MOK to be discontinued – degree completion guaranteed

The Master in Management, Organisation and Culture (MOK) at the University of St.Gallen (HSG) has been run by the School of Management (SoM) in collaboration with the School of Humanities and Social Sciences since 2011. Now, the Board of Governors has decided to phase out the programme. This decision was preceded by the usual process at HSG, involving all academic committees, in which students are also represented. The decision taken by the Board of Governors, as the highest governing body at HSG, confirms the previous decisions. The students entering in the autumn semester of 2025 will therefore be the last cohort, and the Master's programme will be discontinued with them. HSG will ensure that studies can continue for existing and newly enrolled students and enable them to complete their Master's programme at HSG.

Aligning supply with demand 

The main reasons for closing the programme include years of low demand from students and comparatively poor resource efficiency. The discontinuation of the programme will enable the SoM to better align its teaching portfolio with the courses that are more in demand among students. Ongoing review of programmes and certificates and their adaptation to changing needs is one of the fundamental elements of teaching innovation at HSG. Since the autumn semester 2020, 16 study programmes have been fundamentally reformed and five new certificate programmes have been introduced.

The topics of interdisciplinarity and sustainability, which were reduced to the MOK in some media articles, remains central to HSG and will be further developed. Interdisciplinarity starts in the assessment year and continues throughout the entire programme in the form of “contextual studies.” Contextual studies account for 25 percent of the programme and embeds the subject-specific studies in intellectual and cultural contexts. Sustainability is an integral part of SoM programmes, both now and in the future. These programmes have substantial sustainability components and are constantly being developed further. In addition, HSG offers dedicated programmes on this topic that are open to all students: the Managing Climate Solutions (MaCS) certificate at Master's level and the Certificate in Sustainability and Management (SuM) at the Bachelor's level.