Council of International Fellowship Austria is a private, non-profit, politically and religiously independent association that has hosted an International Professional Exchange Programme in Austria once a year in spring since 1989. Participants come from other countries and CIF Austria arranges the whole stay.
The 17 days split into a general programme for the whole group and an individual programme built around each participant’s own professional field. Everyone lives with a host family. The programme runs in close cooperation with the University of Applied Sciences Hochschule Campus Wien, Department for Social Work.
The working language is English, six people are taken, and the registration fee is 200 euro. The 2026 edition ran from 10 to 26 April in Vienna and the countryside. The 2027 edition falls in April or May with the exact dates still to be confirmed, and applications close on 29 November 2026.
Benefits & funding
- Room and board with host families for the whole programme, plus accommodation for the introduction days in the countryside.
- Domestic travel inside Austria during the programme.
- General programme in Vienna: an introduction to Austria and its social system, field visits to counselling centres and social institutions, a meeting with a Member of Parliament, a public event at the university, a CIF Austria party and an evaluation.
- Individual programme of agency visits at governmental and non-governmental organisations, tailored to each participant’s professional background, usually two appointments a day, mainly in Vienna and partly in the provinces.
- Lectures on social work, social policy and the Austrian social system at Hochschule Campus Wien, with contact with its students.
- Six places per edition.
- Participants pay a 200 euro registration fee and their own travel from their country to Vienna and back.
- CIF International publishes a grant request form covering the participation fee, flights or train, other travel, visa costs, health insurance and vaccination, and cancellation insurance; it is submitted together with the application.
Eligibility
- An educational background in social work, social welfare, human services or a related field.
- At least two years of professional experience in those fields.
- Proficiency in English, the working language of the Austrian programme.
- No nationality, residency, age, gender or minimum degree requirement is stated.
- Applications go through the CIF national branch or contact person in the applicant’s own country; where there is none, applicants contact CIF Austria directly.
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Application process
- 1Check the CIF International programs page for the current Austrian edition’s dates, fee and deadline, since the spring dates are confirmed year by year.
- 2Download the CIF IPEP application form from that page.
- 3Send the completed form to the CIF national branch or contact person in your own country, which forwards it to CIF Austria.
- 4Where your country has no branch or contact person, write to CIF Austria directly at cifaustria@yahoo.com.
- 5Submit the CIF grant request form at the same time if you need financial support.
- 6Apply before the deadline, which is 29 November 2026 for the 2027 edition.
- 7Arrange your own travel to and from Vienna, and a visa where one is needed.
Program timeline
Application deadline, 2026 edition
Dec 15, 2025
The 2026 edition runs in Vienna, with introduction days in the countryside
Apr 10, 2026 to Apr 26, 2026
Application deadline, 2027 edition
Nov 29, 2026
2027-04 or 2027-05
The 2027 edition runs for 17 days, exact dates to be confirmed