of an EEA contracting state (including Switzerland and the United Kingdom) are generally not eligible for the scholarship.

Eligibility Requirements

Applicants must be actively enrolled in a regular master’s degree program or in a diploma program (second study phase) at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.

Diploma students must provide:

Proof of completion of all curricular requirements for the first phase of study, documented by the first diploma examination certificate;
A (preliminary) confirmation of supervision from the head of the respective department.

Master’s students must provide:

Proof of at least 70 ECTS credits; and
A completed supervision form or a preliminary confirmation of supervision from the head of the respective department.
Exception – MA students of the IKA
Applicants must have completed all compulsory courses and obtained the required ECTS credits, including three design projects, the proseminar, and proof of registration for the master’s thesis documentation seminar. A current Transcript of Records must be submitted.

The degree must be completed within the 2026/27 academic year.

A registered final examination date may be postponed once within this period. For final examinations registered for June, a postponement allows for an extension until the subsequent examination date in October 2027. If it is not possible to complete the degree within this timeframe, the full scholarship amount must be repaid to the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.

Scholarship Benefits

Eight scholarships in the amount of EUR 18,000 each will be awarded to students of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.

Payments will be made in monthly installments starting in October 2026. The final installment will be disbursed upon successful completion of the degree.*

* Degree completion in January 2027 – 5 installments; March 2027 – 7 installments; April 2027 – 8 installments; June 2027 – 10 installments.

Jury

Faculty members of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.

Timeline

Call for applications: March 2026
Application deadline: 8 September 2026
Jury meeting: September/October 2026

Scholarship payments: Individual disbursement from October 2026 until completion of the degree, and no later than June 2027.

Application Documents

Applicants must submit a complete application consisting of the application form and all required documents, certificates, and supporting materials as specified in the form
Artistic portfolio, including artistic CV (five most important projects/works/work groups; max. 25 pages and max. 10 MB)
Artistic résumé detailing education and an overview of artistic career to date (solo and group exhibitions, scholarships, awards)
Registration certificate of residence (“Meldezettel”)
Written confirmation from the head of department stating that the applicant is in the final phase of their studies and intends to complete the degree by one of the above-mentioned examination dates
Letter of motivation
Proof of social need (narrative statement)

Obligations Upon Receiving the Scholarship

Scholarship recipients are required to submit an interim report on the progress of their final project (the deadline will be agreed individually, depending on the scheduled graduation date).
Completion of the degree must be documented by submitting the official degree certificate (deadline: within three weeks of receiving the certificate).
Willingness to participate in public relations activities:
By submitting an application, candidates agree that, if selected, they will be available for communication activities in the field of digital communication (in particular on social media), as well as for press and public relations work and other public appearances. Audio and visual recordings may be made in this context. They also agree to present their artistic work and project results for communication purposes upon request.
Participation in a networking/exchange event with other Bank Austria scholarship recipients from the fields of music and business in autumn 2026.
Participation in a photo session with the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and Bank Austria as part of the academic graduation ceremony in late June/early July 2027.

If the stipulated academic progress is not met, the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna reserves the right to withhold any outstanding installments. If the degree is not completed within the specified timeframe and/or the interim or final report is not submitted, the full scholarship amount must be repaid to the Academy.

For further information please contact Barbara Pflanzner (b.pflanzner@akbild.ac.at, +43 1 588 16-1204)

submission form

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