Admission to the Master's programme in International Affairs and Governance (MIA)

If you have one of the following degrees from a recognised university or complete one before your chosen degree programme starts, then you can apply for this Master's programme:

• University Bachelor's degree in Economic, Social or Legal Sciences with at least 30 ECTS credit points in Economic, Legal, Political or Administrative Sciences or International Affairs.
• Consecutive University Master's degree in another discipline
  Bachelor's and Master's degree programmes must have been completed in the same discipline (consecutively) and amount to at least 270 ECTS credit points together.

Your degree will be recognised if the following criteria are fulfilled:

• Your degree was awarded by a university, which is recognised in the country where you attended the course.
• You have completed all course work at a recognised or accredited university.
• You have completed at least half of the course work onsite at the university awarding the degree.
• You fulfil the minimum requirements for admission to the Master's degree programme at your home university.

Detailed information on the recognition of universities, university degrees and country-specific provisions

You do not need to submit proof of language proficiency when you apply. It is your responsibility to ensure that your command of the language of instruction is sufficient to allow you to complete your studies successfully. Recommended level at the start of the study is at least C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

GMAT or GRE can also be taken in the new online format.

When evaluating GMAT scores the total score is taken into consideration, while for the assessment of the GRE score the Quantitative Reasoning section is decisive. If you have taken the test several times, the test with the best results will be considered.

Test results must not be older than five years and must be provided to us directly by GMAC or ETS before the closing date for applications. It is important to state the Institution Code of the University of St.Gallen. Should you  have failed to do so, then instruct GMAC or ETS to provide us with your test results in a timely manner. (Institution Code GMAT 5RK-QG-07, GRE 7202).

Students with a Bachelor's degree from the University of St. Gallen or from another university (not University of Applied Sciences) with the same passing requirements (with negative weighted credit points) can choose to, but do not have to, submit their GMAT or GRE test results. The GMAT or GRE scores are compensated by increasing the weighting of the average grade by 1.75.

The average grade recorded on your degree certificate is decisive. If you do not have your final degree at the time of application, you must apply with a current transcript. All credits specified in the current transcript will be considered.

Commitments and activities outside of your degree course, such as work experience, challenging internships or exchange semesters are only considered if you furnish proof thereof. List all of these activities on your curriculum vitae and furnish proof thereof. The curriculum vitae must be written in English.

In the letter of motivation, describe in English in no more than three pages why you would like to pursue the MIA programme, where and how you carried out any extracurricular activities, what international experience you already have and what kind of work experience you already have. A high level of fluency in English is required.

Submit an academic paper (minimum 3.000 words) or a completed bachelor’s thesis as a writing sample. The writing sample should be broadly related to the field of international affairs.

If you haven’t written a paper or a thesis in the field of international affairs during your undergraduate studies, you may submit an essay of a maximum of 4.000 – 5.000 words in English on a given topic including the signed “Declaration of authorship”.

Please find further information in the writing sample fact sheet.

The compulsory MIA Fundamentals Week takes place once a year at the beginning of September (calendar week 36) and is designed to get you ready for your Master's degree programme. You can start your Master's degree once you have successfully completed the Fundamentals Week.

An application for the MIA Fundamentals Week is possible only after receiving the admission letter for the MIA programme.

All students must take two language courses (foreign languages) in addition to their Master’s degree course to successfully complete their Master's degree programme. Crediting of internationally recognised language certificates is possible during your Master's studies.

All students must provide evidence of sufficient accounting knowledge to successfully complete their Master's degree programme.

If you have already acquired sufficient knowledge of accounting during your studies, the evidence can be credited during the admission process. If this evidence is missing at the time of admission, the accountancy examination has to be taken at the University of St.Gallen.

Please have the following information and documents ready to upload:

• Digital passport photo
• Signed "General Conditions/Enrollment Agreement"
• Passport or ID card and, if applicable, a Swiss (permanent) residence permit
• Curriculum vitae in English - style template 
• Letter of motivation in English - style template 
• GMAT or GRE test (official or unofficial score report)
• Writing Sample
• Higher education entrance qualification (Swiss Matura, foreign secondary school leaving certificate)
• Degree documents, if available. Otherwise current official transcripts from each university attended (including exchange programmes and transcripts from unfinished degree programmes). The current transcript must show at least 120 ECTS credit points for courses taken so that we can process your application. In the case of double degree programmes or "joint degrees", transcripts from each attended university including explanatory notes on the course programme must be submitted.

If any of the documents are not issued in German, French, Italian or English, you must also submit a certified translation of the document in German or English. Please observe our guidelines "Certified documents and translations".

Only one file can be uploaded per bullet point. You can use online tools such as online2pdf.com to create PDF files or to combine several pages into one PDF file. Make sure the files you send to us are legible so that we can process your application without delay.

Swiss citizens need their Swiss social insurance number (AHV number) for the application. If you do not know your insurance number, please order a duplicate of your insurance certificate from the Swiss Central Compensation Office in good time.

If you apply online before 31 March you have the option to specify an alternative programme in your application. You may choose one of the following programmes: MBI, MiMM, MGM, MACFin, MEcon.

Only if in the selection process your application is rejected, will your application be checked again. If all formal admission requirements are fulfilled for the chosen alternative programme, the admission process starts for this alternative programme.

Read up about language of instruction, admission requirements, and the admission process of the chosen alternative programme before you apply.

The Admissions and Crediting Office checks your personal data and your electronically submitted documents. If your application is complete and fulfils the formal admission requirements, it is forwarded to the Admissions Committee.

Please log into your user account regularly to check the status of your application. If we need further information or documents, we will inform you directly via your account’s status overview page.

The Committee evaluates each application consecutively.

You will receive the Letter of Admission or the Letter of Rejection in your electronic mailbox (Compass Mailbox). Please find the link to your Compass Mailbox in the Online-Application user account at the top right of your status page. You can access your mailbox using your Online-Application log-in data.

Mid-July your user account will be created. You will find the instructions for activating your account in your electronic mailbox (Compass mailbox).

From this point on, you will receive all email information to your University of St.Gallen email address.

Mid-July we will upload the semester fee invoice to your Compass Mailbox. Within about two weeks after payment a confirmation of enrolment will be available in your electronic mailbox (Compass Mailbox).

Mid-August we will upload information on the course selection process (Bidding) and the compulsory introductory Kick-off Days in your Compass Mailbox. Please see the Student Guide and Arrival Guide for further helpful information.

Your admission is conditional until you submit all the necessary documents.

Send a certified copy of your degree certificate and final academic transcript to the Admissions- and Crediting Office of the University of St.Gallen by no later than the start of the programme (calendar week 38). A copy is considered to be officially certified if the content of the copy is identical to the original documents and if the home university or an official body confirms this with stamp and signature.
Do not send any original documents in the post!

If any of the documents are not issued in German, French, Italian or English, you must also submit a certified translation of the document in German or English. Please observe our guidelines "Certified documents and translations".

As soon as you have submitted all the necessary documents, your admission is unconditional. We will send you a confirmation email. Should you not be able to submit the necessary degree documents before the degree programme starts (calendar week 38), we will not be able to admit you.