Application and admission
HSG students who are studying for a Master’s degree and later want to obtain a PhD have to submit an application request through Compass during the semester enrolment period. Former HSG students who completed their Master‘s degree a maximum of 12 months ago fill in the rematriculation form online. All other applicants and extramural applicants have to apply through the online application process.
To initiate the admission process for PhD studies at the University of St.Gallen, you will have to submit a complete application through the online application portal in the internet under the heading of «Studying/Admission». For us to be able to check whether you satisfy the formal requirements for studying a PhD, we will be pleased to conduct a non-binding preliminary assessment. For this purpose, please e-mail all the grade transcripts and degree certificates, along with a CV, to phd@unisg.ch. Graduates of the University of St.Gallen are deemed to have produced this evidence if they achieved the required grade average in their Licentiate’s or Master’s degree.
Admission with a non-HSG Master's degree
If you do not hold a HSG degree and have not received a diploma supplement, you will have to prove in an official letter that you would be admitted to phd studies at your home university. If you are unable to provide such proof – as a consequence of different admission procedures for phd studies – you will have to submit at least two letters of recommendation from professors of your previous university.
In addition, these letters of recommendation will have to provide information about what you have done so far and why you are particularly qualified for PhD studies.
The HSG will also compare your educational background with the HSG curriculum and have a particular look at the criteria of the regular degree course period, the quality of the courses and the university degrees. Ultimately, the crucial factor is whether you hold a recognised university Master’s degree in the same or a similar field to that of the PhD programme. The decision will be based on the «Award Regulations for a Doctor’s Degree of the University of St.Gallen of 1 August 2021», as well as on the «Programme Regulations» of the relevant programme.
After you have completed your application, we will check it according to formal criteria. If the result is positive, you can start looking for a supervisor, depending on the programme. Please note that certain degrees do not meet the requirements for PhD studies at the HSG. They include degrees from a university of Applied Sciences (Fachhochschule; university with-out
the right to confer PhD degrees), as well as MBAs.
Admission to PhD studies will be granted «sur dossier» by the relevant programme committee.
Admission with a degree in a similar major
In such cases, admission to phd studies can be made contingent on additional entry requirements. These include fundamental courses and courses in the core discipline. The additional entry requirements depend on the educational background and are jointly determined by the supervisors and the programme committee.
These additional entry requirements cause an additional workload, with which you will have to cope above and beyond your regular courses and any other commitments and which must have been completed before the submission of the research proposal. A one-time extension of one semester may be requested from the PhD Office for the completion of these additional entry requirements. A maximum of one semester is granted. Please note that this extension of the deadline for submitting the research proposal does not extend the total study period of 10 semesters.
Enrolment process
If you are studying at the HSG and want to start your phd studies directly after obtaining your Master’s degree, submit an application request for the desired PhD programme via Compass during the semester enrolment period.
If you obtained your Master’s degree from the HSG and are exmatriculated for a maximum of two semesters, you can fill in the rematriculation form on the internet and, if necessary, upload a residence certificate.
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If you obtained your Master’s degree from us more than 12 months ago or obtained a Master‘s degree from a university other than the HSG, create a user account in the online application portal on the website. Subsequently, you will be guided through the online application in four steps. Please fill in the pages from the top to the bottom since there may be dependencies between the input fields.
The online application also instructs you to pay a fee of CHF 250. Please note that you can only make this payment online. Only after payment you can submit your application.
What documents you will have to submit depends on the PhD programme in which you want to enrol. Please make sure, however, that all the documents required are available in digital form. If you are uncertain about the completeness of your application, you can obtain the necessary information online at https://www.unisg.ch/en/studying/admission/ or by contacting the PhD Office (phd@unisg.ch).
In addition to numerous other documents, you must in any case electronically upload all the academic degrees you have obtained in one file. After your definitive admission, we will ask you to present the original of your Master’s degree certificate or a certified copy of your degree to the PhD Office.
If your certificates and other documents are not written in German, English, French or Italian, you must also submit an officially certified translation of the document in German or English.
For foreign degrees, include an official description of the grading scale used in each case. You can help to simplify and speed up the application process by ensuring that your documents are clear and unmistakable. If, for instance, the title of a certain course that is relevant to your application is not unequivocally comprehensible or is even misleading, then please enclose an official course description. Examination regulations or official decrees that provide information about grading scales can be used to assess much more quickly whether you are sufficiently qualified for the chosen PhD programme. If you fail to submit important documents in time, they cannot be used later for the decision.
