THEMIS

• The allocation process is conducted by Student Mobility Services & the HSG law school.
• The application process takes place once a year.
• The exchange programme is a voluntary option offered by the University of St.Gallen (HSG). Applicants are not guaranteed an exchange place.
• Students must apply in their first semester at the Master's level for an exchange in their third semester.

• Signed online application confirmation 
• Form “CV” and “Motivation Letter”
• Copy of a valid English language certificate
• Copy of a valid Spanish/Portuguese language certificate (if one of the selected partner universities requires B1 level at the time of HSG application deadline) 
• If applicable: Proof of the awarded HSG Campus Credits at Bachelor’s level (listed in the Bachelor Diploma)
• Grade transcript: Original or certified copy of HSG Bachelor diploma supplement with detailed grade information (GPA, grading scale).*

General application prerequisites

• Enrolled in a HSG Master programme in Law (MLE, MLaw, MIL) at the time of application. 
• Minimum 5.00 grade average (rounded to two decimal points), based on Bachelor or Master studies relevant for admission to the HSG master’s degree studies.  
• Proof of valid English certification (no older than 2 years by the application deadline).

All admission conditions must be successfully passed in the 1st semester of the Master degree studies, so an exchange in the 3rd semester is possible. Exception: Admission conditions «bookkeeping examination» and «foreign language requirements without credits».  

Requirements for beginning the exchange semester

• Enrolled in a HSG Master programme.

In the application you may enter up to two THEMIS universities of your choice and in the order of your preference. When making your exchange university selections, consider the language of instruction, the local language, available fields of study, semester dates, travel advisories, etc. Detailed information with semester dates, fact sheets and experience reports are available in StudentWeb. Please do not contact Student Mobility Services before you have not checked the detailed information in StudentWeb. You will be granted access to it after having been immatriculated at HSG.

Participation

The THEMIS programme is for MIL, MLaw and MLE HSG students only. Graduate level law students from the HSG will be able to go on exchange in autumn term at one of the partner universities within the network, attend a specialised 3-days THEMIS seminar in spring term and participate in an international internship (organised by the students her/himself). Students who are selected to participate in the THEMIS programme will obtain not only their local law degree but also the International THEMIS Certificate.

Exchange period

Autumn semester: Begin of exchange between 1 July and 31 December is considered as absence in autumn semester

Application...

...in the 1st semester of the Master‘s level for exchange in the 3rd (autumn semester)
...in the 2nd semester of the Master‘s level (when degree studies commenced in spring semester) for exchange in the 4th semester (autumn semester)

Please find further information in the download section of this page.

Duration of the internship

Students must organise the internship on their own.

Minimum duration: six consecutive weeks full-time

Internship on a part-time basis possible (equivalent to six weeks full time (e.g. 8 consecutive weeks, 6 hours a day)).
 

Type of internship

The internship must be of international nature. Students may work at a law firm, international company, NGO, or international organisation that deals with international law.

Timeframe of the internship

Internships which have been completed before the exchange semester are recognized.

Participation in the three-day seminar is mandatory in order to receive the THEMIS Joint Certificate of International & Business Law. Students who arrive late or leave early will have to participate in the following year’s seminar in order to meet the THEMIS requirements. Students can postpone the seminar for one year. The Seminar takes place in the Spring semester following the exchange.

For your Student Mobility Services exchange application, you must submit one of the following English certifications with the minimum scores listed below. These minimum scores are required for all applications, regardless of any lower requirements from specific partner universities. Applications without a valid certification meeting these minimum scores cannot be considered. All English language certifications and degrees must not be older than two years at the application deadline:​​​​

Important: Certain partner universities may not accept the above-listed certifications or may require an even higher test result. It is the student’s responsibility to verify and fulfill these specific requirements by the Student Mobility Services exchange application deadline.

Choose law courses in English from a designated THEMIS course list at the partner university and  will have to choose at least 24 ECTS from the course list. One course outside the THEMIS course list with up to 6 ECTS can be taken (check crediting with admissions & crediting office at HSG). Courses from THEMIS course list can be credited towards your HSG degree. Students will have to take exams worth 30 ECTS. 

A minimum of 24 transferable and THEMIS accredited ECTS course credits must be completed with a positive grade at the host university, otherwise no credits from the exchange term will be transferred towards the HSG degree.

A minimum of 60 ECTS course credits must be acquired at the HSG. Hence a maximum of 30 ECTS course credits (Master thesis excluded) can be credited to the HSG degree per exchange semester at Master’s level. The exchange at a THEMIS partner university is limited to one HSG semester on the Master's level.

<meta charset="UTF-8" />HSG tuition fees must be paid during the semester abroad. No tuition fees have to be paid at the host university, but students are responsible for all other costs related to their semester abroad (travel, housing, insurances, etc.). Travel expenses for the THEMIS seminar and costs related to the internship must be borne by the student. 

Students spending an exchange semester at one of our European partner universities through the THEMIS exchange programme are eligible to apply for a SEMP scholarship. The application procedures will be available in the Mobility-Online portal after allocation of the exchange university. SEMP programme regulations may be subject to change by the Swiss Federal Council.

You can find further scholarship opportunities here:

Loans and scholarships

We hold a hybrid information session on the Law School’s Double Degree Programmes and the THEMIS Certificate Programme on 24 September 2026. Join us at 17:15 in room 01-102 or via MS Teams.