1. General presentation
First, take a moment to enjoy it. Starting at the University of St.Gallen is a milestone. The next step is the Assessment Year: the first year of the Bachelor’s programmes in Economics, Law and International Affairs.
You’ll learn to switch between different ways of thinking: solving a quantitative problem, analysing a business, building a legal argument and understanding political decisions. Add independent study, languages and group work, and it’s easy to see why organisation matters so much.
The students who contributed to this guide describe it as demanding, but manageable with consistent work. You don’t need to have everything figured out on day one. You do need to notice when you’re falling behind and ask for help early.
At HSG, a strong result in one subject can improve your average, but it cannot erase negative credit points from another. We’ll unpack that below.
Starting in autumn 2026? Here’s what changed.
The programme remains 60 ECTS. Mathematics with Statistics A and B now carry 4.5 ECTS each. The former Academic Term Paper module has been removed from the new structure. This guide covers the 2026/27 Assessment Year in Economics, Law and International Affairs; Computer Science has a separate first-year programme.
Sources: students’ contributions; HSG Assessment FAQ; Course Regulation O26, effective 1 August 2026.
2. The programme
Everyone shares the same compulsory subjects. Your specialisation determines two additional courses. Contextual studies complete the year.
Accounting is an additional compulsory requirement, outside these 60 ECTS.
| Subject | Autumn | Spring | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business Administration | A 5.5 ECTS | B 5.5 ECTS | 11 ECTS |
| Economics | A 5.5 ECTS | B 5.5 ECTS | 11 ECTS |
| Law I | A 5.5 ECTS | B 5.5 ECTS | 11 ECTS |
| Political Science | A 3 ECTS | — | 3 ECTS |
Find your pathway
Choose a pathway to see your two core electives. Each course carries 4.5 ECTS.
| Autumn · 4.5 ECTS | Spring · 4.5 ECTS |
|---|---|
| Mathematics with Statistics A | Mathematics with Statistics B |
| Pathway | Autumn elective | Spring elective |
|---|---|---|
| Economics | Mathematics with Statistics A | Mathematics with Statistics B |
| International Affairs | Mathematics with Statistics A | Political Science B |
| Law | Law II A | Law II B |
For International Affairs, students begin in the Economics Assessment Year and can opt for the IA specialisation by 30 November for the spring semester (HSG FAQ). Law II is taught in German only. HSG recommends at least C1 in your chosen track language. Check the prerequisites of your intended major before choosing or changing pathways.
And the other 15 ECTS?
| Component | When | ECTS |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction to Academic Writing | Autumn | 3 |
| Integrative Project | Spring | 4 |
| Cultural and Social Sciences | One seminar each semesterOne in History/Philosophy; one in Psychology/Sociology | 2 + 2 |
| First foreign language | Across the year | 4 |
| Total contextual studies | 15 | |
Keep space in your timetable for reading, writing and group deadlines. Smaller credit values don’t make these courses optional.
Sources: HSG curriculum and credit diagrams; HSG FAQ; O26 regulations.
3. The courses
Open a subject for the essentials and a practical way to approach it.
The St.Gallen Management Model gives you a framework for understanding organisations. A introduces topics such as strategy, marketing and management; B focuses specifically on financial management.
A explores individual decisions and markets. B moves towards the economy as a whole. Expect models, graphs and quantitative reasoning throughout.
A introduces business law; B covers international and constitutional law. The spring syllabus differs between the English and German tracks, so use your own course fact sheet.
How do societies make collective decisions? You’ll use climate policy to examine institutions, political processes and different levels of government.
A builds tools including differentiation, optimisation and introductory probability. B adds topics such as integration, linear algebra and regression. Economics students take both; IA students take A.
Law: Law II A and B deepen your legal studies through criminal law and liability law topics. Both are taught in German. International Affairs: Political Science B develops your understanding of international relations and political systems.
Academic writing, an integrative group project, seminars and a foreign language help you work beyond a single discipline. They also bring deadlines that don’t always align with your main exams.
Course overview: HSG curriculum. The current course and examination fact sheets specify assessment formats, permitted aids and examinable content. Difficulty comments reflect the students’ contributions provided to UpSG, not an official ranking.
4. The academic year
The Lernphase is the study period before exams. It feels very different when you arrive with working knowledge of the material and a list of gaps to fix, rather than a semester to learn from scratch.
StartWeek: get your bearings
Attend the compulsory introduction, meet your group, explore campus and learn the course-allocation process.
Build the routine
Take the A courses, start contextual studies and your language, and keep up with exercises. If IA interests you, note the 30 November deadline to choose the specialisation for the spring semester (HSG FAQ).
Turn knowledge into exam practice
Use timed questions, correct your recurring mistakes and check every exam’s format. January is also one of the accounting exam dates.