Please note that only applications can be considered that have been submitted in due time. Whenever you log into your application portal, you will find information about the completeness of your documents and the progress of the procedure. We will review your documents and let you know whether you meet the formal criteria.
and Econometrics (PEcon)» and «Finance (PiF)». The final admission depends on the decision of the programme committee and the recommendation letter of the supervisor.
For this purpose, he or she will have to submit the «Support PhD students» form, which can be found on the FacultyWeb, to the PhD Office in due time. «In due time» means by April 30 for studies beginning in the Autumn Semester and by November 30 for studies beginning in the Spring Semester. Other deadlines are applicable to Assistants and rematriculated students: August 15 for an Autumn Semester start and January 15 for a Spring Semester start.
In case of a positive evaluation, you will now have to contact a supervisor, except for the PhD programmes in «Economics
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«Only applications can be considered that have been submitted in due time»
PhD studies mean to you.
Supervising your PhD thesis
It is your personal responsibility to find a supervisor. Unfortunately, the University Management and the PhD Office are unable to help you there. Please consider that the search might take a fair amount of time. A prospective supervisor will ask for a rough project outline with explanations about your research question and may conduct interviews with you.
Please keep in mind that you will work with this supervisor for several years. You will experience the supervisor in the role of a mentor and teacher throughout your PhD studies. Many alumni remain in professional and personal contact with their former thesis committee for many years. The quality of this relationship depends largely on what you invest yourself and who provides the supervision.
«The research areas of our professors can be found on the websites of the individuel institutes, departments (schools) and research institutes»
Besides the obvious search for an expert in your field, you should also consider other criteria in your choice. These depend on your own background or are determined by your decision to pursue an academic or a practice-oriented career. In this respect, you should be clear yourself where you want to see yourself once your PhD thesis has been accepted. Disclose your long-term goals and expectations in your meeting with a potential supervisor and explain what your
You can find out which professor is interested in which research areas and thesis topics on the websites of the individual institutes, departments (schools), research centers and PhD programmes.
The «Alexandria» research platform also contains a list of the institutes’ projects and publications.
Take advantage of your choices, compare thesis projects existing at the chairs with topics that you have in mind and ask your fellow students about the shape of the relationship between phd students and their thesis committee.
Only the candidates for PhD studies in «Economics and Econometrics (PEcon)» are exempt from the search for a supervisor at the time of application. They submit the online application with all documents. After the examination of the formal admission requirements, the programme committee decides on the final admission. If accepted, this thus guarantees a place in the program and you must find a supervisor within one year of admission or the program commission will designate a supervisor.
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The candidates for the PhD programme in «Finance (PiF)» apply directly to the programme. Each year, the programme offers positions for PhD students with professors who will then also be supervisors. Applicants are assigned to appropriate positions based on their research interest.
Admission
When you have been notified of your admission to PhD studies, you will automatically be enrolled as PhD student at the University of St.Gallen. If necessary, you can also use this notification to apply for a visa.
Planning your PhD studies
All the PhD programmes are structured into a coursework phase and a research phase. However, some decisions should be made at the very beginning, among them the question of the specialisation in the programme in «Management (PMA)» and in the programme in «Economics and Econometrics (PEcon)», as well as the question of whether you want to write a monograph or a cumulative thesis. Not least, you need to be able to cover your living costs. PhD studies at the HSG are divided into a coursework phase and a research phase. In the coursework phase, you will attend courses, draw up your research proposal and present it to your thesis committee. The subsequent research phase serves to prepare your thesis. During the research phase, you will attend thesis-related seminars.
Finally, you will have to defend your thesis in public and to have it published. Most PhD students need a total of three to four years for their PhD studies. If you make use of the maximum periods available, however, the process excluding the application process can extend up to a maximum of five years. How long it will actually take you depends on what your priorities are, what your personal commitments are and what individual decisions you will make.
Howeber, before you start your first courses, you should have dealt with three questions:
(1) What specialisation are you going to choose in the PhD programme in Management (PMA) or in the PhD programme in Economics and Econometrics (PEcon)?
(2) Would you like to write your thesis as a monograph or as several papers?
(3) How do you finance your living expenses?
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PMA/PEcon specialisation
If you have enrolled in the PhD programme in «Management (PMA)», you will have to decide here which specialisation you would like to choose. The programme offers four specialisations: Accounting, Business Innovation, General Management and Marketing.
