Both in Switzerland and in other countries, a wide range of scholarships and loans is available to help students.
Scholarships are paid as a one-off sum, or as ongoing financial support and do not need to be repaid. Provided the requirements are met, as a Swiss citizen you have a legal right to cantonal scholarships. The cantonal scholarship offices are therefore always the first place to contact for Swiss citizens. Please find out about all relevant deadlines ahead of time, as no scholarships will be granted retroactively.
Student loans must be repaid after your education has been completed. Typically loans do not bear interest during your studies; interest accrues only after you have completed your degree. Conditions for repayment can vary greatly. We recommend taking out student loans no sooner than two years before your graduation, or merely as an interim solution for one or two semesters. Otherwise you run the risk of accumulating a large amount of debt by the time you graduate.
Attention: Swiss banks are not allowed to offer student loans (reason: Swiss credit law). Ask your friends and family about options for financing your studies. In some cases it may even be possible to receive a form of early inheritance.
This fund supports all enrolled Assessment Year students and students at Bachelor’s and Master’s levels with scholarships and loans at favourable rates of interest. This is intended to prevent situations whereby students are unable to study or have to terminate their studies owing to financial straits. Besides students’ individual financial circumstances, support criteria also includes individual attitude to performance willpower and capacities. As a rule, payments from the Loan and Scholarship Fund of the University of St.Gallen are granted from the second regular degree course semester after initial enrolment or re-enrolment. Applications from first semester students are also accepted – the criteria of financial need are assessed more thoroughly.
Foreign students can be granted a scholarship amounting to the difference between normal semester fee at the rate for Swiss nationals and the fee charged to foreign nationals.
Application forms for the submission of a request for a scholarship or loan are available as a download on Compass (Request Study Funding). The deadlines for the submission of the application form including the required enclosurs are:
As soon as the application form is fully completed (including all required documents stated on the form), it can be sent preferably by email or regular mail to the Advice Center for Study Funding (see address). It is also possible to drop the application into the mailbox of the office building Bodanstrasse 1 (Building 25 acc. to campus map). Please note that besides the form, further documents are required for means testing, which means it will take some time to complete the application.
The Advice Center for Study Funding, upon receipt, first checks the completeness of the application and then contacts the applicant to coordinate a personal interview.
Semesters abroad are in principle co-funded. The assessment criteria are in line with living costs and Swiss circumstances. Please note, that additional costs such as for travel expenses or higher cost of living abroad are not covered. In cases of financial straits, we recommend a regular exchange at one of the partner universities of the University of St.Gallen for which another scholarships (e.g. SEMP) can be applied for.
HSG Freemover students are required to pay a reduced Freemover fee of CHF 700 instead of the regular HSG tuition fee regardless of the amount paid at the host university.
The Social and Cultural Fund of the Student Union (SHSG) supports student initiatives and the improvement of the social situation of students of the University of St.Gallen. Every matriculated student who has a valid student ID has the right to apply for financial support.
Excellence scholarships are awarded to students enrolled in a Bachelor's degree at the University of St.Gallen on the basis of merit. The scholarship amount corresponds to the current tuition fees at the Bachelor level for a total of 6 semesters.
Currently, the University of St.Gallen, the "St.Galler Stiftung für Internationale Studien" (SSIS) and the "Monique Dornonville de la Cour - Stiftung" award scholarships for excellence at the Bachelor level in cooperation with the Advice Center for Study Funding.
Enrolled students of the University of St.Gallen with an outstanding academic performance in the HSG Assessment Year are identified by the Advice Center for Study Funding and invited to apply for an Excellence Scholarship. An application without an invitation from the University of St.Gallen is not possible. In addition to the above-mentioned performance criterion, further selection criteria may be applied, depending on the funding source. The final selection of scholarship awardees is the responsibility of the relevant committees.
The University of St.Gallen cooperates with the Swiss Study Foundation and the German Academic Scholarship Foundation.
Enrolled students of the University of St.Gallen with an outstanding academic performance in the HSG Assessment Year, are identified by the Advice Center for Study Funding according to the respective selection criteria of the two study foundations and asked whether their data may be forwarded.
Currently, both study foundations also accept self-applications.
Another excellence scholarship is the Starr International Foundation Stipendienfonds. The fund is aimed at highly talented, foreign-language students with a recognised, foreign Bachelor's degree who are pursuing a Master's degree in one of the English-language programmes:
As a rule, grants in the amount of CHF 20,000.‒ per programme are awarded each year. Outstanding students are identified by the Advice Center for Study Funding on the basis of various criteria and asked to submit additional documentation. The final selection of scholarship awardees is the responsibility of the respective Master's programme representatives.
Other Excellence Scholarships may be offered by Master's programmes. Please reach out to your respective Master's programme representative.
For installments or deferment of the payment of tuition fees, please contact the Dean's Advisory Office of your level.
Students who are in urgent pressing financial straits can be granted a partial or total remission of tuition fees. The applicants’ and their parents’ financial and familial situation is essential and decisive.
Application forms for partial or total remission of the tuition fees can be downloaded from the student portal Compass (Request Study Funding). There you will also find the regulations of the Loan and Scholarship Fund of the University of St.Gallen.
The deadline for the submission of the application form and all the enclosures is the term of payment of the invoice for the tuition fees. Please note that besides the form, further documents are required for means testing, which means it will take some time to complete the application. Forms that have not been duly completed will not be processed!
The scholarship and grants database Funding Finder provides information for University members of all levels (Bachelor's level to assistant professor) containing data on more than 150 private and state institutions that award scholarships, loans, grants etc.. This extensive but not exhaustive list is continually updated.
A complete list of the over 2,700 traditional Swiss foundations can be found in the Swiss Federal Government's foundation Directory (only in German).
The Swiss Confederation grants scholarships for foreign students with a university degree (postgraduate) through the Federal Commission for Scholarships. Swiss government scholarships are granted for students from selected countries.
Online directory of addresses for social aid («Soziale Hilfe von A-Z») with over 3000 organisations from the entire social sector of the Canton of Zurich, selectable according specific needs (only in German).
Instructions for preparing a request for funding (only in German).