Bachelor's programs

The 1st and 8th weeks of each semester are specially reserved for teaching in the form of workshops in small groups.

From the first week, you will feel the "pioneer" spirit of HEC Lausanne. The Onboarding Days are two days of integration where we will introduce you to our values and facilitate your integration into our community. During this first week, you will also start your first cross-disciplinary course entitled Introduction to Sustainability (3 credits). It will continue throughout the first year, during weeks 1 and 8 of each semester.

You will learn about the quantitative foundations of management and economics through courses such as statistics and mathematics. While other courses, such as financial accounting, computer models, management and business ethics, and political economy, will take you more directly to the heart of the essence of the degrees offered.

In addition, during your first year, you will take a language course specially designed for HEC Lausanne students, English for Communicating in Business and Economics (3 credits), adapted to your level of competence. These courses are taught in small groups throughout the year and are designed to meet the specific language needs of HEC Lausanne students and to develop effective communication skills.

The study of management and economics becomes more focused. You will broaden your knowledge of key business functions through the study of disciplines such as Marketing, Finance, Controlling, Information Systems, Operations and Supply Chain, as well as courses in economics, such as microeconomics and macroeconomics. In addition, you can deepen your analytical skills with courses such as Data analytics, Econometrics, Management science, and Risk management.

In the framework of cross-disciplinary and interactive courses that take place over a year, you will deepen your skills in communication, leadership and sustainability.

During the last year of the Bachelor's program, you will focus on advanced theoretical and applied courses in economics or management, depending on the field (degree) chosen.

If you opt for the Bachelor's degree in management, you will take optional courses of various kinds related to this discipline and mentioned in the second year. In addition, you will be able to acquire a certain number of credits by validating an internship, an individual project, language courses, or even courses from the Bachelor in Economics and/or other faculties.

If you choose the Bachelor's degree in Economics, you will take basic and optional courses in economics, finance and statistics. You will also be able to acquire a certain number of credits by validating an internship, an individual project or courses in management and/or other faculties.

Exchange programs allow you to go on an exchange for a semester or an academic year, in Switzerland or abroad. For more information: Exchange programs

What are the main novelties linked to the Bachelor reform?

• Flexible choice of language, French or English, for all 1st and 2nd year courses, with the possibility to change at any time from one language to the other without informing anyone of this change. The same courses will be offered during the same week in both French and English.
• Mandatory English course in the first year (year-round, bi-weekly) for all students, including English speakers.
• Introductory teaching on sustainability: transversal and integrative teaching on sustainability with face-to-face activities during the 1st and 8th week of the semester (first two years of the curriculum).
• Onboarding days: during the first two days of the first semester (week 1), you will participate in 4 workshops, which will facilitate your integration into university studies, and familiarize you with the requirements of our curriculum as well as with the values of HEC Lausanne.

Does the Bachelor reform for the 2023-2024 academic year concern students who have already started their studies, i.e. those who are repeating their first year or those who are in the second and third years of the Bachelor program?

No, students who are already enrolled in the Bachelor's program must complete it in the same program they started. The initial study plan remains the same and there will be accommodations for repeaters of the first year (see section "Repeaters" below). The reform currently only affects those who start their first year of the Bachelor program in September 2023.

I don't speak French, can I do a Bachelor at HEC?

To be admitted to one of the Unil programs, you need a level of French B1 and this is valid for our Bachelor program, even if you only want to follow courses in English. For more details on admissions, visit the Service des inscriptions et des immatriculations website.

I am bilingual in English and French, which language course should I take during the first year?

You must enroll in the 3-credit English for communicating in Business and Economics course at the Centre de langues. Courses are tailored to all levels of English proficiency. Information will be provided to you by the Service d’orientation et de carrières (SOC).

Do I have to register for a course that is taught in English or French?

No, you register for a course and are free to take that course in either French or English or to change at any time. At any given time, you will have the same course in French and in English in your weekly schedule and you can choose to attend either the French or the English version.

ATTENTION: There are two activities you must participate in during the first week of the semester: Onboarding Days and the Introduction to Sustainability (3 credits). 

Onboarding Days (September 19 and 20, 2023)

When will Onboarding Days be held?

Tuesday, September 19 and Wednesday, September 20, 2023, on a per-group schedule.

What are the Onboarding Days for?

They are a way to ease your integration into university studies and to familiarize you with the requirements of our curriculum, our values and our campus.

How will Onboarding Days work?

You will be assigned to a group. Each group will participate in 4 workshops over the 2 days (Tuesday, September 19 and Wednesday, September 20, 2023); there will be one schedule per group.

How do I know which group I belong to for Onboarding Days?

With the invitation to the Onboarding Day on the Friday before the semester starts (September 15, 2023), which is organized by the Service d’orientation et de carrières (SOC), you will receive information about your group for these two days, your schedule for the entire first week of the semester (Tuesday, September 19 to Friday, September 22, 2023), as well as information about the locations where your activities will take place during this week.

What language will Onboarding Days be held in?

Onboarding Days will be a mix of English and French and everyone will be able to speak in the language they wish (either French or English). However, it is expected that the student understands both languages.

Introduction to Sustainability: Cross-cutting and integrative teaching on sustainability (September 21 and 22, 2023)

When will the Introduction to Sustainability course take place in the first year?

This teaching will take place on Thursday 21 and Friday 22 September 2023; there will be one schedule per group.

What are the objectives of the course Introduction to Sustainability course?

The HEC Faculty adheres to a 3D commitment [Diversity – Sustainability (durabilité) – Digitalization]. The objective of this course is to introduce you to issues related to sustainability. The organization of this course is transversal and integrative, which means that it is given face-to-face during weeks 1 and 8 of the semesters of the first and the second year. You will work in different ways, in workshops and in small groups. This course develops, among other things, the skills of collaboration and self-management.

How will the course Introduction to Sustainability unfold during the first year?

During the first year, the course Introduction to Sustainability (3 credits) will take place during weeks 1 and 8 of the fall semester and weeks 1 and 8 of the spring semester. Once you have been assigned to a group, you will receive a specific schedule indicating when and where you and your group members will be required to attend one of the Introduction to Sustainability teaching sessions.

In what language will the Introduction to Sustainability course be conducted?

The course will be a mix of English and French and everyone will be able to speak in the language they wish (either French or English). However, it is expected that the student understands the other language.

I will be repeating my first year Bachelor's degree in the 2023-2024 academic year and some of the courses have changed in title or number of credits. What will happen to me?

For the courses where the number of credits has been reduced from 4.5 credits to 3 credits with the reform, you will simply retake the 3-credit course, but you will obtain 4.5 credits. The courses concerned are:

• Political Economy I
• Computer models
• Statistics II
• Elements of programming

For the courses where the number of credits has been increased from 4.5 to 6 credits, you will follow a certain number of sessions of the course and a shorter exam will be offered. You will obtain 4.5 credits. The teachings involved are:

• Statistics I
• Financial Accounting I
• Political Economy II

For the course Droit de l’entreprise, where the number of credits has increased from 3 to 6, you will have to repeat the first or second part of the course, or both, and retake the first or second part of the exam, or both.

In all cases, professors will give you more details about the exam during the teaching semester.

I am repeating Financial Accounting II, will I be able to retake it in the Spring 2024 semester?

Yes, this course will be offered one last time in the Spring 2024 semester for repeaters who started before the Fall 2023 semester