Intern
Joined: 19 Oct 2010
Posts: 28
Given Kudos: 3
Concentration: Strategy, Entrepreneurship
Re: How good is the St. Gallen MBA program
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20 Oct 2010, 17:50
anish,
I can only speak of the undergrad / mainstream-masters program, as I have attended courses there but not MBA.
HSG is world-class in the German-speaking world (contradiction in terms, but gets the point across). Pretty much the cream of the crop of German, Swiss, Liechtensteiner, and (to a lesser extent) Austrian potential business students go here instead of UK/USA. Makes sense since the pay is so much better in Switzerland compared to the rest of the world. I would say that its reputation does not extend much further beyond DE-CH-AT though. Very strong in non-IB-banking (for obvious reasons, Swiss bank secrecy) and pharma / other Swiss industries -- which are limited. If you're interested in working in DE-CH-LI-AT after your MBA, then it's definitely worth it, and I'd dare say the first place to look; but if you're looking for a job outside these three countries after your studies, then HSG would not be at the top of my list. Take it as an indication of HSG's global reputation that your thread has been open for nearly a week now without response. Go to a German-speaking MBA forum (should one exist) and you'd hear back just about instantaneously. I'm not a HSG naysayer, just stating the facts. HSG is working hard to expand its area of influence and reputation, but this will take quite some time in my opinion.
In short, it is a very well-known program in the German speaking world, but comparably unknown elsewhere. Very similar to HEC in France -- known as an elite program in francophone world, less so outside; and it's the Grande École that has the strong reputation (similar to HSG's undergrad/mainstream-masters), not necessarily the MBA, but both have put recent emphasis on developing their MBA programs. Speaking relatively of course.
PKV