Academic Program

The winter school courses provide a well-structured introduction into one of the most fascinating periods of Austria's intellectual history in a short time. The culture of the fin-de-siècle is one of the highlights in the history of the Habsburg Monarchy.

The two-week program combines first class academic courses with an extensive social and cultural program. The high level lectures in the morning are complemented with excursions to the city and to museums in the afternoon.
Vienna’s rich cultural heritage, especially the museums, will lead to a thorough understanding of the input of the fin-de-siècle on the modernization of Europe.

The international background of the participants offers the possibility to discuss the influence of developments in Vienna (e.g. the famous psychoanalyst Freud, painters like Klimt and Schiele, musicians like Mahler and Schönberg or philosophers like Wittgenstein) and different cultures in Europe and other continents.

The academic course environment encourages intercultural and social exchange and favors mutual understanding within the international student population. Participants thus broaden their horizon, meet colleagues from different fields of study, make friends for life and build connections for their future professional careers.

The univie: winter school was a fabulous opportunity to learn new things both inside the classroom and outside. The brilliant classes we had in the morning with excellent professors were complemented in the afternoon with excursions or free time to discover the city and its fascinating museums and coffee houses."

Jaqueline Cassemiro (Brazil)