close

Admission to the Master's programme in Quantitative Economics and Finance (MiQE/F)

Programme organised by the School of Economics and Political Science, taught in English, selection process for all applicants.

Requirements

If you have one of the following degrees from a recognised university (not university of applied sciences) or complete one before your chosen degree programme starts, then you can apply for this Master's programme:

  • University Bachelor's degree in a similar subject to Economics
    A degree is considered to be similar if at least 60 ECTS credits have been awarded in core economics subjects, mathematics, statistics and computer science, of which a minimum of 30 ECTS credits must have been earned in core economics subjects and additionally 6 ECTS credits in core subjects of statistics.
  • Consecutive university Master's degree in another discipline
    Bachelor's and Master's degree programmes must have been completed in the same discipline (consecutively) and amount to at least 270 ECTS credit points together.

Your degree programme will be recognised if among other the following criteria are fulfilled:

  • Your degree was awarded by a university, which is recognised in the country where you attended the course.
  • You have completed at least 80% of your course work at a recognised or accredited university.
  • You have completed at least half of the course credits onsite at the university awarding the degree.
  • You fulfil the minimum requirements for admission to the Master's degree programme at your home university.

Detailed information on the recognition of universities, university degrees and country-specific provisions

If you have any questions on recognised degrees or degrees in similar subjects please do not hesitate to contact the staff at the Admissions and Crediting Office who will be happy to help you.

You do not need to submit proof of language proficiency when you apply. It is your responsibility to ensure that your command of the language of instruction is sufficient to allow you to complete your studies successfully. Recommended level at the start of the study is at least C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

Selection process

If the formal admission regulations are fulfilled and all documents have been submitted, we forward your application to the "MiQE/F Admission Committee" for the selection process.

The following criteria will be assessed in the selection process:

GMAT or GRE exams may be taken in person or online, both the longer and the shorter versions (i.e. GMAT Focus Edition) are accepted. Test results must not be older than five years and must be provided to us electronically by GMAC or ETS before the closing date for applications (Universität St.Gallen, Bachelors & Masters Level, institution code GMAT 5RK-QG-07, GRE 7202).

When evaluating GMAT scores the Total Score is taken into consideration, while for the assessment of GRE scores the Quantitative Reasoning section is decisive. If you have taken the test several times, the test with the best results will be considered.

Students with a Bachelor's degree from the University of St. Gallen or another Swiss university can choose to, but do not have to, submit their GMAT or GRE test results. The GMAT or GRE scores are compensated by increasing the weighting of the average grade by 5/3.

The average grade is calculated by taking the examination grades stated in your degree certificate in all relevant disciplines. Credits considered as relevant are those equivalent to credits from the core compulsory and the core elective courses of the HSG Bachelor in Economics.

If you do not have your final degree at the time of application, you must apply with a current transcript. All credits specified in the current transcript will be considered.

Submit an academic paper (minimum 3.000 words) or a completed Bachelor’s Thesis as a “writing sample”. The “writing sample” should be broadly related to the field of economics.

If you haven’t written a paper or a thesis in the field of economics during your undergraduate studies, you may submit an essay in English on an economic topic. The essay cannot be longer than 20 pages and must include the signed “Declaration of authorship”. Analytical thinking, written expression, text structure and visual presentation will be assessed.

Please find further information in the factsheet “writing sample”.

Commitments and activities outside of your studies, such as work experience, challenging internships or exchange semesters are only considered if you furnish proof thereof. List all of these activities on your curriculum vitae and furnish proof thereof. The curriculum vitae must be written in English. Use our style template.

In the letter of motivation, describe in English in no more than three pages why you would like to do the MiQE/F programme, where and how you carried out any extracurricular activities, international experience you already have and what kind of work experience you already have. A high level of fluency in English is required. Use our style template.

Programme-specific entry and additional requirements

Upon admission, entry requirements may be requested. Depending on your previous degree, you will have to complete an integration week or the Master's preparatory level before you can start the Master's degree programme. The remaining admission requirements must be fulfilled before graduation.

Applicants with a university Bachelor's degree in a similar discipline must successfully complete the integration week Economics before this degree programme starts. After the successful completion of the integration week you can start your master's studies.

The integration week Economics takes place at the beginning of September (calendar week 36). In case of failure, it may be retaken once in it's entirety at the beginning of November (calendar week 44).

The integration week curriculum combines the following modules:

  • Microeconomics
  • Macroeconomics
  • Econometrics
  • Statistics and Mathematics
  • Programming in R

 

The lectures in the integration week aim to deepen the study matter you have gone through in self-study and prepare you for the subsequent examinations you need to sit. To give you an idea of what to expect, here is a literature list and the last year's timetable for the integration week

Applicants with a consecutive Master's degree in a subject other than economics must complete the Master's preparatory level. You will first be registered in the Master's preparatory level. Only when you have successfully met the requirements of the Master's preparatory level, can you take courses at the Master's level. It is not possible to transfer external credits.