In the PhD programme in «Economics and Econometrics (PEcon)», you can choose between Economics and Econometrics.
Thesis Form
In addition to the content of your thesis, you should also decide at the onset whether you want to write it in the form of several essays or as a monograph.
The form is determined within the scope of the programme regulations together with the supervisor. When you clarify this question, you should ideally first be guided by your specific research topic. Secondly, and less importantly, you should then also base your decision on the research plan derived from the topic, the methods as well as the nature of the results you are aiming for.
Some PhD students opt for the classic monograph for their thesis, others choose the cumulative thesis. For the PEcon and the PiF, this form is even prescribed. A cumulative thesis consists of at least three papers which are intended for publication in renowned national and international specialist journals, in anthologies, commentaries or similar academic publications. At
least one paper must be written by the PhD student alone and must account for a substantial part of the thesis. The other papers may be co-authored. However, the general rule is applicable whereby any papers that were already published before the start of your PhD programme cannot be used for your thesis. Depending on the PhD programme, different precepts for the cumulative thesis must be taken into account.
A cumulative thesis provides you both with a possibility of working on research questions which for reasons of budget, capacity or complexity are not accessible to an individual researcher and with the opportunity to present your results extramurally together with your research partners. In addition, you are part of a group that is dedicated to a topic and the question related to it. However, the downside is the fact that this requires substantially more coordination effort.
Whatever you decide: writing your thesis will require a similar amount of effort regardless of whether you opt for a monograph or a cumulative thesis.
Financing of the PhD study
In connection with your application, you should simultaneously take care of the financing of your PhD studies. The financial leeway often has a crucial impact on the organisational part of your doctorate. Almost 80% of PhD students work as an assistant with an employment rate of 3070% at a chair or institute, others receive a scholarship from an academic community or foundation (particularly for the funding of a stay abroad), and some find a part-time job or project work outside the University, usually in companies or organisations.
Unfortunately, there is no representative survey on the PhD students’ living costs.
In 2017, the Swiss Federal Statistical Office calculated that students at the Bachelor’s and Master’s Levels who live outside their parental home, spend an average
of approximately CHF 2,400 per month. It makes sense to take this amount as a minimum limit for your monthly living costs for several reasons. It is likely that your personal expenses on food, clothing, mobility, travel and leisure activities will be higher, while at the same time you will no longer benefit from premium reductions and other perks.
«For the cover of your expenses you have to expect at least CHF 2,400 per month»
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Coursework phase
In the first four semester of your PhD studies, the coursework phase, you will satisfy the requirements of your subject programme, draw up your research proposal, and defend it. If the research proposal is accepted and you have passed all required PhD courses, the coursework phase is completed and you will enter into the research phase.
The coursework phase serves to deepen the methodological skills and acquire new ones. A maximum of four semesters, two years, are planned for this phase. Each PhD programme has its own regulations regarding the selection of courses to be attended and the credits to be earned for them. When yo choose your courses, you should also consider the aspect of language, because there are different conventions depending on the PhD programme.
Selection of courses
Regardless of the PhD programme, you must have successfully completed the courses by the end of the four-semester coursework phase. Even if you pursue your programme as an extramural PhD student, no exception will be granted. In case of important reasons such as illness, pregnancy, accident or death, an extension of the deadline can be requested.
To satisfy admission conditions, a maximum of one additional semester can be granted upon request. According to the current regulations, however, professional activity is not an important reason for a deadline extension. If an extension is granted in the coursework phase, the research phase will be shortened accordingly, since the total study time of 10 semesters cannot be exceeded.
Registration for all PhD courses is binding; students who fail to attend their courses will be deemed to have failed them. If two or more courses are not passed, the PhD studies at the University of St.Gallen can no longer be continued.
Compass
You should in any case familiarise yourself with the various functions of Compass since you will need most of them on a regular basis to handle administrative matters such as semester enrolment, the process of bidding for courses, access to the confirmation of your matriculation, changes of correspondence addresses, as well as your personal mailbox to which, after your approval, all documents will be sent as PDF files. The password for accessing Compass will be sent directly to your private e-mail address after final admission.
Change of programmes
Circumstances may arrise during an ongoing PhD study which will make it necessary for you to switch to another PhD programme or another specialisation.
Reasons for such a change may include a reorientation of your thesis, the objective
impossibility to continue with the original topic, or similar serious scenarios.
