The Skills and Languages area is entirely focused on building practical competences. Unlike other areas of concentration, courses in the area of Skills and Languages are not bundled together. Students at the Bachelor’s level will focus on a combination of both skills and languages, while students at the Master’s level will focus on skills.
Skills (BA and MA)
With regard to success in both university studies and the world of careers, practical capabilities, competences or skills form an essential part of academic training. This is why Contextual Studies also offer a range of courses in Skills, consistently focused on conveying and supporting practical competences. This is where course offerings in digital literacy belong in particular (acquiring programming languages and so on), but also courses on rhetorical techniques, writing skills, the management of negotiations, time management, the methodological foundations of research, and other practically orientated capabilities.
The part of the Skills courses concerned with training is organised and adjusted appropriately according to the practical requirements of the different levels of the degree courses.
Languages (BA)
With regard to the internationalisation of the academic world, to growing student mobility and to the globalisation of the labour market, the University of St. Gallen consistently emphasises multi-lingual competences. This is why all students at the University of St.Gallen have to give evidence of knowledge of at least two foreign languages as a part of their academic work. Contextual Studies, in the area of Skills and Languages, offer courses and examinations that can be used to give evidence of appropriate linguistic competence in nine foreign languages.
Foreign languages form a part of the curriculum at the Bachelor’s level (i.e. including the Assessment Year). At the Master’s level, evidence of linguistic competence is only demanded in the framework of admission requirements.