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Welcome to St.Gallen

Incoming Guest Students

Grüezi and welcome to the University of St.Gallen (HSG).

Would you like to study at the HSG and get to know St.Gallen? For many students, an exchange semester at another university is one of the most formative experiences of their time at university. Take advantage of this opportunity to further your academic and personal development. Discover one of the leading business universities in Europe here in the heart of Europe! To help you feel prepared before your exchange at St.Gallen, we have compiled useful study-related information before, during and after your stay as a guest.

Study at the University of St.Gallen

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Student Exchange Kick-Off

Incoming Programmes for Guest Students

Discover an exchange semester full of new opportunities and unforgettable experiences to further your academic and personal development!

As a student from one of our partner universities, you have the opportunity to spend one or two exchange semester per degree level at the University of St.Gallen.

Exchange partner university: Bachelor and Master

Swiss Mobility is the right exchange programme for you if you want to go on exchange within Switzerland. This exchange programme enables students from other Swiss universities to spend one or two exchange semester at HSG.

Exchange Swiss Mobility: Bachelor and Master

You may spend a guest semester at the University of St.Gallen as a Freemover, if you are enrolled at a university that is neither a HSG partner university nor a university of applied sciences.

Exchange Freemover: Bachelor and Master

You are a bachelor student at one of the ECOL partner universitites? The ECOL virtual exchange programme provides you with the opportunity to virtually attend courses at HSG, whilst continuing your regular degree studies at the place of your home university.

ECOL Virtual Exchange        

The guest auditor and individual course participation programmes are for students who are interested in taking part in a HSG course outside of the public programme or attending only a specific HSG course.

Guest auditor and individual course participation

As a student from one of our HSG partner universities, you have the opportunity to spend one or two exchange semester per degree level at the University of St.Gallen.

Exchange partner university: Bachelor and Master

The ISP short term programme is designed exclusively for MBA students from our HSG partner universities. This 10-week programme provides you a unique opportunity to gain profound and lasting insight into the European business world.

ISP-MBA International Study Programme

As a THEMIS master student studying law and/or business law at a THEMIS partner university, you have the opportunity to spend one exchange semester at HSG in St.Gallen to deepen your knowledge and skills in business law.

THEMIS Exchange

Do you want to spend your CEMS exchange semester at University of St.Gallen? The CEMS MIM programme in St.Gallen is open to students enrolled in the CEMS programme at their home university.

CEMS Exchange

Swiss Mobility is the right exchange programme for you if you want to go on exchange within Switzerland. This exchange programme enables students from other Swiss universities to spend one or two exchange semester at HSG.

Exchange Swiss Mobility: Bachelor and Master

You may spend a guest semester at the University of St.Gallen as a Freemover, if you are enrolled at a university that is neither a HSG partner university nor a university of applied sciences.

Exchange Freemover: Bachelor and Master

The guest auditor and individual course participation programmes are for students who are interested in taking part in a HSG course outside of the public programme or attending only a specific HSG course.

Guest auditors and individual course participation

The Swiss government awards various scholarships to international postgraduate students and researchers.

ESKAS - Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships

The Global School in Empirical Research Methods welcomes Ph.D. students and postdocs from partner and non-partner institutions for a three-week integrated programme teaching methodology.

GSERM - Global School in Empirical Research Methods

The guest auditor and individual course participation programmes are for students who are interested in taking part in a HSG course outside of the public programme or attending only a specific HSG course.

Guest auditors and individual course participation

Guest Studies at HSG – Academics

For your study experience at the University of St.Gallen we have put together all the information you need before, during and after your stay at HSG.

Please note that more detailed information is available in the Course and examination fact sheet for guest students. We highly recommend to read the course and exam fact sheet in order to prepare for a successful time at the University of St.Gallen. 

Course and examination factsheet for guest students (PDF)

 

Course information

The definite course list for the upcoming semester will be available on the online timetable about one month before the semester begins. If you would like to inform yourself in advance about the courses offered, we recommend that you refer to the course information of the respective semester of the previous year, as not all courses are offered each semester.

For further information, follow the link, click on programmes, select your study level and click either "BA - without major (02BAC)" or "MA - without programme (03MAS)". 

Course system

At the HSG, the course number corresponds to the respective semester and study level. Please familiarise yourself with the course numbers in the PDF linked below.

Number before the comma Study level and autumn or spring semester
Number after the comma Course number

Through this system, you know in advance at which study level and in which semester the course is offered. We recommend that you take courses based on the current study level of your home university.