If you are considering a change of programmes, coordinate the timing and procedure with the executive director of your programme and the PhD Office. Factually, a change is possible until the end of the coursework phase – but prior to the submission of the research proposal. If you effect that change at the earliest possible time, you will save yourself a great deal of work and costs. In any case, your admission will be checked again according to the guidelines applicable to the new programme. This means that you may have to attend and complete additional courses.
If you switch to a completely different programme, it may happen that admission conditions will be imposed on you and only a small amount of your previous
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work will be credited to you. If you switch to a different specialisation within a PhD programme, however, conditions will concentrate on the compulsory courses.
Thesis committee
A thesis committee consists of at least two persons: the supervisor and the co-supervisor. The programme committee may designate additional members; these, however, will only have an advisory vote. As a rule, you determine with your supervisor who should act as a co-supervisor. The Award Regulations stipulate in Articles 11 and 12 who can be a supervisor or co-supervisor.
The choice of co-supervisor is subject to different provisions from those that apply to the choice of supervisor; for instance, professors from other universities can also be appointed since their expertise may be meaningful in some cases. However, this will increase coordination and administration work, which means that you may have to draw up your time schedule more carefully. The thesis committee must be complete at the latest when you submit your research proposal.
Preparation of the research phase
Many theses require empirical data to be gathered. Please discuss this point with your supervisor in great detail and as early as possible. Start with the search for possible data sources and possible funding options for data gathering early enough, preferably as part of your research proposal.
Please bear in mind that it is not only the actual data gathering and evaluation process that takes several months. It often takes months to get access to data sources in the field (companies, institutions, databases), which will enable you to conduct your empirical studies in the first place. As soon as you depend on more sensitive data, it makes sense to conclude a research agreement with the institution in question. In this way, you will reduce the risk of failing to gain access to the field after having carried out your preliminary theoretical work.
Furthermore – and this is what your research proposal feedback will amount to in many cases – you should draw up a thorough, realistic and pragmatic research strategy. In other words, the research question should be researchable, the methodology should be controllable and expectations should be realistic.
Most important contacts:
PhD Office ¦ unisg.ch/doktorat ¦ phd@unisg.ch
Admission ¦ unisg.ch/zulassung ¦ admission@unisg.ch
Study Funding ¦ unisg.ch/studienfinanzierung ¦ studyfunding@unisg.ch
Research Committee ¦ unisg.ch/research ¦ research@unisg.ch
Early Career Programme ¦ unisg.ch/yip ¦ fd@unisg.c h
Grants Office ¦ unisg.ch/grantsoffice ¦ research@unisg.ch
Behavioral Lab ¦ behaviorallab.unisg.ch ¦ behaviorlab@unisg.ch
General Information ¦ unisg.ch
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Behavioral Lab
The Behavioral Lab provides research services related to experiments for all University of St. Gallen scholars, including PhD candidates. The lab provides state-of-theart technologies to conduct experiments both in the lab and in the field.
Our lab facilities are located at Tellstrasse 2 where we have also a PC lab with various software. We also offer numerous biometric measurement technologies such as eye-tracking, facial expression analysis, ECG, and EEG.
The lab hosts an active pool of approximately 2000 student participants that are easily reachable for experiments through our infrastructure.
The lab team supports you throughout your entire research project - from project planning to the publication phase. The lab team additionally offers training through PhD courses and seminars. The usage of lab services is free for projects with at least one researcher affiliated with University of St.Gallen.
Research promotion at the HSG
The HSG supports researchers – and young researchers in particular – through personal advice and through events about the various options of research funding, but also through its own funding instruments. The team of the Grants Office St.Gallen consists of the office of the Research Committee (for questions concerning funding instruments at the HSG and in Switzerland), the office of the Ethics Committee (for questions concerning the ethical soundness of research projects) and Euresearch St.Gallen (for questions concerning research funding by the EU). This contact point will provide you with various support options for your research and your own academic career.
Research grants
If you are interested in a research grant, we recommend that you seek advice from the Grants Office St.Gallen (research@unisg.ch) at an early stage.
Mobility grants
The University of St.Gallen supports young researchers with the new "Mobility grant for doctoral students of the University of St.Gallen" (Mobi.Doc) who would like to strengthen their academic profile with a research stay abroad and are not employed within an SNSF project. The funding period is in principle 9-12 months. The fellowships include a grant for subsistence costs, a flat-rate for travel expenses and a possible contribution to research and conference costs.