Adjust, then keep moving
Start the B courses and the Integrative Project. Use what your autumn results taught you. Accounting is also offered in March.
Bring the year together
Prepare for the remaining assessments, finish the language requirement and make sure accounting is passed. A June accounting date is available.
This is an orientation timeline, not an examination timetable. Your personal dates and registration deadlines are published through HSG’s student systems and course fact sheets.
Sources: students’ contributions; HSG FAQ; accounting dates and curriculum.
5. Passing requirements
Passing means completing the 60-credit programme and meeting all the requirements below together.
Good grades improve your average. They do not cancel the M-NCPs generated by grades below 4.0.
If the year is not passed, one repeat of the entire Assessment Year is possible. A passed accounting exam is retained; the other modules must be repeated. A second failure prevents continuation in the same subject area at HSG. For an individual extension or transition between regulations, contact the Assessment team early.
Source: HSG regulations and legal basis. The applicable regulations and your official student record govern your result.
6. Negative credit points
For a graded course below 4.0, the shortfall is multiplied by the course’s ECTS value. A course graded 4.0 or higher generates no M-NCPs. Accounting sits outside this calculation and the overall average.
| Grade | Course credits | Calculation | M-NCPs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 | 5.5 ECTS | (4 − 3.5) × 5.5 | 2.75 |
| 3.0 | 4.5 ECTS | (4 − 3) × 4.5 | 4.50 |
| 5.5 | 5.5 ECTS | No grade shortfall | 0.00 |
Together, the first two examples generate 7.25 M-NCPs. Adding the strong result in the third row leaves that total unchanged.
What does one grade cost?
Illustration for one course. It does not determine your annual result. The slider uses quarter-grade examples; use your officially recorded grade for an actual calculation.
Put extra attention into the subjects where you’re struggling, especially when they carry more credits. Keeping every course within reach is more useful than assuming your favourite subject will make up for everything else.
Formula and accounting exclusion: summary of students’ contributions provided to UpSG; Assessment Year Course Regulation O26. Limits: HSG legal basis.
7. Accounting
Every student must pass the accounting exam with at least 4.0. HSG offers an introductory course in autumn and exam dates in January, March and June. Choose deliberately instead of leaving it until the final part of the year by default.
| Timing | Potential advantage | What to consider |
|---|---|---|
| January | You tackle the requirement early. | It adds to winter exam preparation. |
| March | It may spread the pressure more evenly. | Protect study time as the spring semester starts. |
| June | You have more time beforehand. | It concentrates the requirement near the end of the year. |
The contributors’ main recommendations are to understand the recurring logic of exercises and learn from your mistakes. Work through the entries yourself, check where your reasoning breaks down and repeat until you can explain the process. If accounting is new to you, the introductory course can provide useful structure.
Three scheduled dates do not by themselves define your individual entitlement to resit. Check registration, withdrawal and repeat rules in the current accounting fact sheet and your student account.
Sources: students’ contributions; HSG accounting information; course and examination fact sheets.
8. Study methods
HSG equates one ECTS credit with 30 hours of work. For a 60-credit year, that’s about 1,800 hours, including teaching, independent study and assessment preparation. Think of it as a full-time commitment spread across the year.
Make practice part of the week.
Try the exercises before the tutorial. Finding out where you get stuck gives you a reason to listen and a precise question to ask. Afterwards, redo the questions you missed.
Test what you can retrieve.
Close your notes and explain the concept, draw the model or solve the problem. Reading a polished summary can feel reassuring even when you couldn’t reproduce the reasoning yourself.
Keep an honest error log.
For each mistake, record the cause: a missing concept, an incorrect method or a rushed calculation. Choose your next practice session from that list rather than repeating only what feels comfortable.
Protect the rest of your life.
Keep room for friends, sport, meals and sleep. The contributors explicitly recommend staying involved in activities outside class. Build a schedule you can sustain beyond your most motivated week.
A simple weekly loop
A suggested routine, not a university timetable. Adjust it to your courses, energy and responsibilities. During the Lernphase, shift more of your time towards mixed and timed exam practice.
Workload conversion: HSG course choice and exams. Study advice adapted from the students’ experiences shared with UpSG.
9. Practical information
Get comfortable with bidding.
Course allocation uses the bidding system. Read the current instructions, note each round’s deadline and choose realistic alternatives for popular seminars. Tutorial choices should also fit your weekly schedule.
The contributors found SHSG’s Biddit useful for an initial feel for courses. Treat peer ratings and previous allocations as clues, not a guarantee. Follow the current rules in Compass instead of relying on a fixed points strategy from an older cohort.
Make your setup reliable.
Have a working laptop, charger and a way to back up your work. Some exams are computer-based; check HSG’s current device and software requirements and complete any required setup or test beforehand.
A tablet and stylus can be handy for annotating slides in Canvas, but choose them for your own workflow. A tablet does not automatically replace a laptop that meets exam requirements.
