St Gallen MBA Program is offered by the University of St Gallen, a public research university located in Switzerland. Established in 2005, it is one of the youngest and leading business schools in the world. Unlike other business institutions, the school only offers postgraduate degrees in Master of Business Administration. The school has also been accredited by the EQUIS and AACSB. In the Financial Times European Business School Ranking 2019, St Gallen MBA Program was ranked #17 among the best business schools in Europe. The program was also ranked #69 by the Financial Times in its Global MBA Ranking 2019.
St. Gallen University, as a whole, has thousands of alumni all over the world. Many of the alumni love helping the MBA students get ahead in their careers. Some of the renowned alumni of the St. Gallen University include Paul Achleitner (Former Chairman, Deutsche Bank), Josef Ackermann (Former CEO, Deutsche Bank), Nick Hayek (CEO, Swatch Group), Walter Kielholz (Former Chairman, Credit Suisse), Peer M. Schatz (CEO, QIAGEN N.V.), etc. For the class of 2021, 45 students from more than 30 countries around the world enrolled for the St Gallen MBA Program. The female constitutes 33% of the class, and the average age of the batch is 30 years.
In this article, we shall let you know everything you need to know before applying for the St Gallen MBA Program.
Curriculum:
The curriculum for the St Gallen MBA Program is one of a kind. The program starts in September with core courses to help students gain fundamental business knowledge. Some of the core courses offered by the school include Accounting & Controlling, Business Numeracy & Modeling, Corporate Strategy & Sustainability, Corporate Finance, Marketing & Communication, etc.
In March, students choose 5 electives, including courses at partner schools in Copenhagen, London, Singapore, & Sydney. The school offers several electives in different fields of study. Students complete these elective courses within three months.
From June onwards, students begin with the Project phase. The school offers several project options to choose from, including the Corporate Strategy Project, creating a Business Plan, or writing a Research Paper. Students take around 10-12 weeks to continue with these projects. By the end of the program in August, students submit their projects in front of an academic panel.
Throughout the year, the school conducts several career development programs, including a 3-day corporate training, career strategy program, leadership development program, CV & Cover letter preparation training, etc.
Eligibility:
Academic Requirement:
Applicants must hold at least a Bachelor’s degree (3 years) or a Diploma (4 years) with a minimum of 180 ECTS-Credits (European Credit Transfer System) equivalent from a recognized University or a University of Applied Science.
Professional Requirement:
The school recommends applicants to have at least 4 years of full-time work experience. Applicants must have a minimum of 2 years of full-time work experience to apply for the St Gallen MBA Program. The school focuses on your career progression and leadership role.
Standardized Tests:
Applicants are required to submit a GMAT/GRE score no older than five years or successfully complete the Admissions Test with a minimum score of 80% within 21 days of accessing the course portal. There is no minimum GMAT or GRE score mentioned by the school. However, the average GMAT score of the class is generally within a range of 620-720.
Additionally, an English language test is required unless you can demonstrate that you have considerable experience living, working, or studying in an English language environment.
To prove fluency in English, certificates equivalent to at least a C1 level on the European Framework for Foreign Languages (TOEFL, CAE, CPE, BEC Higher) are recognized.
Course Fees:
The total tuition fees for the St Gallen MBA Program are CHF 51,500. You will also be required to pay a mandatory Program Support fee of CHF 7,000. To secure your seat once you have accepted an offer, you must pay an enrolment fee of CHF 6,500, which is later deducted from the total fees.
Along with the tuition fees, the living expenses amount to approximately CHF 13,000 per year. The yearly accommodation costs for a single person in Switzerland are approximately CHF 9,000. The above information is an estimate and varies considerably depending on your lifestyle choices and financial means.
