Please forgive my slightly off topic, I did not find any similar forum for non MBA programs.

I am looking at quantitative finance master degrees (quantitative finance at WU Vienna and quantitative finance and economics at St.Gallen) and was just wondering, which of these 2 programs have a better reputation?



My goal is to stay in Switzerland after graduation, so I guess in that aspect St.Gallen is much better, but the cost of living is also quite high, so I was wondering about the option of graduating from WU and then working in Switzerland, not sure about my chances that way? Or any other masters in quant finance in the German speaking world that would be better?

[Edited by Bob Josh on Jan 26, 2022]

In general: Both schools can take you where you want to be but it will be much easier with HSG (St. Gallen).

WU's strength is rather management than finance vs HSG that is a powerhouse in Finance + Management.

Another factor however is quality of life: HSG is very remote in a small Swiss village - depending on your personality you could also call it boring. Vienna in contrary is the most liveable city on the planet (see various rankings) with a buzzing nightlife, culture and big-city vibes (Vienna is after Berlin the 2nd largest German speaking city).

No clear cut choice here although I am leaning towards HSG purely because you are Swiss and want to stay in Switzerland + your affinity towards finance. Career wise this will be better / easier from HSG.
Quality / Cost of Living there is however no debate: WU takes the crown

Both schools are quite demanding especially at the beginning with rigorous selection and are both excellent choices - so no real wrong decision here, that´s the good news!

As an alternative I´d also look at WHU - however  similar drawbacks to HSG apply (remote, small, rural) but cheaper CoL (though offset by program costs?) and a strong "esprit de corps".

[Edited by DACHMBA on Jan 27, 2022]

In general: Both schools can take you where you want to be but it will be much easier with HSG (St. Gallen).

WU's strength is rather management than finance vs HSG that is a powerhouse in Finance + Management.

Another factor however is quality of life: HSG is very remote in a small Swiss village - depending on your personality you could also call it boring. Vienna in contrary is the most liveable city on the planet (see various rankings) with a buzzing nightlife, culture and big-city vibes (Vienna is after Berlin the 2nd largest German speaking city).

No clear cut choice here although I am leaning towards HSG purely because you are Swiss and want to stay in Switzerland + your affinity towards finance. Career wise this will be better / easier from HSG.
Quality / Cost of Living there is however no debate: WU takes the crown

Both schools are quite demanding especially at the beginning with rigorous selection and are both excellent choices - so no real wrong decision here, that´s the good news!

As an alternative I´d also look at WHU - however  similar drawbacks to HSG apply (remote, small, rural) but cheaper CoL (though offset by program costs?) and a strong "esprit de corps".

In general: Both schools can take you where you want to be but it will be much easier with HSG (St. Gallen).

WU's strength is rather management than finance vs HSG that is a powerhouse in Finance + Management.

Another factor however is quality of life: HSG is very remote in a small Swiss village - depending on your personality you could also call it boring. Vienna in contrary is the most liveable city on the planet (see various rankings) with a buzzing nightlife, culture and big-city vibes (Vienna is after Berlin the 2nd largest German speaking city).

No clear cut choice here although I am leaning towards HSG purely because you are Swiss and want to stay in Switzerland + your affinity towards finance. Career wise this will be better / easier from HSG.
Quality / Cost of Living there is however no debate: WU takes the crown

Both schools are quite demanding especially at the beginning with rigorous selection and are both excellent choices - so no real wrong decision here, that´s the good news!

As an alternative I´d also look at WHU - however  similar drawbacks to HSG apply (remote, small, rural) but cheaper CoL (though offset by program costs?) and a strong "esprit de corps".

Thank you for your reply! I will go with HSG then, but will look into WHU, thanks for the advice.

I'm more on the introverted side, I'm not a fan of partying and all that, so in that regards as well St.Gallen is the winner. CoL is higher for sure, I will try to land some working student jobs to help me with the finance tho.