Admission criteria

Both general and specific PEF admission criteria apply for admission to the Ph.D. programme in Economics and Finance.

General admission criteria
Please refer to the General admission criteria for Ph.D. Studies at the University of St.Gallen.

Specific admission criteria for the PEF Degree
As a graduate of the following St.Gallen Master programme you can be admitted to the PEF Ph.D. programme without supplementary work: 

• Quantitative Finance and Economics (MiQE/F)

Evidence of proficiency in English
If you are not a native English speaker or have not completed your Master's degree course completely in English, you must provide evidence of sufficient knowledge of the English language. The following examinations are recognized as evidence of this:

• English examination at proficiency level II of the University of St.Gallen
• Externally taken English examination at level C2 (e.g. Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English)
• Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)

Entry level knowledge
As the courses of PEF build on a sufficient knowledge in the core areas which is generally attained by a competitive Master's education program in economics and finance, applicants need to prove entry level knowledge in the main fields depending on their desired specialisation.

• Entrance level Econometrics for all specialisation: Econometrics II
• Entrance level Economics for specialisation Economics: Microeconomics II and III, Macroeconomics II and III
• Entrance level Finance for specialisation Finance: Theory of Finance, Advanced Math/Stat

GRE
External as well as internal applicants have to provide a GRE test (Graduate Record Examination). The minimum score for an admission to be looked at is 158 (740 prior to August 1, 2011) in the quantitative section.

Letter of motivation
Please include a statement about your motivation for applying and specify your desired specialisation as part of the PEF.

Letter of reference
References from professors of other universities or from your Supervisor at the HSG.

Additional documents

• A research outline with remarks on your research issue
• Crediting Master's level courses: a list of up to two advanced Master's (or equivalent) courses and supply relevant information

The Programme Committee will decide on admissions to the programme. Admissions are confirmed in writing by the Programme Committee.