Coursesystem Overview (PDF)

 

Course registration - Bidding

At the HSG, all students are allocated to their courses using a special course allocation process called bidding. Students are provided with a certain number of virtual points which they can bid for in an auction. Bidding begins two weeks before the start of lectures. Guest students will be informed about bidding by e-mail one month before the start of lectures. The bidding takes place on the student portal "Compass" and you will receive provisional access to the portal after your application for a guest stay at the HSG has been formally checked by Student Mobility Services. We encourage you to read the Bidding factsheet carefully and thoroughly before your arrival in order to understand the allocation process. CEMS visiting students please refer to the separate overview (PDF).

Bidding Factsheet for Guest students (PDF)     Bidding Factsheet for CEMS (PDF)

 

Workload

Minimum 16 ECTS per semester during the exchange at the HSG.

Maximum 40 ECTS per semester during the exchange at the HSG.

1 ECTS corresponds to 30 course-related working hours (in and outside of lectures). The average workload per semester is 24-30 ECTS. We recommend that you take courses based on the current study level of your home university.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to the limitation of course slots, you need to be flexible in your course choices as a guest student at HSG. According to our experience, guest students coming to St.Gallen during the last semester of their degree studies are not that flexible anymore.

To ensure an easy introduction into your exchange semester in St.Gallen, we offer an orientation day for guest students prior to the start of the semester. It provides you with information regarding the registration process at HSG (Student ID, Login to the University Network) and the city of St.Gallen. All guest students are required to take part in the Orientation Day.

Schedule Orientation Day (PDF)

For guest students we offer a free, optional 10-day intensive German course at the University of St.Gallen before the beginning of each semester. Details about the pre-semester German language course will be sent by e-mail approximately one month before the semester begins. To enrol in this pre-semester German course, you must register for it when you complete your online-application in Mobility-Online. Subsequent registration or deregistration is possible up to one week before the course starts via the Mobility-Online Portal.

Please note that if you plan to take German language classes at Level A1 at the university during the semester, you must take this pre-semester course. 

 

Schedule gate-semester German course (PDF)     German course bidding overview (PDF)

For all guest students starting their exchange semester(s) at HSG in the Autumn semester, the Lake Constance Arts & Sciences Association organises a summer school including a language course and several cultural and sightseeing events. This is the perfect opportunity to get to know fellow exchange students, to get familiar with the Lake Constance area and to practice your German. You can register for the Summer School during your Mobility-Online registration process for your application at HSG. Please find detailled information on the Lake Constance Summer School on the Website of the University of Konstanz

We advise and support students with disabilities and/or chronic illnesses at the University of St.Gallen.If you have a disability or a chronic illness, you face particular challenges in the course of your studies. Many things must be organised, reflected on and requested for you to be able to study as successfully as possible.Should you need specific support for your studies, please note that prior to submitting a request for study relevant support, a meeting with Special Needs will be required.  

Please note: a request for compensation for disadvantages is contingent on a meeting with the Special Needs Advice Center. In order to be able to provide you with the best possible support, it is indispensable that you contact us early on. Subsequently (for instance, after examinations), adaptations are hardly possible at all.

If you would like to take advantage of the Special Needs offer, please indicate this in Mobility-Online when you register. Your program manager at the HSG will then contact you before the semester starts.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Special Needs Team: specialneedsunisg.ch. 

more information
 

At the University of St.Gallen, students have the opportunity to apply for a scholarship, including the Swiss European Mobility Programme (SEMP). Learn more about these scholarship opportunities and the application requirements.

Scholarships information (PDF)

Examination
At HSG there are two different types of examination periods. Central examinations take place after the end of the lecture period and decentral examinations take place within or latest by the end of the lecture period. In case you have been registered for a course where the official examination as stated in the course description is a central examination, you are permitted to take a guest examinations taking place in the decentral examination period.

Autumn semester Lecture period
September-December 
Decentral examinations
September-December
(before Christmas)
Central examinations
January-February     
Spring semester Lecture period
February-May
Decentral examinations
February-May               
Central examinations
June-July                     

Read the course and Course and examination fact sheet for guest students for further information and note that ECTS credits are only awarded for successfully passed examinations and that failed examinations can neither be repeated nor improved through additional assignments.

