Grüezi and welcome to the University of St.Gallen (HSG).
Would you like to study at HSG and get to know St.Gallen? For many students, an exchange semester at another university is one of the most formative experiences of their time at university. Take advantage of this opportunity to further your academic and personal development. Discover one of the leading business universities in Europe here in the heart of Europe! To help you feel prepared before your stay in St.Gallen, we have compiled study-related information that will find useful before, during and after your exchange stay at HSG.
Discover an exchange semester full of new opportunities and unforgettable experiences to further your academic and personal development!
As a student from one of our partner universities, you have the opportunity to spend one or two exchange semesters per degree level at the University of St.Gallen.
Swiss Mobility is the right exchange programme for you if you want to go on exchange within Switzerland. This exchange programme enables students from other Swiss universities to spend one or two exchange semester at HSG.
You may spend a guest semester at the University of St.Gallen as a Freemover, if you are enrolled at a university that is neither a HSG partner university nor a university of applied sciences.
You are a bachelor student at one of the ECOL partner universitites? The ECOL virtual exchange programme provides you with the opportunity to virtually attend courses at HSG, whilst continuing your regular degree studies at the place of your home university.
The guest auditor and individual course participation programmes are for students who are interested in taking part in a HSG course outside of the public programme or would like to attend only a specific HSG course.
As a student from one of our HSG partner universities, you have the opportunity to spend one or two exchange semester per degree level at the University of St.Gallen.
The ISP short term programme is designed exclusively for MBA students from our HSG partner universities. This 10-week programme provides you a unique opportunity to gain profound and lasting insight into the European business world.
As a THEMIS master student studying law and/or business law at a THEMIS partner university, you have the opportunity to spend one exchange semester at HSG in St.Gallen to deepen your knowledge and skills in business law.
Do you want to spend your CEMS exchange semester at University of St.Gallen? The CEMS MIM programme in St.Gallen is open to students enrolled in the CEMS programme at their home university.
Swiss Mobility is the right exchange programme for you if you want to go on exchange within Switzerland. This exchange programme enables students from other Swiss universities to spend one or two exchange semester at HSG.
You may spend a guest semester at the University of St.Gallen as a Freemover, if you are enrolled at a university that is neither a HSG partner university nor a university of applied sciences.
The guest auditor and individual course participation programmes are for students who are interested in taking part in a HSG course outside of the public programme or attending only a specific HSG course.
The Swiss government awards various scholarships to international postgraduate students and researchers.
The Global School in Empirical Research Methods welcomes Ph.D. students and postdocs from partner and non-partner institutions for a three-week integrated programme teaching methodology.
The guest auditor and individual course participation programmes are for students who are interested in taking part in a HSG course outside of the public programme or attending only a specific HSG course.
For your study experience at the University of St.Gallen we have put together all the information you need before, during and after your stay at HSG.
Please note that more detailed information is available in the Course and examination fact sheet for guest students. We highly recommend to read the course and exam fact sheet in order to prepare for a successful time at the University of St.Gallen.
Course and examination factsheet for guest students (PDF)
Course information
The definite course list for the upcoming semester will be available on the online timetable about one month before the semester begins. If you would like to inform yourself in advance about the courses offered, we recommend that you refer to the course information of the respective semester of the previous year, as not all courses are offered each semester.
For further information, refer to the Programme overview, click on programmes, select your study level and click either "BA - without major (02BAC)" or "MA - without programme (03MAS)".
Course system
At HSG, the course number corresponds to the respective semester and study level. Please read the Coursesystem Overwiew linked below to familiarise yourself with the course numbers.
Number before the comma | Study level and autumn or spring semester |
Number after the comma | Course number |
Through this system, you know in advance at which study level and in which semester the course is offered. We recommend that you take courses based on the current programme study level you are on at your home university.
