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Admission to the Master's programme in Banking and Finance (MBF)

Programme organised by the School of Finance,
taught in English, selection process for all applicants.

Requirements

You may apply to this Master's programme if you hold, or will have obtained one of the following degrees from a recognised university before this programme starts:

  • Bachelor's degree in Business Administration or Economics (or similar) from a recognised university
    (at least 60 ECTS credits in Business Administration/Economics and also at least 6 ECTS credits in Mathematics or Statistics)
  • Bachelor's degree in Business Administration (or similar) from a recognised University of Applied Sciences (Fachhochschule)
    (at least 90 ECTS credits in the core areas Business Administration, Economics, Law and Mathematics/Statistics; thereof 45 ECTS credits in Business Administration)
    Grade point average (unrounded) of minimum 5.00 Swiss grading system (German/Austria 2.00, Netherlands 7.5) in the degree certificate and a maximum of 20 ECTS credits out of 180 ECTS Credits in internship credits.
  • Consecutive Master's degree in another discipline from a recognised University
    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.

For the classification of the similarity of a major, only curricular credits of a completed degree programme are taken into account. Excess credits (optional credits) are not considered. The compulsory achievements of the corresponding HSG Bachelor's degree programme serve as a basis for the classification.
 

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

  • Your final degree certificate 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 work 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

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 "MBF Admission Committee" for the selection process.

The MBF Admission Committee conducts five admission rounds between October and April. All complete applications that have been submitted on time are assessed and a decision is made on the admission.

First admission round:
Applications submitted by 30 November 2023 / Decisions issued by 22 December 2023
Second admission round:
Applications submitted by 31 January 2024 / Decisions issued by 29 February 2024
Third admission round:
Applications submitted by 29 February 2024 / Decisions issued by 31 March 2024
Fourth admission round:
Applications submitted by 31 March 2024 / Decisions issued by 30 April 2024
Fifth admission round:
Applications submitted by 30 April 2024 / Decisions issued by 31 May 2024

The following criteria are assessed during the selection process:

The average grade recorded on your degree certificate is decisive. If you do not have your final degree at the time of application, you must apply with a current transcript.

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 (not a Swiss University of Applied Sciences) can choose to, but do not have to, submit their GMAT or GRE test results. The GMAT or GRE scores are compensated by doubling the weighting of the average grade.

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 upload proof thereof in the extracurricular activities section. The curriculum vitae must be written in English. Use our style template or a CV of your own. Please make sure to include all the information listed in the fact sheet "Curriculum vitae requirements".

Describe in English on no more than three pages why you would like to do the MBF degree course, where and how you carried out any extracurricular activities, international experience and what kind of work experience you already have. A high level of fluency in English is required. Use our style template.

Programme-specific additional requirements

Upon admission additional requirements may be requested. The MBF Integration Days must be completed before the Master's degree programme starts. The remaining admission requirements must be fulfilled before graduation.

The compulsory MBF Integration Days last several days and take place at the beginning of September (calendar week 36).

The MBF Integration Days are an exclusive series of sessions which will prepare you for the MBF programme and include among others an international team building event and several finance and banking related presentations. You can start your Master's degree only once you have successfully completed the MBF Integration Days.

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 – Curriculum vitae requirementsstyle template University St.Gallen
  • Supporting documents for extracurricular activities
  • Letter of motivation in English – style template 
  • GMAT or GRE test (official or unofficial score report)
  • Higher education entrance qualification (Swiss Matura, foreign secondary school leaving certificate)
  • Degree documents (degree certificate, final academic transcript, diploma supplement), 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. In general, six to eight weeks after receipt of the complete application you will receive the admission decision.

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.

Along with the Letter of Admission you also receive the invoice for the first semester fee and a form to confirm your place on your chosen programme. Your place will be confirmed as soon as we receive your completed confirmation form, and the semester fee invoice amount is credited to our account on time.

By returning the filled in confirmation form you are automatically registered for the MBF Integration Days.

Your admission is conditional until you submit certified copies of the following degree documents: 

  • 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. 

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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 (05-003)
Tue.-Thu. 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
by appointment only 

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