The DIBT is a three-year program and requires you to be present in Vienna for the full three years because of the intensive teaching and research program at our university. Students are integrated into one of our three academic institutions (Tax Management Group, Institute for Tax Law or Department of Economics) and receive a high-quality academic education and participate in internationally competitive research. Our students have close contact with the scientific community and guest lecturers at the highest international level.

Our students may also complete a research stay of up to six months abroad at one of the universities that offer adequate research seminars. A research stay should be spent at one of the universities which is leading in the research area that the thesis will deal with.

Unfortunately not. We require you to be physically present in Vienna for the full three years of the program. See answer to Q1.

The program is taught entirely in English, so you are eligible. Knowing a little German can help in your everyday life in Vienna/Austria, but it is not a prerequisite to be admitted to the program.

The DIBT program is very comprehensive, and a very good level of English knowledge (C1 level) is required. When we review applications, TOEFL/IELTS exams are generally used as an English level benchmark. However, we also accept “other proof” of English proficiency, and the selection committee do look at applications on an individual basis. If your previous studies have been in English, this should be sufficient. Please make sure you clearly state this in your application.

For more information on English-language competence requirements of WU, please see the following LINK. 

The academic year for the DIBT program starts on 1st September.

You can find a list of the documents required for your application using the Application Guide.

We can only accept applications submitted using the Online Application Tool. You can access this tool via the following link: bach.wu-wien.ac.at/z/wu/mab/registration/

Yes, you can apply for the DIBT program before completing a relevant master’s degree. However, the master’s degree must be completed and all graduation documents must be presented before enrolment at the WU.

We cannot confirm this in advance. The eligibility of your academic background for the DIBT program can only be assessed after you have submitted your complete application. In general, we can only accept master’s degrees (or equivalent) from accredited higher education institutions. Professional training or executive education, provided by other kinds of institutions, will not be sufficient. You must have completed at least 5 total years of regular studies. Although a specific tax degree is not required, you do need to have some sort of a background in tax.

For a complete application at least two reference letters must be provided. Using the online application tool, specify only the contact details (name and email address) of the individuals willing to provide reference letters. You will be provided with a link via the online application tool, which you must send to your referees. Using the link given to them, they upload the reference letter directly into the application tool. This must be done before the end of the application period.

For admissions starting in September 2026, the application tool will be open from 1st November 2025 till 15th February 2026.

We can only accept applications made via the application tool.

For DIBT PhD students, tuition fees are waived. A student union fee of €24,70 needs to be paid per semester.

Some students will receive an employment contract of approximately € 2.650 per month (tax and social insurance will be deducted from this amount). Please note that all applicants will be considered for the grant, so there is no need to make a separate application for this.

Although you do not necessarily have to choose a specific thesis topic before admission, as this will be done within the first year of the program, there is a list of DIBT research topics available on which you can base your research ideas in your application. You do not need to find a supervisor before admission, this will also be decided during the first year of study. For the outline on the application form, you should describe your first ideas about research topics you are interested in - to help you, please see the DIBT research topics below. There is no set format for this, so it’s up to each candidate how they present their ideas.

DIBT provides the opportunity to conduct research in the following broad research areas:

• Determination of taxable profit

• Locational decisions

• International coordination of business taxation

• Business taxation, tax administrations, enforcement and compliance