Sigmund Freud University

What Sigmund Freud University does

Sigmund Freud University (SFU), legally Sigmund Freud PrivatUniversität Wien, is an Austrian for-profit private university founded in 2005 and headquartered at Freudplatz 1 in Vienna's Prater district. SFU operates across six campuses in five European countries (Vienna, Linz, Berlin, Paris, Ljubljana, Milan) and is Austria's largest private university specialized in health sciences, structured around five faculties: Psychotherapy Science, Psychology, Medicine, Law, and the SFU Academy for continuing education. The institution serves approximately 1,400 students through bachelor's, master's, doctoral, and continuing-education (Universitätslehrgänge) programs, and runs an integrated network of outpatient clinics (psychotherapeutic, psychological, dental, and child psychology) that double as clinical training sites and revenue-generating healthcare services.

The underlying technology stack centers on a web-based research, learning, and student-management infrastructure. The proprietary Research Portal is built on Elsevier Pure and centralizes profiles, publications, projects, datasets, prizes, activities, courses, and student theses. The HEALTH Lab at the Faculty of Psychology operates an online survey platform for patient and health-professional studies, and SFU co-developed the CoARAverse workspace template as part of a European pilot for reformed research assessment. Teaching and admissions run through SFU's website and a dedicated online admissions portal (sfu-bewerbung.academyfive.net), supported by an Erasmus+ charter for 2021–2027.

SFU generates revenue primarily through tuition fees and continuing-education programs. The flagship Master Psychotherapie MSc (CE) launching Winter Semester 2026/27 is priced at €8,000 per semester plus a €550 one-time admission fee; the Fachspezifikum Verhaltenstherapie is priced at €6,359 per semester; continuing-education programs such as the ULG Psychosoziale Kompetenz in Organisationen range from €1,945 (SFU student price) to €3,990 (regular) with early-bird and alumni discounts. Additional revenue comes from third-party research grants (Eklund Foundation ~€275,000 in 2024, ESF seed funding, FWF, ÖAW) and outpatient clinic services. Go-to-market relies on a direct-to-consumer model via website, online info events, and dedicated study advisors, supplemented by organic social, the SFU Podcast, and event-driven recruitment (open days, summer schools, Lange Nacht der Forschung). The university underwent a new ownership transition announced in June 2026, repositioning it as an Austrian health university while preserving academic autonomy.

Name

Sigmund Freud University

Legal name

Sigmund Freud PrivatUniversität Wien

Website

https://sfu.ac.at

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Sigmund Freud University (SFU) is Austria's largest private for-profit health-sciences university, offering bachelor's through PhD programs across five faculties (Psychotherapy Science, Psychology, Medicine, Law, Academy) at six European campuses, serving approximately 1,400 students and operating integrated outpatient clinics.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Vienna

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Tuition Fees - Master Psychotherapie MSc (CE): The Master Psychotherapie program charges €8,000 per semester plus a one-time €550 admission/inscription fee. This constitutes the primary revenue stream for professional psychotherapy training.
2. Continuing Education - University Courses (Universitätslehrgänge): The SFU Academy generates revenue through continuing education programs such as the ULG Psychosoziale Kompetenz in Organisationen at €3,990 regular, €3,690 early-bird, targeting organizations and professionals.
3. Fachspezifikum (Specialisation) Fees: Fees for psychotherapeutic specialisation programs such as Verhaltenstherapie, charged at €6,359 per semester plus €550 for admission, providing method-specific professional training.
4. Research Grants and Third-Party Funding: SFU receives third-party research funding from organisations such as the Eklund Foundation (~€275,000 for dental research), European Science Foundation (CoARAverse seed funding), FWF, ÖAW, and city of Vienna for various research projects.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Sigmund Freud PrivatUniversität Wien is a private university offering accredited bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs across five faculties (Psychotherapy Science, Psychology, Medicine, Law, and the SFU Academy for continuing education). It delivers structured psychotherapeutic specialisation training under Austria's PThG 2024 and operates its own dental, psychotherapeutic, psychological, and child psychology outpatient clinics for clinical training and public healthcare services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Master Psychotherapie MSc (CE) Postgraduate Master's program in Psychotherapy for graduates with eligible prior degrees (e.g., bachelor's in Psychotherapy Science, Psychology, Social Work, Medicine) and relevant professional experience, structured to meet Austria's PThG 2024 licensing pathway. Delivered at SFU's Faculty of Psychotherapy Science as a continuing education MSc.
• Fachspezifikum Verhaltenstherapie (Behavioral Therapy Specialisation) Method-specific psychotherapeutic specialisation training delivered under SFU's PThG 2024 authorisation, providing Behavioral Therapy training to eligible prospective psychotherapists as one of six method tracks.
• SFU Academy Universitätslehrgänge (Continuing Education Programs) Continuing education programs (Universitätslehrgänge) for working professionals and organisations, covering psychosocial, organisational, and leadership competencies, including offerings aligned with Austrian Employee Protection Act obligations.
• SFU Outpatient Clinics (Zahnklinik, Psychotherapeutische Universitätsambulanz, Psychologische Universitätsambulanz, Kinderpsychologisches Zentrum) Multi-disciplinary outpatient healthcare services operated by SFU, including a dental clinic (Zahnklinik), psychotherapeutic university outpatient clinic, psychological university outpatient clinic, and the child psychology center (Kinderpsychologisches Zentrum). Services are delivered to the general public and serve as clinical training grounds for students.
• SFU Research Portal Centralised research portal powered by Elsevier Pure hosting research profiles, units, projects, publications, datasets, prizes, activities, courses, press/media, and student theses, supporting research transparency across all SFU faculties.
• HEALTH Lab – Competence Center for Medical and Health Psychology Competence centre at the Faculty of Psychology conducting research on quality of life and innovative health psychology interventions, equipped with an online survey platform for studies involving patients and health professionals.
• AMIGA AI Legal Chatbot AI chatbot specialised in Austrian law, developed in cooperation with Vienna-based Legal-Tech startup GesetzeFinden.at with SFU contributing academic expertise in law and AI ethics.

