Degree, diploma and title
The Higher Professional Examination for Supervisor-Coach is held annually, provided that at least 10 candidates meet the admission requirements after the HFP is announced, or at least every two years. The federal examination can be taken in German, French and Italian. Candidates can decide for themselves in which language they wish to be examined.
Candidates will be called at least five weeks before the start of the higher professional examination. The invitation includes the following:
- the examination program (including details of the place and time of the examination as well as permitted aids and aids to be brought along),
- List of experts
- Assessment criteria for all parts of the examination.
The higher professional examination "Supervisor-Coach" is divided into four examination parts:
1) Diploma thesis (written, prepared in advance)
Candidates write a diploma thesis of approximately 50 to 60 pages. In it, they critically examine their own counseling practice as well as the available theory, approaches, methods and objectives.
In the diploma thesis, candidates describe a counseling process with an individual, a team or a group. In doing so, they demonstrate that they are able to describe a complex counseling process in a practice-oriented and independent manner and to reflect on and evaluate it accordingly.
The formal requirements and assessment criteria can be found in the guidelines.
2) Consulting concept (written, prepared in advance)
Candidates write a counseling concept of max. 10 pages. The counseling concept provides information about their counseling activities - for example, which image of humanity guides them or which theories and methods they use in their work, etc.
3) Live counseling and assessment (practical, 80 minutes)
In this part of the examination, candidates must provide live advice to a client in the role of supervisor/coach. In a second sequence, candidates must provide detailed feedback on a consultation they have observed. This is followed by an expert discussion in which the counseling sequence is analyzed.
4) Final colloquium (oral, 90 minutes)
In the last part of the examination, the final interview, candidates demonstrate that they are able to describe their own behavior as a supervisor-coach, reflect critically on it and justify, assess and develop it with reference to appropriate theories.
Diploma and title
Successful graduates of the higher professional examination receive a federal diploma and are entitled to use the federally recognized and protected title "Supervisor-Coach with Federal Diploma / Supervisor-Coach with Federal Diploma".
In French: "Superviseur-Coach avec diplôm fédéral"
In Italian: "Supervisore-Coach con diploma federale"
In English "Supervisor in Organizations, Advanced Federal Diploma of Higher Education" (not a protected title, merely a recommended translation)
With the federal diploma, an application for membership can be submitted to the Swiss Coaching Association (SCA) or the Professional Association for Coaching, Supervision and Organizational Consulting (bso), for example. As a rule, this should be possible without any further conditions.