The learning programme for the Master's preparatory level consists of the following lectures (36 ECTS Credits):

4 ECTS Credits Macroeconomics II
4 ECTS Credits Microeconomics II
6 ECTS Credits Macroeconomics III
6 ECTS Credits Microeconomics III
6 ECTS Credits Data Analytics I: Statistics (VWL)
6 ECTS Credits Data Analytics II: Empirical Economic Research
4 ECTS Credits Accounting, Controlling, Auditing

The above courses are offered either in autumn or spring semester. For more information on the assessment of the above courses, refer to the respective course or examination fact sheets.

All students must take two language courses (foreign languages) in addition to their Master’s degree course to successfully complete their Master's degree programme. Crediting of internationally recognised language certificates is possible during your Master's studies. Please find a list of recognised language certificates in the Directives, Annex I on the last pages of the document.

All students must provide evidence of sufficient accounting knowledge to successfully complete their Master's degree programme. If you have already acquired sufficient knowledge of accounting during your studies, the evidence can be credited during the admission process. If this evidence is missing at the time of admission, the accountancy examination has to be taken at the University of St.Gallen.

Application

The degree programme starts in the autumn semester. Please apply online. The application fee is CHF 250.

Application period: 1 October - 30 April

To the Online Application

Please have the following information and documents ready to upload:

  • Digital passport photo
  • Signed Enrolment Agreement
  • Passport or ID card and, if applicable, a Swiss (permanent) residence permit
  • Curriculum vitae in English – style template
  • Supporting documents for extracurricular activities
  • Letter of motivation in English
  • GMAT or GRE test (official or unofficial score report)
  • Writing Sample
  • Higher education entrance qualification (Swiss Matura, foreign secondary school leaving certificate)
  • Degree documents, if available. Otherwise current official transcripts from each university attended (including exchange programmes and transcripts from unfinished degree programmes). The current transcript must show at least 120 ECTS credit points for courses taken so that we can process your application. In the case of double degree programmes or "joint degrees", transcripts from each attended university including explanatory notes on the course programme must be submitted.

If any of the documents are not issued in German, French, Italian or English, you must also submit a certified translation of the document in German or English. Please observe our guidelines "Certified documents and translations".

Only one file can be uploaded per bullet point. You can use online tools such as online2pdf.com to create PDF files or to combine several pages into one PDF file. Make sure the files you send to us are legible so that we can process your application without delay.

Swiss citizens need their Swiss social insurance number (AHV number) for the application. If you do not know your insurance number, please order a duplicate of your insurance certificate from the Swiss Central Compensation Office in good time.

If you apply online before 31 March you have the option to specify an alternative programme in your application. You may choose one of the following programmes: MBI, MiMM, MGM, MACFin, MEcon.

Only if in the selection process your application is rejected, will your application be checked again. If all formal admission requirements are fulfilled for the chosen alternative programme, the admission process starts for this alternative programme.

Read up about language of instruction, admission requirements, and the admission process of the chosen alternative programme before you apply.

What happens after you have applied online?

The Admissions and Crediting Office checks your personal data and your electronically submitted documents. If your application is complete and fulfils the formal admission requirements, it is forwarded to the Admissions Committee.

Please log into your user account regularly to check the status of your application. If we need further information or documents, we will inform you directly via your account’s status overview page.

The Committee evaluates each application consecutively.

You will receive the Letter of Admission or the Letter of Rejection in your electronic mailbox (Compass Mailbox). Please find the link to your Mailbox in the Online-Application user account at the top right of your status overview page. You can access your Mailbox using your SWITCH edu-ID log-in data.

Your admission is conditional until you submit certified copies of the following degree documents: 
(Electronic verification options for third parties may be accepted.)

  • Final academic transcript and diploma supplement (if issued by the degree awarding institution)
  • Degree certificate 
    If the degree certificate has not yet been issued by the time of submitting the academic transcript, the graduation and the degree level have to be apparent unambiguously on the final academic transcript (i.e. degree awarded, graduated, degree granted).

Send a certified copy of your degree certificate and final academic transcript by postal mail to the Admissions- and Crediting Office of the University of St.Gallen by no later than the start of your study programme (calendar week 38). Should you not be able to submit the certified copies of your degree documents in time, you will not be able to start your studies. 

Do not send any original documents in the post! A copy is considered to be officially certified if the content of the copy is identical to the original documents and if the home university or an official body confirms this with stamp and signature. Authenticated copies of the documents pass into the possession of the University of St.Gallen. They will not be returned.

If any of the documents are not issued in German, French, Italian or English, you must also submit a certified translation of the document in German or English. Please note our guidelines regarding “documents to be submitted” in the Directive on the Implementing provisions of the admission regulations

As soon as you have submitted all the necessary documents, your admission is unconditional. We will send you a confirmation email. 

Please find detailed information on the next steps before the start of your studies, accommodation, insurance and visa under the following link

Style templates and guidelines

Related Links

Legal Basis

Contact

Admissions and Crediting Office
University of St.Gallen
Dufourstrasse 50
CH-9000 St. Gallen
admissionsunisg.ch

+41 71 224 39 31
Tue.-Thu. 10:00 am - 11:30 am

At the office (02-U154)
Tue.-Thu. 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
by appointment only 

north