Quantifiable outcome

• 74% of Business & Economic Psychology students receive a job offer immediately after their internship
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CoARA (Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSFU has signed the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment and joined the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment. The university is piloting reformed research evaluation practices at the Faculty of Psychology, focusing on participatory engagement, qualitative indicators, and peer review. Nora Ruck and Marion Garaus serve as Co-Chairs of CoARA National Chapter Austria.
• Karlstad UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-recipient of Eklund Foundation 2024 grant alongside SFU for dental/oral health research projects conducted jointly in Vienna and Karlstad, Sweden.
• Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften (ZHAW)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerZHAW psychology students visited SFU Vienna in May 2026 as part of an academic exchange exploring the history of Viennese psychology.
• ARGE BildungsmanagementminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSFU and ARGE Bildungsmanagement jointly offer the Bachelor Beratungswissenschaften (BPr) continuing education programme, combining academic credentials with professional practice.
• Wiener Volkshochschulen (VHS)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation between Wiener Volkshochschulen and SFU within the VHS Science Programme allows all Vienna residents access to SFU academic content since September 2024.
• GesetzeFinden.atminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSFU supports GesetzeFinden.at, a Vienna-based Legal-Tech startup, in developing Austria's first AI chatbot specialised in Austrian law (AMIGA AI), contributing academic expertise in law and AI ethics.
• Schweizer Haus HadersdorfminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSFU cooperates with the Swiss House Hadersdorf, a non-profit facility for people with disabilities, to operate a competence centre for psychotherapy and psychology.
• IG Wien (Integrative Gestalttherapie)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSFU partners with IG Wien as a cooperation partner for the Integrative Gestalt Therapy specialisation within its psychotherapeutic training programme.
• Psychoanalytisches Seminar Innsbruck (PSI)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSFU partners with the Psychoanalytisches Seminar Innsbruck (PSI) for the Psychoanalysis specialisation track within its psychotherapeutic training programme.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Universität Witten/Herdecke: One of the oldest private universities in Germany, offering programmes across medicine, psychology, nursing, business and humanities. Comparable as a broad-scope German private university with an integrated human-medicine and psychology offering similar to SFU's faculty mix.
• FOM Hochschule: Germany's largest private university focused on working professionals, with extensive continuing-education and part-time degree programmes. Comparable to SFU on the tuition-funded, professionally-oriented delivery model and large multi-campus footprint, though broader in scope than SFU.
• International Psychoanalytic University Berlin (IPU Berlin): Private university in Berlin offering bachelor's, master's and doctoral programmes in psychology and psychoanalysis. Most directly comparable to SFU's psychotherapy science and psychology faculties in terms of discipline mix, private-academic delivery model and clinical-training integration.
• Medical School Hamburg (MSH): Private German university offering degree programmes in medicine, psychotherapy, psychology and allied health. Directly comparable to SFU on private health-sciences delivery, psychotherapy specialisation tracks and the integration of clinical training components.
• Psychologische Hochschule Berlin (PHB): Private university in Berlin focused exclusively on psychology and psychotherapy training. Directly comparable to SFU's psychology and psychotherapy science faculties, sharing the niche private-academic positioning and German-market overlap with SFU Berlin.

Regional players

• Paracelsus Medizinische Privatuniversität: Austrian private medical university with campuses in Salzburg and Nuremberg. Closest direct category peer in Austria — same for-profit private university model, same medical/health-sciences focus — and therefore the most relevant domestic benchmarking point for SFU.
• Universität für Weiterbildung Krems (Danube University Krems): Austria's public university exclusively for continuing education. Comparable to SFU's Academy/Universitätslehrgänge arm in continuing-education pedagogy, target audience (working professionals) and Austrian market context, though public rather than private.
• Karl Landsteiner Privatuniversität für Gesundheitswissenschaften: Austrian private university focused on health sciences (medicine, psychology, health economics) with campuses in Krems, Vienna and St. Pölten. Operates in the same Austrian for-profit private-university segment as SFU, with overlapping medical and psychology offerings.

Broad incumbents

• Constructor University: Private English-language research university in Bremen. Comparable to SFU on the private-university operating model and research-output emphasis (CoARA-style reform orientation), though positioned more broadly across STEM and social sciences.
• SRH Hochschulen: One of the largest private university and education operators in Germany, with broad health-sciences, engineering and business offerings. A scaled incumbent reference point for what a multi-campus private education operator can look like, though much broader than SFU's niche.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/sfuadmin/featured
• Facebookfacebook.com/sfuvienna
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sigmund-freud-university-vienna
• Instagraminstagram.com/sigmundfreudprivatuni
• TikToktiktok.com/@sfuwien
• Xx.com/freudsfu

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sigmund Freud University