Course registration - Bidding
At HSG, all students are allocated to their courses using a special course allocation process known as 'bidding'. Students are provided with a certain number of virtual points which they can bid for in an auction. Bidding begins two weeks before the start of lectures. Guest students will be informed about bidding by e-mail one month before the start of lectures. The bidding takes place on the Compass student portal. You will receive provisional access to the portal after your application for a guest stay at HSG has been formally verified by Student Mobility Services. We encourage you to read the Bidding factsheet closely to understand the allocation process before you arrive at HSG. CEMS visiting students please refer to the separate overview (PDF).
Bidding Factsheet for Guest students (PDF) Bidding Factsheet for CEMS (PDF)
Workload
Minimum 16 ECTS per semester during the exchange at HSG.
Maximum 40 ECTS per semester during the exchange at HSG (THEMIS guest students: max. 33 ECTS).
1 ECTS corresponds to 30 course-related working hours (in and outside of lectures). The average workload per semester is 24-30 ECTS. We recommend that you take courses based on the current programme or study level you are on at your home university.
PLEASE NOTE: due to a limitated number of course slots, we expect our guest students to show some flexibility when choosing a course. In our experience students who go on exchange during their last semester of studies may not have this flexibility, so do consider this when going abroad.
To ensure an easy introduction into your exchange semester in St.Gallen, we require that all guest students attend an orientation day for guest students prior to the semester start. It provides you with details regarding the registration process at HSG (Student ID, login to the University network) as well as information about the city of St.Gallen.
Our guest students have the option to take a 7-day intensive German course at the University of St.Gallen free of charge before the beginning of each semester. You will receive an e-mail with details about this pre-semester German language course approximately one month before the semester begins. To enrol in the German course, you must register for it via Mobility Online portal when you complete your online application or later. Via Mobility-Online you can deregister from the course before it starts.
Please note that this pre-semester course is obligatory if you plan to take German language classes at Level A1 at the university during the semester.
Schedule your pre-semester German course (PDF) German course bidding overview (PDF)
All guest students starting their exchange semester(s) at HSG in the autumn semester have the option to attend the summer school including a language course and several cultural and sightseeing events offerred by the Lake Constance Arts & Sciences Association. This is the perfect opportunity to get to know fellow exchange students, to get familiar with the Lake Constance area and to practice your German. You can register for the Summer School via the Mobility Online portal when applying for admission at HSG. Please find detailled information on the Lake Constance Summer School on the Website of the University of Konstanz.
Studying with a disability or a chronic illness may be quite challenging. Our Diversity, Equality & Inclusion (short: DEI) team provides advice and support to guest students with a disability or a chronic illness or have special health needs, for example, due to psychosocial stress. Should you need specific support for your studies, please note that prior to submitting a request for study relevant support, a meeting with DEI will be required.
Please note: a request for special needs arrangments is contingent on a meeting with the Diversity, Equality & Inclusion Center which must be arranged early on so that submition deadlines can be met. Later adaptations (for instance, after the examinations took place) will not be possible.
If you would like to take advantage of the DEI offer, please indicate this in Mobility-Online portal when you register. Your programme manager at HSG will then contact you before the semester starts.
If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Diversity, Equality & Inclusion Team at inclusion@unisg.ch or DEI@unisg.ch
At the University of St.Gallen, students can apply for a scholarship, including the Swiss European Mobility Programme (SEMP). Learn more about these scholarship opportunities and the application requirements.
Examination
At HSG there are two different types of examination periods. Central examinations take place after the end of the lecture period and decentral examinations take place within or, at the latest, by the end of the lecture period. In case you have been registered for a course where the official examination, as stated in the course description, is a central examination, you are permitted to take a guest examinations conducted during the decentral examination period.
Autumn semester | Lecture period September - December | Decentral examinations September - December (before Christmas) | Central examinations January - February |
Spring semester | Lecture period February - May | Decentral examinations February - May | Central examinations June - July |
Read the Course and examination fact sheet for guest students for further information and note that ECTS credits are only awarded for successfully passed examinations and that failed examinations can neither be repeated nor improved through additional assignments.
Course and examination factsheet for guest students (PDF)
Students enrolled for two exchange semesters
In your first exchange semester at HSG, you are required to take regulare examination sittings as stated in the examination fact sheet. This may include central examinations. Please see the course description in the course catalogue (Programme Overview) for information on the examination type.
