The subject matter and chronology of the Assessment Year, of the Bachelor’s studies based on it (major) and of the Master’s programmes at the University are governed by curricula. They stipulate the work students have to do and the examinations they have to pass to conclude the Assessment Year successfully and to obtain a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree, and they indicate what students are able to focus their studies on.

Both at the Bachelor’s and Master’s Levels, studies are structured into core studies and contextual studies. At the University of St.Gallen, core studies are additionally divided up into compulsory subjects, core electives and independent electives. Core and contextual studies are complemented by a Bachelor’s and a Master’s thesis.

Although the subject matter and thus the focal points of the curricula differ strongly from each other, the curricula have the same structure at the University, with only a few exceptions. At the Bachelor’s Level, the two law majors constitute an exception: in the majors in Law and in Law and Economics, students do not have to submit a Bachelor’s thesis but written seminar papers. The exception at the Master’s Level is the programme in Law and Economics. The programme does not offer students any independent electives. Further deviations from the standard curricular structure can be found in the curriculum of the CEMS MIM.

Details of the degree course and the various exam types of individual subjects are governed by the curricula of the individual programmes. Curricula stipulate the basic structure of the programme and indicate the way in which the credits to be earned are allocated in the individual degree course areas such as core subjects, core electives, electives and contextual studies. Curricula further define the compulsory subjects of each programme and stipulate when and in what form students have to sit the examination of each compulsory subject. They are issued by the Senate.