The Centers for Austrian Studies, founded by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Science and Research since the 1970s play an important role for the Austrian and international scientific community. Their tasks are to promote studies on Austria and Central Europe in their host nations as well as to give Austrian students the possibility to conduct research abroad and to get in touch with the local scientific community. This volume contains reports on the activities of these Institutions in the academic year 2012 / 2013 and working papers of some their most promising PhD students. Their research presented in this volume covers various aspects of Central European history in Modern Times, ranging from the seventeenth century to the present.