Applying to study at HSG?
If you would like to study for a degree at HSG after completing your exchange at HSG and graduating at your home university, please note that examinations can only be accredited to your HSG degree requirenments if they were taken at official HSG examination sittings. However, we cannot guarantee the crediting of these examinations. Your application for admission to a HSG degree programme will be reviewed again by the Admission and Crediting Office.
Questions?
Should you have any questions regarding examinations for guest students, grading systems, publication of grades, or transcripts, please contact us at guesttranscripts@unisg.ch.
HSG grades are issued in quarter-steps where 6.0 is the highest and 1.0 is the lowest grade. Satisfactory academic achievements are awarded grades from 6.0 to 4.0 while those deemed as insufficient are graded 3.5 to 1.0. The following table provides detales on the HSG grading scale:
HSG grading scale
6.0 = | excellent |
5.5 = | very good |
5.0 = | good |
4.5 = | satisfactory |
4.0 = | marginal |
3.5 = | unsatisfactory |
3.0 = | poor |
2.5 = | poor to very poor |
2.0 = | very poor |
1.5 = | very poor to useless |
1.0 = | useless |
The grading scale is identical for all levels of study (Assessment Year, Bachelor’s, Master’s, Ph.D.). A grade below 4.0 is deemed as insufficient.
Notification of Grades
About seven weeks after the end of your exchange term, we will publish a digital version of your grades on Compass. You will be notified each time by e-mail to your @student.unisg.ch account. Therefore, please check your e-mails regularly, even after your departure. The electronic notification of grades is legally binding. If you wish to appeal the grades, you have to do so within 14 days after the publication of grades on Compass.
Transcripts / Academic Record
Once all grades are submitted, your transcript/academic record will be issued and published digitally on Compass. You can verify the transcript using blockchain-technology on verify.unisg.ch. Download the transcript on Compass and use the drag and drop option on verify.unisg.ch to do so. Please forward the transcript/academic record to the coordinator of your home university. Student Mobility Services will not send any transcripts to the home universities.The transcript/academic record will consist of all courses, provided that you have not appealed your grade(s). We will not issue partial transcripts/academic records.
The electronic notification of grades and the academic record will contain course number, course title, HSG grade and ECTS credits.
Semester | Electronic Notification of Grades and Transcript/Academic Record in Compass of decentral examinations | Electronic Notification of Grades and Transcript/Academic Record in Compass of central examinations |
Autumn semester | beginning-mid of February | beginning-mid of March |
Spring semester | mid-end of July | mid-end of August |
Questions?
Should you have any questions regarding examinations for guest students, grading systems, notification of grades or transcripts/academic records, please contact the colleagues by guesttranscripts@unisg.ch.
Living in a new city and a new country will probably mean that things work differently than what you are used to. We want you to feel prepared upon your arrival for your guest stay in St.Gallen and have put together all the information you need regarding visa, insurance and health & safety.
Learn more about visa requirements, work permit, residence permit and bringing your familiy to St.Gallen before your arrival as well as the procedure after your arrival in St.Gallen including important information before your departure from St.Gallen.
Factsheet visa & residence permit >90 days (PDF)
Please submit printed copies to Resident office St.Gallen (Bevölkerungsdienste). Digital copies will not be accepted.
Form R: Registration St.Galler Bevölkerungsdienste (PDF)
Form D: De-registration St.Galler Bevölkerungsdienste (PDF)
Find out everything you need to know about compulsory health insurance during your stay in Switzerland.
Factsheet health insurance (PDF)
Form: Health Insurance Release (PDF)
In addition to health insurance, we also recommend liability insurance. If you intend to drive during your stay, we also recommend car insurance.
Learn more about health and safety
(Practical tips section)
Learn more about visa requirements, bringing your family to St.Gallen, health insurance, other insurances, health and safety.
University of St.Gallen
Innovation & Quality
Student Mobility
Tellstrasse 2
CH-9000 St.Gallen
+41 71 224 23 39
exchange@unisg.ch
exchange.unisg.ch