Excellence scholarship of the SNSF
PhD students at the early stage of their studies have the opportunity to apply for an excellence scholarship of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). The scholarship is provided for a period of 2-4 years and serves to cover the cost of living and further costs of the research project. Upon a reasoned request, part of the thesis work may be done abroad.
You can find further information at https://www.unisg.ch/en/research/research-at-hsg/research-support/grants-office-stgallen/foerderung-finden/ . For questions please contact directly research@ unisg.ch
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«The HSG supports researchers with various research tools»
Research proposal
The research proposal for the thesis describes the general thesis project and the methodological procedure. In addition, you will already have to provide evidence of initial research results. As a consequence of these precepts, research proposals vary from individual to individual. Some develop a detailed model of the theory they want to review and describe the research approach they want to pursue for this purpose; others write the first chapter or the first paper of their thesis.
Make use of the opportunity to clarify in the context of your research proposal precisely what you are going to research (research question) and how you want to proceed (research plan). Compare expectations and determine the scope and content of your research proposal together with your supervisor. You will have to submit the research proposal before the end of the fourth semester. A fee of CHF 300 will be charged for this submission. Please bear in mind that a research proposal that has not been submitted in due time can be submitted during an extended time window of 6 months. In this case, however, it can only be either accepted or rejected, i.e. no rework can be done on it any longer.
Colloquium on the research proposal
Once submitted, the research proposal will be assessed by the thesis committee. Subsequently, the colloquium will be conducted. It will take place within eight weeks after the submission of the research proposal.
In the colloquium, you will present your research proposal to the thesis committee. The colloquium is not open to the public and takes at least 30 minutes. After the colloquium, the thesis committee will make a decision concerning the whole of your research proposal. The aim of the colloquium is to give you a reliable sense of what your thesis committee specifically expects from you and your thesis. It is meant to show you how you can structure your further research work and what changes may be required.
Acceptance of the research proposal
After the colloquium, the thesis committee will decide whether the research proposal will be
• accepted,
• sent back for revision
• or rejected.
If your research proposal is accepted at the first attempt and if you have successfully completed all the courses of the coursework phase and satisfied any possible additional conditions, your coursework phase is over and the research phase begins. If the committee still regards part of the research proposal as unclear (for instance because of imprecise research questions or indeterminate research design), the research proposal will be sent back for reworking, for which a time window of 12 months will be available.
As soon as you have submitted the reworked version, you will have to present it again orally in a second colloquium. At the second attempt, your research proposal can only be either accepted or rejected.
If it is rejected, you will be unable to continue your PhD studies. Admission to another PhD programme at the University of St.Gallen will also be ruled out.
Grading
In all the PhD programme, the courses during the coursework phase and the seminars during the research phase are evaluated as «passed» or «not passed». The courses and seminars assessed in this way must be passed individually; no compensation can be made with another achievement.
Each unsatisfactory course or seminar can be repeated once. Students will be notified of the results in the inter-term break of the semester in question. Students who fail two or more courses/seminars will no longer be able to continue their PhD studies at the HSG.
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«The research proprosal describes the general thesis project and the methodological procedure»
GSERM
The GSERM Global School in Empirical Research Methods is a programme integrated in the HSG which offers methodological courses for PhD students and postdocs from all over the world. As a student enrolled at the HSG, you will be able to attend one or several courses in the GSERM, depending on the programme, which will be credited to your curriculum. A small contribution is due.
Early Career Programme
The Early Career Programme supports PhD candidates on their way towards a PhD degree. The programme offers workshops and trainings that are designed to equip PhD students with relevant transferable skills. Topics addressed are, amongst others, how to get organised around writing your thesis, the publication process, project and time management or grant proposals.
We do invite PhD students to join our regular Phd writing group or to realise small projects. We offer individual counseling and support with mentoring relationships. For further information please refer to our website or contact us via Mail.
Research phase
The research phase is that stage of PhD studies in which you write your thesis. If your thesis is accepted and all the formal requirements are satisfied, the certificate will be presented to you at the award ceremony, after which you will be entitled to use the PhD title. Attendance at the award ceremony is compulsory.
In the research phase of your PhD studies, the focus is on translating your academic and methodological knowledge and skills into practice. You will immerse yourself in your topic and implement the research plan which you drew up in your research proposal. During this stage, many PhD students go abroad for research purposes or quit gainful employment in order to be able to fully concentrate on their thesis.