Scholarships:
The school provides several scholarship opportunities to students to help them sail through in their MBA journey. These scholarships can cover a maximum of 40% of the candidate’s tuition fee. Some of the popular awards offered by the school are as follows:
1. Challenge Scholarship:
This scholarship is offered to applicants who have been able to successfully progress in their careers despite challenging personal, professional, socio/political, or economic circumstances. Applicants are required to apply for this award if they consider themselves eligible.
2. Women in Business Scholarship:
This scholarship is aimed at women who can demonstrate the ability to perform based on having successfully led people, realizing fast-paced and difficult projects, or showing a consistent role progression. All the women candidates are considered for this award.
Additional Scholarship Award:
The Admissions Committee has the right to award additional scholarships, for which you automatically could be considered for upon submitting your application. The selection criteria for these scholarships are within the discretion of the Admissions Committee.
Along with these scholarships, the school has also designed a loan program that considers your individual situation. This loan program is open to all MBA applicants who can demonstrate they have been unsuccessful in sourcing financial aid elsewhere.
Please note that the repayment period of this loan can be up to 3 years.
Placement Statistics:
For the class of 2019, 83% of job-seeking graduates received an offer within three months of graduation. Reportedly, 43% of the students accepted job offers within Germany, while the rest were placed internationally. The average annual base salary received by the class was CHF 113,620. Along with this, the average starting bonus packed by the class was CHF 16,544.
The top three industries where the majority of the students accepted job offers were
Technology 26%
Manufacturing 16.9%
Health Care 13%
The top three functions were
General Management 35.1%
Marketing/Sales 22.1%
Finance/Accounting 16.9%
Some of the global companies that hired graduates of the Full-time Class of 2019:
A.T Kearney
Deloitte
HILTI
Johnsons & Johnsons
Lonza
McKinsey & Co.
Microsoft
Savills
Schindler
Siemens
Check here for more details.
Application Process:
Online Application Checklist:
Academic Transcripts
Resume
Two referee details
One career plan essay
GMAT/GRE score
English language test score
Application fee of CHF 250
Interview:
After evaluating all the information submitted by you in your application, you may be invited for the interview. The interview is conducted by a member of the school’s Talent Acquisition team. You can give your interview in-person in St. Gallen, in-person in a city one of the Talent Acquisition Team is traveling to, or via Skype.
Three days prior to the interview, you will receive a link to complete your Personal & Mental Ability Assessment. The total assessment time is approximately 1 hour. The assessment is used as a foundation for the interview assessment. It helps the Talent Acquisition Team to get a deeper understanding of you, beyond professional and academic performance.
The school recommends interviewing in-person. The interview will also involve targeted questions related to the business case you are required to solve. You will receive your business case via email 3 days before the interview takes place. Further details on how to prepare your solution will be included in this email. You will be asked to present in a 5-minute presentation during the interview. You will be expected to discuss how you perceived and prioritized the main issues in the case, and how you arrived at the solution. It is a chance to demonstrate your business acumen, ethics, and creativity.
After the interview, the admissions committee will again review your entire application to make a final decision. Once a decision is made, a member of the Talent Acquisition Team will contact you via telephone to communicate the decision.
Essay Details & Tips:
For the academic year 2020-21, the school asked the following essay question from the interested applicants:
Essay 1:
Please detail your short- and long-term career plans. As part of your answer, please include: (a) how studying both in Switzerland and specifically on the St. Gallen MBA, would impact upon these plans; and (b) your back-up plan, should your immediate post-MBA plans not be successful.
Essay 2:
Think of a well-known business leader, and outline the reasons why you believe he/she is undeserving of his/her public acclaim. (500 words)
Through these essays, the school looks forward to knowing more about you, your career goals, how you define leadership, & your reasoning abilities. So make sure that all these things are reflected in your essay.
Check here for essay tips – Application essays, Structured Thinking, Visualization, Story Telling
St Gallen MBA Program is constantly ranked high in Europe and the world. With a small class size of nearly 50 students every academic year, it is one of the most selective programs in the world today. If you’re planning to start your MBA journey from this school, we will recommend you to go for it.
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