Recognition of degrees

For a degree to be recognised by the University of St.Gallen, it must meet, among other, the following requirements:

• Your final degree certificate was awarded by an institution of higher education which is recognised in the country where you attended the course. (A list of approved, accredited Swiss institutions can be found on swissuniversities.)


• You have completed at least half of the course work on site at the institution of higher education awarding the degree.


• You have completed at least 80% of your course work at institutions of higher education which are recognised in the country of teaching.


• Your final degree certificate fulfils the country-specific provisions for recognition. Minimum grades may be required. For degrees with a classification at least “second class, upper division” is required.

Additional requirements for Bachelor’s degrees

• Your degree is the highest possible Bachelor’s degree within the discipline in the country in question (depending on the education system only a four-year course worth 240 ECTS credits, or honours degrees may be recognised).


• In your degree-awarding country, your degree qualifies you for studying at a recognised university on a programme with compulsory attendance that is equivalent to a University of St.Gallen master’s degree. A corresponding proof may be required.

Additional requirements for Master’s degrees

• You have completed your Bachelor's and Master's degree programme in the same discipline (consecutively).


• Your Master’s degree programme amounts to a minimum of 90 ECTS credits.

Prerequisites for classification: University degree

For ease of reading, the admissions websites list, under ‘Universities of Applied Sciences’, other higher education institutions that do not have university status as defined below.

• A university is an officially recognised or state-accredited institution of tertiary education which is entitled to award nationally recognised degrees.


• Institutions of tertiary education shall be deemed to be universities when they are entitled to award doctor’s degrees and primarily conduct basic research.


• A comparable study programme is offered by a Swiss university.


• In countries whose education system does not recognise the institutional distinction between the types of higher education institutions existing in Switzerland (university, university of applied sciences, university of teacher education), a degree is assigned to a type of higher education institution according to the comparable course of study in the Swiss education system.


• At least 80% of the course work has been taken at a university type institution (not university of applied sciences, not university of teacher education).

Additional requirements for the recognition of a university of applied sciences Bachelor's degree for admission to the Master's degree programmes (MBI, MIMM, MGM, MACFin, SIM, MBF)

• Internship credits must not exceed the workload of 20 ECTS credits


• The minimum grade average of 5.00 (not rounded) Swiss grading system (German/Austria 2.00, Netherlands 7.5) in the degree certificate is fulfilled.


• Degrees with a dual character (cooperative state universities «Duale Hochschule», universities of applied sciences) that meet above requirements can only be admitted to the Master's programmes in business administration MACFin, MBI, MiMM and MGM, and only via the Master's preparatory courses.

Australia

• For admission to Master’s degree programmes, a “Bachelor’s degree with Honours” with a classification of at least “second class, upper division” is required.

China

• Only holders of degrees awarded by "211 Universities" are eligible to apply. For definitive admission, students have to submit an APS certificate.

France

• The degree must have been awarded by a tertiary institution that is a member of one of the following three conferences: France Universités, Conférence des Directeurs des Ecoles Françaises d’Ingénieurs (CDEFI), Conférence des Grandes Ecoles (CGE)


• Bachelor’s degrees awarded by the Grandes Ecoles have to be fully accredited by the French state (www.cefdg.fr): grade de licence, grade de master.

Germany

• All recognised German tertiary institutions are listed under www.hochschulkompass.de. Institutions are classified as university institutions if they possess the right to confer doctoral degrees.


• All accredited courses of study offered by universities of applied sciences are listed at www.akkreditierungsrat.de.

India

• Recognized are degrees from UGC accredited universities and colleges. The teaching institution must be accredited by NAAC with the Grade "A".


• A recognised Bachelor’s programme must be at least 4 years long. Three-year programmes can be recognised on the basis of a single assessment.


• A minimum grade average of 60% is required for admission to the Master's level.

Liechtenstein

• For admission to the Master's level, a Bachelor's degree with a grade average of at least 5.00 is required.

New Zealand

• For admission to Master’s degree programmes, a “Bachelors’s degree with Honours” with a classification of at least “second class, upper division” is required.

Singapore

• For admission to Master's degree programmes, a Bachelor's degree with at least a "second class, upper division" classification is required.

United Kingdom

• Degrees and academic achievements are recognized if the higher education institution has the status of a "recognised body" and if the higher education institution has the right to award UK degrees.


• For admission to the Master's level, a Bachelor's degree with at least a "second class, upper division" classification is required.

USA

• Only degrees and academic achievements from universities that are accredited by a “Recognized Regional Accreditation Organization” are recognised.


• Bachelor’s degrees from colleges can be recognised on the basis of a case-by-case assessment.