Seminars
The literature and essay seminars, thesis colloquia and similar courses which are compulsory in most PhD programmes will increase your workload. In these seminars, you will be provided with particular support, which includes presenting and discussing the current state of your research in a plenary seminar session. Depending on the chair and the programme, you will also participate in academic conferences or organise workshops with project partners. A judicious calculation of the theoretical and empirical parts of your work will help you adhere to your schedule.
Submission process
Even though you will have done most of the work on your thesis by the time you submit it, some important tasks will still remain which you should not underestimate. Both the submission and the defence are contingent on the satisfaction of some administrative requirements. Information about this can be found in the StudentWeb.
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«The GSERM offers methodological courses for PhD students and postdocs from all over the world»
Submission of your thesis
You will have to submit your thesis ten semesters after you started your PhD studies at the latest. You will be notified of the exact date on conclusion of the coursework phase.
A thesis that is not submitted on time is deemed to be rejected. Extensions are only granted if important reasons can be asserted. In any case, apply for a possible extension of the deadline as early as possible. Make sure that the Dean of Studies will have sufficient time before the original submission deadline to review your request. An examination fee of CHF 600 will be charged for the submission of the thesis.
Formal requirements
For the purposes of grading and the plagiarism assessment, the thesis must be uploaded electronically in Compass. In this respect, the University of St.Gallen imposes formal requirements, which are described in the StudentWeb.
Assessment and defence
Your thesis will be assessed by the thesis committee. A total of four months is available for this, with three months being earmarked for the assessment stage and a further month for the defence if your thesis has been accepted. During the assessment stage, your thesis committee will come to an agreement and work out a shared position as to whether to invite you to a defence.
The committee may propose that the thesis be
• accepted,
• sent back for revision
• or rejected.
Acceptance may be made contingent on some minor changes being made. If the thesis is recommended for acceptance, the defence must be conducted within a month. In this defence, you will have to prove that you satisfy the standards required for the thesis. The defence will be conducted by the thesis committee; it takes place on the promises of the University of St.Gallen, lasts at least one hour and is open to the public.
Einreichen der
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«The research phase serves to write your thesis»
After the defence, the thesis committee will forward its assessments together with the recommended grade and the grade of the defence to the programme committee for final approval. If the programme committee follows the thesis committee’s recommendation, your thesis will be deemed to be definitively accepted and the final grade will be determined.
No defence will be conducted if the thesis is either sent back for revision or completely rejected. In such cases, the assessments go directly to the programme committee, which will also approve them. If a thesis is sent back for revision, a deadline of 12 months will apply. You will be duly notified in either case.
As is the case with the research proposal, a second return for revision is ruled out. If a thesis is rejected, the PhD programme cannot be continued, and admission to another PhD programme at the University of St.Gallen is no longer possible, either.
Overall grade
In all our programmes, the thesis will account for 80% and the defence for 20% of the overall grade. On the basis of the overall grade, the following distinctions are awarded:
• with a grade average of 5.75 to 6.00: with the highest distinction (summa cum laude);
• with a grade average of 5.50 to 5.74: very good (magna cum laude);
• with a grade average of 5.00 to 5.49: good (cum laude);
• with a grade average below 5.00, no level of distinction shall be awarded.
When you have submitted your thesis, this is not the end of the procedure. As soon as you have been notified of your overall grade, you have no more than a period of 1 year to have 7 compulsory copies of your thesis printed and to have it published electronically in Compass. The electronic publication of your thesis in Compass is subject to a fee of CHF 450 plus value added tax. The PhD certificate in A3 format costs CHF 210 and can be ordered on request via our payment portal.
The 7 compulsory copies (in accordance with printing regulations) have to be submitted to the Library. Consequently, you should allow for a sufficient period of time (proofreading, formatting, administration) and financial resources (production costs). Experience shows that most PhD students have to spend more time on this than originally planned.
The final step on your way to the PhD degree is participation in the PhD graduation ceremony. The HSG ceremony draws on an old academic tradition, according to which the PhD degree is conferred by the President in person. Attendance at the award ceremony is compulsory. Please note that your PhD studies will only have been concluded once you are handed the degree certificate. Prior to that, you will not be allowed to use the PhD title.
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«The final step on your way to the PhD degree is participation in the PhD graduation ceremony»
University of St.Gallen (HSG)
PhD Office
Tellstrasse 2
CH-9000 St.Gallen
+41 71 224 22 20
phd@unisg.ch
unisg.ch/PhDstudies
From insight to impact.
PhD in a Nutshell