Add bidding windows, exam registration, submission deadlines, language assessments and group meetings as soon as they are announced.
Sources: students’ contributions; HSG course choice and exams. HSG FAQ explains contextual-course allocation.
10. Student life
Find your study spot.
The library and SQUARE are natural places to try on the Rosenberg campus. Test where you concentrate best and where group work feels easiest. The contributors recommend arriving early during the Lernphase, when favourite seats become harder to find.
Find your people, too.
StartWeek, tutorials, clubs and sport give you ways to build a circle beyond your immediate class. Having someone to compare reasoning with, share a meal with or go for a walk with can change how the whole year feels.
Give yourself reasons to close the laptop.
Explore the old town, walk up towards Drei Weieren or plan a break by Lake Constance. The students describe St.Gallen as compact and calm, with much of everyday life reachable on foot or by bus. A busy academic year can still include places and people you look forward to.
Students’ experiences from their contributions; facilities: HSG campus guide. Local walks: St.Gallen–Bodensee Tourism.
11. Fees and living costs
Plan for tuition separately from everyday living costs. The fees below apply from autumn 2026; your official fee classification determines which amount you pay.
| Fee category | Per semester | Two semesters |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic rateAs classified by HSG | CHF 1,310.50 | CHF 2,621 |
| Foreign-national rateAs classified by HSG | CHF 3,343.50 | CHF 6,687 |
A monthly reference for living costs
HSG’s published Bachelor budget totals CHF 2,175 per month before tuition. Your rent, insurance and lifestyle can change the picture considerably.
Using this reference for 12 months and adding two semesters of tuition gives roughly CHF 28,721 at the domestic rate or CHF 32,787 at the foreign-national rate. These are planning calculations, not quotes; add application fees, study equipment and any personal extras separately.
Source: HSG tuition fees and cost of living, citing the FSO SSEE 2024 survey. Annual totals calculated by UpSG. Checked 17 September 2026.
12. Getting ready
You don’t need to pre-learn the whole year. Take care of the practical foundations, refresh what needs refreshing, and arrive with some energy left.
This checklist stays on this page while it is open. Your answers are not sent anywhere.
HSG offers maths preparation, language support and the optional Study Life Atelier. For questions about your Assessment Year, contact assessment@unisg.ch.
Preparation options: HSG optional courses and support.
13. Frequently asked questions
Yes, in Economics and International Affairs. The Law specialisation, including Law II A and B, is German only. HSG recommends C1 in the teaching language before you start. Check the language requirements of your later major as well.
No. It improves the overall weighted average, but the M-NCPs from grades below 4.0 remain. You must meet both the average requirement and the negative-credit limits.
No. Accounting is a separate compulsory requirement: you must pass it, but it does not enter the overall average or the M-NCP calculation.
For the Assessment Year’s first foreign-language requirement, HSG requires its own written and oral assessment. External certificates are not accepted for this first requirement.
Individual extensions are available in defined circumstances, including documented health issues, family commitments or elite sport. Contact the Assessment team early to discuss eligibility and the consequences for progression.
This page follows the structure introduced in autumn 2026. If you started earlier, are repeating or have an approved extension, check the transitional provisions and the rules assigned to you in Compass or StudentWeb. Ask the programme team if anything is unclear.
Sources: HSG Assessment FAQ; legal basis; summary of students’ contributions provided to UpSG for the accounting calculation.
14. Useful links and sources
Use this guide to orient yourself. Use HSG’s current regulations, course fact sheets and student systems for decisions about your studies.
Prepared by the UpSG community from students’ contributions collected in The First Year at the University of St.Gallen (supplied as Assessment_Year_Summary_Last Version.pdf), with official information checked on 17 September 2026. Personal advice has been edited for clarity and is identified as students’ perspectives or study suggestions. Community corrections were incorporated on 18 September 2026.
This guide uses the layout and stylesheets of the supplied UpMed / UpHEC first-year templates, also used by the UpMed first-year guide for Geneva. UpSG is an independent student-support resource, not an official University of St.Gallen publication.
The curriculum charts use official ECTS values. The budget chart uses HSG’s published monthly figures. The M-NCP examples are illustrative calculations, not student results. No pass-rate or difficulty statistics have been inferred.
Additional official references: Assessment Year Course Regulation O26; Assessment FAQ; course choice, ECTS and exams.
St.Gallen panorama: Pablodbds, 15 November 2025, Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0. Displayed with a responsive crop.
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SQUARE: HSGStGallen, 16 November 2021, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Original photograph embedded without alteration. This photo retains its original licence; the credit does not imply endorsement.
Charts: UpSG. Page layout and theme: the supplied UpMed / UpHEC HTML templates and their original stylesheets. Open Sans and Poppins are the original template fonts. No AI-generated campus photography is used.