Höhere Technische Lehranstalt

• Höhere Technische Lehranstalt,
• Höhere Technische Bundeslehranstalt, or
• Höhere Technische Bundeslehr- und Versuchsanstalt.

Types of Courses

• Fachschule courses last four years and start with grade 9. After four years, students have to complete a Technikerarbeit and then pass the final examinations to graduate from HTL. Students can also attend the examinations for the Berufsreifeprüfung, but these examinations are voluntary. The Berufsreifeprüfung formally enables students to attend university.
• Höhere Abteilung offers the most common type of courses at Austrian HTLs. The courses last five years and start with grade 9. After five years, students may complete the curriculum with a Diplomarbeit, a final graded project that requires several hundred hours of work. After that, a student has to pass a comprehensive examination: one written test in mathematics, and an exam in a main technical subject and one in a language and the final oral examinations. This is called Reife- und Diplomprüfung since the Austrian Reifeprüfung is an integral part of it and graduates are formally enabled to attend university. This type of education has a number of similarities to Japanese colleges of technology. After three years of work experience in engineering, graduates can apply for the Austrian professional title Ingenieur, literally engineer.
• The so-called Abendschule offers a type of course that is very similar to the Höhere Abteilung and intended for people who want to study while they work. These courses are organized in 8 semesters and are completed with a Reife- und Diplomprüfung just like the Höhere Abteilung.
• The fourth type of courses at HTLs are special post-secondary courses for students who have completed an apprenticeship, are master craftsmen or graduated from Gymnasium with Matura. These types of courses are also offered at the Höhere Abteilungen and end with the same qualifications as the five-year courses.

  HTLs

• The largest HTL in Austria with 3.500 students is the HTBLuVA Mödling, which is also the largest school in Europe.
• The oldest Austrian vocational school is the HTBLuVA Wien 5 Spengergasse in Vienna, established in 1758 by Maria Theresia.
• The HTBLVA TGM in Vienna has the highest school building in Austria.
• The HTBLVA TGM also has the largest base area of any HTL in Austria.

  Höhere Technische Lehranstalten in Austria