FAQs

What is the StV? What does it do (for me)?
StV is the short form of the word “Studienvertretung” which means student representative group. That means, we are a group of students studying Digital Humanities who act as an interface between the students, the lecturers as well as the faculty.

This means that we are there to help you with your problems studying but we also see connecting the students with each other as one of our main focuses! For this, we are always open for your cooperation, as DigiMinds is a grassroot representative group where everybody is welcome to join!

How do i apply for the Master’s Programme Digital Humanities?
This depends on whether you have studied at Universtiy of Vienna or a different University beforehand. The basic information of the outlines of the Master’s you can find online here.

How does u:space work?
U:space is the main orientational page for all students of University of Vienna. This is the place where you can apply for admission to the programme, register and deregister for courses, receive grades, certificates or even pay your student fees! A general introduction of the website is offered by the University. After admission you will receive access to login after which you can roam about to check out the structure of the site.

How do I find things on u:find?
The relevant courses on u:find are all listed on our own page. You can find this by clicking the button “Course directory” on the main page and then scroll down to Directorate of Studies 13 called “Finno-Ugrian Studies, Dutch Studies, Scandinavian Studies, Comparative Literature”. Here you can see “13.04 Digital Humanities” listed. When you click on the link, it will show you all the courses offered for our programme for the current semester. On the top right, you can switch between semesters so you can also see what courses were offered during other semesters.

Alternatively you can also enter any name of a lecturer or course you are looking for on the main page. If you find an interesting one but are unsure if it is possible to receive credits for it in DH, you can click on the course and scroll down to the end of the page. Under the headline “Association in the course directory” you will see all the programmes listed that will give you credits for the course.

In some cases you can take courses even if they are not listed in our programme, then you can use the “interest module” to enter the course, but the ECTS will not count towards your final grade in DH. Since we are a new programme, a fixed list of courses does not exist yet, so if you find one you are sure we should be able to take in our programme, feel free to reach out and we can try to get credits for it!

Who do i address if I…
…want to have credits recognized? have problems with admission? if i need consultation for my studies?
For this you will have to reach out to the Directorate of Study. DH belongs to the Directorate 13, which is managed by ao. Univ.-Prof. MMag. Dr. Roger Reidinger. The contact address via E-Mail is: roger.reidinger@univie.ac.at.


…want to change the module of one of my courses on u:find? have questions about login or u:space? am struggling with my course of study?
For this we have our own service point led by Peter Schneider. His contact address is: service.spl13@univie.ac.at.

You can find the information about specific competences on the following websites:
https://skandinavistik.univie.ac.at/studium/studienservicestelle/
https://skandinavistik.univie.ac.at/studium/studienprogrammleitung/

If you have questions and are unsure whom to address, feel free to write us, the StV on our own email address:stv.digital_humanities@oeh.univie.ac.at or on another channel of ours you are familiar with.

Do I have to take the introductory lecture again, even if i did it in the ECs?
Yes, the introductory lectures from the EC and the Master’s are different lectures and therefore you will have to take it again.

How is the programme structured? What types of exams are there?
The structure of the programme is described in the Curriculum which you can find here.

The programme includes a short introductory part of roughly one semester. One part shared with the other Data Science Masters @ Uni Wien (Data Science and Business Analytics) and lastly a specialization part in which you can choose between 5 main clusters related to different fields in the humanities (but also take courses in multiple ones!). In the end of the master’s you will have to do a data analysis project as well as write your own Master Thesis.

At the bottom of the Curriculum you will also be able to find further information on types of exams and types of courses offered in this programme.

Do I have to know programming? Do I have to do it a lot?
To enter the Master’s programme, it is necessary for you to have some qualifications related to computer technology. This, however, does not mean that you have to be familiar with programming! During the first semester you will learn basic programming skills that you can further dive into during the next semesters if you are willing to do so. Generally speaking, programming skills are not necessary to start the programme, but you might have an easier time at the start doing so.

Many courses offered do not require deep technical skills, so you will not have to do extremely difficult programming throughout your studies if you don’t want to. For those interested, however, you can take more courses related to technical skills and further your computer knowledge in a practical way.

Is the programme held in English only or do i have to speak german? Can I apply if I don’t speak german?
Whilst it is possible to attend only classes taught in English (although this would limit your possibilities), having German skills on level C1 is a mandatory requirement to be accepted into the programme.

If you need help writing texts in German, there are resources offered by University, for example by German Philology.

Do i have to do an internship for my studies?
No, an internship is not required for this programme. In some cases, however, you might be able to earn some ECTS for finishing an internship The ACDH-CH Internships  (oeaw.ac.at)  can be done during the semester break in February or during the summer holidays.

How can I reach out to other DH students?
When you are part of the programme, we offer a variety of channels to connect: Whatsapp groups, Discord chats as well as information provided on Moodle.
Open to public, you can also reach the StV DigiMinds on Instagram (@digitalhumanities.univie) or write an Email tostv.digital_humanities@oeh.univie.ac.at

During the semester there will be a variety of events hosted by either the student representatives or some of the lectures to connect with others. If you can’t find the channels you are looking for, feel free to write an email or message to us StV.

Can i do an exchange semester during my Masters?
Yes! Current Erasmus+ exchange semesters are available to Venice and Cologne. More universities are considered if the existing exchange places are being used. More information on Erasmus+ places are found here.

There is also the option of going abroad as a Non-EU Exchange, which means you can go to a variety of countries in Asia, Ozeania, the Americas as well as Africa. You can find more information on eligibility as well as application about exchange semesters on this website.

If you have specific questions about going abroad, don’t hesitate to ask us as we have some experience in this, too!

How do i find out about my student rights? 
Student rights are quite hard to find and understand. Generally speaking, there are different forms of ÖH (Österreichisches Hochschüler:innenschaft who are the overall students representative body) counselling, for example for social funds, regulations or social counselling, which you can sign up for at: https://www.oeh.ac.at/en/counseling

There is also a department for human rights and social policy that deals with questions of inequality or discriminations. If you can’t find a ressource you need, feel free to send us a message.

Unterbau Action
We would also like to use this FAQ to point attention towards the “Unterbau Action” organised by teaching staff as well as researchers of universities. This initiative draws attention towards the chain contract issue of which the majority of staff at University is affected. This will, however, not only have individual consequences, but will potentially lead to the sacrifice of quality in the context of teaching! If you want to learn more about the initiative, there is an official website which also gives directions towards the higher organizations involved.

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