Course and examination factsheet for guest students (PDF)

 

Students enroled for two exchange semesters
In your first exchange semester at HSG, you are required to take examination sittings as stated in the course description. This may include central examinations. Please see the course description in the course catalogue (the course links) for information on the examination type.

Applying for HSG degree studies?
If you would like to begin a degree study at HSG after you have returned to your home university and finished your course of study there, please note that examinations can only be accredited to your studies at HSG if they are taken at official HSG examination sittings. However, we cannot guarantee the crediting of these examinations. The application for a full course of study at the HSG is reviewed again by the Admission and Crediting Office.

Questions?
Should you have any questions regarding examinations for guest students, grading systems, publication of grades or transcripts, please contact the colleagues by guesttranscriptsunisg.ch.

HSG grades are issued in quarter-steps where 6.0 is the highest and 1.0 is the lowest grade. Satisfactory results are awarded grades from 6.0 to 4.0 while results graded 3.5 to 1.0 are insufficient. The grading scale in detail:

HSG grading scale

6.0 = excellent
5.5 = very good
5.0 = good
4.5 = satisfactory
4.0 = marginal
3.5 = unsatisfactory
3.0 = poor
2.5 = poor to very poor
2.0 = very poor
1.5 = very poor to useless
1.0 = useless

 

The grading scale is identical for all levels (Assessment, Bachelor’s, Master’s, Ph.D.). A grade below 4.0 is insufficient.

Notification of Grades
About seven weeks after the end of your exchange term, we will publish a digital version of your grades on Compass. You will be notified each time by e-mail to your @student.unisg.ch account. Therefore, please check your e-mails regularly, even after your departure. The electronic notification of grades is legally binding. If you wish to appeal the grades, you have to do so within 14 days after the publication of grades on Compass.

Transcripts / Academic Record
Once all grades are submitted, your transcript/academic record will be issued and published digitally on Compass. You can verify the transcript using blockchain-technology on verify.unisg.ch. Download the transcript on Compass and use the drag and drop option on verify.unisg.ch to do so. Please forward the transcript/academic record to the coordinator of your home university. Student Mobility Services will not send any transcripts to the home universities.The transcript/academic record will consist of all courses, provided that you have not appealed your grade(s). We will not issue partial transcripts/academic records.  

The electronic notification of grades and the academic record will contain course number, course title, HSG grade and ECTS credits.

Chronological Timeline
Semester Electronic Notification of Grades and
Transcript/Academic Record
in Compass of decentral examinations
Electronic Notification of Grades and
Transcript/Academic Record
in Compass of central examinations
Autumn semester beginning-mid of February beginning-mid of March  
Spring semester mid-end of July mid-end of August     

 

Questions?
Should you have any questions regarding examinations for guest students, grading systems, notification of grades or transcripts/academic records, please contact the colleagues by guesttranscriptsunisg.ch.

Organisation of your stay in Switzerland

Living in a new city and a new country will probably mean that things work differently than what you are used to. We want you to feel prepared upon your arrival for your guest stay in St.Gallen and have put together all the information you need regarding visa, insurance and health & safety.

Learn more about visa requirements, work permit, residence permit and bringing your familiy to St.Gallen before your arrival as well as the procedure after your arrival in St.Gallen including important information before your departure from St.Gallen.

Factsheet visa & residence permit >90 (PDF)

 
Required forms

Please submit printed copies to Resident office St.Gallen (Bevölkerungsdienste). Digital copies will not be accepted.

Form R: Registration St.Galler Bevölkerungsdienste (PDF)

Form D: De-registration St.Galler Bevölkerungsdienste (PDF)

 

Health insurance

Find out everything you need to know about compulsory health insurance during your stay in Switzerland.

Factsheet health insurance (PDF)

 

Required forms

Health Insurance Certification (PDF)

Form C: Release Health Insurance (PDF)

 

Other insurances

In addition to health insurance, we also recommend liability insurance. If you intend to drive during your stay, we also recommend car insurance.

Learn more about health and safety

(Practical tips section)

Learn more about visa requirements, bringing your family to St.Gallen, health insurance, other insurances, health and safety.

Factsheet visa & insurances <90 (PDF)

Downloads

Factsheet Incoming Exchange programmes 23/24

Factsheet Incoming Exchange programmes 24/25

Links

Contact Student Mobility Services 

University of St.Gallen
Innovation & Quality
Student Mobility
Tellstrasse 2
CH-9000 St.Gallen
+41 71 224 23 39
exchangeunisg.ch
exchange.unisg.ch

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