Study Guide

STUDY
GUIDE

How to study at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna — a student-written guide to every core course: what to focus on and how to prepare for each exam.

Introduction

In this Study Guide, you can find information and help on how to study for not only the core courses, but also advanced and optional courses.

In a general manner, studying at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna is based not only on learning the theory by heart but more so on applying it — explaining the theory and then showcasing the practice of it.

Most of the exams, except both of the Economics core courses, are written in essay format. The Economics exams are designed as multiple-choice exams. The syllabus and course description help you find out which courses use which grading system. Not all courses have exams — many require papers varying in length from 3,000 to 6,000 words and more. You can access the course descriptions on MyDA after logging in, under My Studies → Courses and Syllabi, where you can search for the syllabus of your chosen course.

Detailed information on studies, regulations, and procedures can be found in the Student Handbook and on the Student Intranet.

Core Courses

Here, a study guide for all the core courses explains in detail what to focus on and how to study for the exam effectively while still understanding the topic.

The important first step is to understand the topic and minimise it to an extent that makes it easy to learn by heart — then start applying it to the theory. It is important to use old exam questions to build a process for how to answer them. In this guide, we take you along on how to approach this process.

Shared archive

Past exams & class notes

A student-curated Google Drive collecting past exam papers and class notes from across the Diplomatic Academy. Use it alongside the course guides below to rehearse real exam formats and review how material was taught — a shared library, kept and grown by students for students.

Past exams

Real exam papers from previous years — see how questions are framed and what examiners actually ask.

Class notes

Student notes covering core course material, condensed into what matters for each subject.

Open the Drive archive

Core Courses

Pick a course, see more

Click on any course to read the full guide — what to focus on and how to prepare for each exam.

Core Course · First Term

Principles of International Law

Principles of International Law depends on which professor you have during the groups — this time it is either Hestermayr or Wittich. With Hestermayr the course is structured and compiled differently, and each group has its own exam questions. Both groups have slightly different topics and questions, since sometimes there is not sufficient time to finish all materials.

Core Course · First Term

Principles of European Law

Knowing how the exam is put together helps you prepare for it the best. This law exam consists of short theory questions to be answered in full sentences (three selected out of five), and a second part of essay questions answered in an essay format with an introduction, a main part and a conclusion discussing whether the arguments are used for or against the statement provided. The important thing is to use the right arguments to answer the right question — that is why working on the old exam questions is quite helpful.

Core Course · First Term

Principles of Economics

Principles of Economics is one of the two mandatory courses in the Department of Economics that students in MAIS, DLG and ETIA must take in their first trimester, unless exempted. The course focuses on the basic concepts of economics and serves as the foundation for any further economics courses you may take in the upcoming trimesters.

Core Course · First Term

Introduction to Political Science

This is the introduction class to the field of Political Science, also a good foundation for International Relations. What is important here is to learn the theories and all of their different branches by heart. There are several sub-groups of many theories, which have a lot of specialists and founders.

Core Course · Second Term

Theories of International Relations

This class is a second-term core course. After building up some political science foundation, the second step is to deepen the theory in International Relations. As the title already states, it explains the core theories of International Relations. The exam consists of two parts, which we can also categorise as the theoretical and practical parts.

Core Course · Second Term

International Economics

International Economics is one of the two mandatory courses in the Department of Economics that students in MAIS, DLG and ETIA must take in their second trimester, unless exempted. The course builds on the concepts taught in Principles of Economics in the first trimester and looks at the subject from a global perspective.

Core Course · First & Second Term

History

The History exam is one of the most feared and also legendary exams over many years. Since our History Professor Row left the school in June 2026, we do not know how big the changes to the curriculum and the exam will be — but it is a good preparation to explain the settled version of it.

Core Course · Third Term

World Trade Law

World Trade Law is the last exam of the core courses for the first term. The classes happen every two weeks in a blocked manner. The classes are long, and for our term not many people attended. You can learn something, but to be very honest, most of the topics discussed were not asked during the exam. Attendance is encouraged, since it can be interesting and makes it easier to follow when studying for the exam, but preparation for the classes is not necessary. There is also a group work involved for this class.

STUDYGUIDE

Introduction

Core Courses

Past exams & class notes

Pick a course, see more

Principles of International Law

Principles of European Law

Principles of Economics

Introduction to Political Science

Theories of International Relations

International Economics

History

World Trade Law

STUDY
GUIDE