University of St.Gallen (Switzerland)

The University of St.Gallen (HSG) was established in 1898 – during the heyday of St.Gallen embroidery – as a "Commercial Academy"; lectures were started in 1899. Proximity to practice and an integrative view have characterized the HSG ever since its foundation. Today, it is among Europe's leading business universities. The education it provides has earned it the international seals of approval of the EQUIS (in German) and AACSB (in German) accreditation. At present, the HSG has some 5,000 students.
 
The HSG has three pillars
 

Studies
 
In 2001, the HSG integrally introduced Bachelor's and Master's courses and simultaneously subjected its education to radical reforms. Since then, education in the various subject-matters has been supplemented with personality development. The Bachelor's programs convey a broadly-based fundamental knowledge and enable graduates to take up a career or continue their studies at the Master's level. In the Master's programs, students extend their knowledge both theoretically and practically. Doctoral and Ph.D. programs enable students to start an academic career. The HSG has about 100 partnerships for exchange semesters with leading business universities worldwide. There are also opportunities to obtain double degrees.

Executive education
 

The HSG provides a wide range of executive education: postgraduate courses, seminars, courses, in-house seminars.

Research
 
The HSG is not only well-known for its basic research but also for its applied research for direct implementation.
The HSG is crucially influenced by its 30 or so institutes, which are organized largely autonomously but are still closely connected with university life. Thus the institutes' directors are also HSG professors. The institutes are active in research, consultancy and executive education.