Part-time MBA Programme

The first module commences in August, and the summer atmosphere provides a cheerful setting to meet your new classmates. Everyone will convene in St. Gallen for a mix of programme information, socialising and preparation for the MBA journey ahead. Your second module takes you to Oxford, UK. Modules three and four are held back in St. Gallen. Throughout this period you must quickly learn how to balance MBA life with your work and personal commitments. You immerse yourself in our career acceleration offerings straight away. One of the modules is entirely career focused, including a CV review and training on interviewing in both formal and informal settings. Time is allocated to the development of business skills like networking, negotiating, assessing potential and becoming a 'digital leader'. During this period you reflect on yourself by writing a Vision and Values paper. You will develop a heightened self-awareness and understanding of how our Career Services team can assist you throughout the rest of the MBA and beyond.

During these modules you are in St.Gallen.  Courses are taught in a mix of pedagogical styles, including cases, academic lectures, guest speakers, group work and essay writing. There is a sizable amount of group work, which presents challenges for managing and executing projects, especially if group members are working remotely. This is one of the ways the MBA programme is designed to push you. In this block you have the more practical behavioural modules: Leadership and Organisational Behaviour. You will work with theatre actors on projecting your leadership and they will push you out of your comfort zone in new and exciting ways. You will work through a simulation and realise how decisions affect an individual, team or organisation. In the introduction you are asked to reflect on yourself through a Vision and Values Paper. This self-reflection will be the topic in your first discussion with your Executive Coach. Coming out of these sessions, you may also see some classmates make career changes, either internally at their company or to a new role elsewhere. This is natural in the MBA, as you begin to build new competencies or see your career path in a new way. To support these career moves we offer interview training during this period. We also encourage you to make an effort to continue building relationships with classmates.

This series of modules begins in Copenhagen, Denmark. The international modules are incorporated into the programme to give you a broader European perspective on management and provide you access to world class faculty and speakers in collaboration with our partner institutions. The purpose is to strengthen your ability to identify and act on business opportunities across the continent. You also feel a sense of pride when representing the University of St.Gallen abroad. There are times when the workload may be outside your comfort zone or doesn't align well with your personal and professional schedules, but this is how you stretch yourself to expand your limits.

Now that you have been in the MBA for one year, take a moment to reflect on the experience during August when there are no classes. The European summer period will give you a chance to take some rest and come back to the MBA refreshed in the autumn. Personal or professional goals you have set for yourself may have evolved during the first year of your MBA. Use Programme Management and Career Services as sounding boards for your ideas during the second year of the programme. One of the biggest benefits of doing an MBA is gaining access to a peer group that challenges you intellectually. You can learn a great deal from the minds and personalities around you in the MBA. It may even yield a new business. This forging of bonds is important, because strong MBA classes become stong alumni communities. This point in the MBA can often bring fatigue, as you will be tired from balancing your MBA, personal and professional lives but still have another year to go. The pressures of passing LAW are also demanding. 

The core courses finish, followed by the Learning Assessment Week (LAW). This is a rigorous test that is unique to the University of St. Gallen. It was developed by Professor Simon Evenett as a way of ensuring our MBAs truly have gained the ability to view business strategically from multiple viewpoints. You take a deep dive into some of our strategic industries through Industry Insights, another signature part of our MBA programme. After this, you begin electives alongside the current Full-time MBAs. By uniting you with the Full-time MBAs, we give you the chance to expand your MBA network further. Additionally, we give you access to the entire University alumni platform for networking purposes. This is uncommon amongst MBA programmes, which usually stipulate that you must be a graduate before gaining this access. You may be contemplating a career move, internally or externally, so we offer a suite of support tools during this time. A natural reflection period occurs after LAW, as you feel the consolidation and interlinkages of the various material you have studied so far. A more holistic view on business starts to take shape.

Elective completing your choice of 3 electives, the remainder of your MBA is focused on a Research Project. This is often theoretical research in a topic you are passionate about. Alternatively, you might want to use this time to develop a business plan, for either an internal initiative at your current organisation, or to design a new organisation of your own. The research paper is submitted and defended in July. The period of personal research means you will not have regular contact with many of your classmates. This is a very personal part of the MBA. With your Research Projects successfully submitted, presented and defended, and the Capstone Day completed, it is time to graduate. The cap-and-gown graduation ceremony happens in late August, and gives you a chance to come together with your classmates again for one last day as you transition from students to alumni. You will graduate alongside the Full-time MBA cohort for that year, and the audience will be filled with friends, family and dignitaries. Graduation is a time to celebrate, so we also expect you will arrange some special dinners and revel in the moment of your achievement: getting an MBA! Career Services and Alumni Relations are available to assist you post-MBA. The support doesn't end with graduation. We are always happy to hear from you and put you in touch with other alumni, students or applicants whenever appropriate.