Interior designers HF (technicians HF construction planning): What does your day-to-day work look like?

Interior designers HF (Techniker HF Bauplanung, Fokus Innenarchitektur) work in architecture or interior design offices or construction companies for interior design projects, where they take on management responsibility if they have sufficient professional experience. Depending on the size of the company, they are responsible, for example, for the management of projects or the management of derivations. They can also become self-employed.

Interior designers HF design, plan and create public, private, temporary and mobile interior spaces, such as business premises, restaurants and hotels, doctors' surgeries, offices, schools and rooms in the leisure and residential sectors. Their responsibilities range from creative and design work and the preparation of quotations and concepts through to construction submission, preparation, implementation, monitoring, administration, cost control, invoicing and acceptance.

In order to create the corresponding room concepts, interior designers HF look at the existing room structures and other circumstances, such as the proportions, existing materials, accessibility and functional characteristics of the rooms (number of sockets, placement of radiators, etc.). They also take other factors into account when creating the concept, such as the client's ideas and wishes, budget requirements and building regulations.

Interior designers HF work closely with the client and other specialists, such as electricians, plumbers, painters, craftsmen, acoustics experts, fire protection experts and environmental consultants. In this way, they also act as a link between the various stakeholder groups such as clients, authorities, customers, etc.

Target group, personal characteristics and skills: Who is the interior design HF course at a university of applied sciences suitable for?

Are you passionately creative and interested in design and interior design? Are you not afraid of technical issues and aspects, such as the use of appropriate design software and tools? Are you detail-oriented, work precisely and like to take the lead? Are you good at dealing with different stakeholder groups and do you find this interdisciplinary aspect enriching for yourself and your professional activity? Are you also interested in business management tasks such as preparing quotations, administration, invoicing, budget monitoring, etc.?

Then studying interior design at a university of applied sciences is the right choice for you.

The target group for this interior design HF course includes professionals from the fields of architecture, interior design, civil engineering, spatial planning and landscape architecture who want to increase their career and salary opportunities with a sound education and a federally recognized HF diploma.

You should have the following personal qualities and skills for the job:

• Creativity
• Spatial thinking
• Analytical thinking
• An eye for the big picture, but also for detail
• Meticulous way of working
• Technical understanding
• Communication skills
• Customer orientation
• Good time management
• Reliability
• Sense of responsibility
• Ability to work in a team

Requirements for admission to the HF interior design course at a university of applied sciences

In order to be admitted to the HF interior design course (HF construction planning technician with a focus on interior design) at a university of applied sciences, you must meet the following admission requirements:

• Federal Certificate of Competence (EFZ) as a draftsman EFZ with the specializations: Architecture, civil engineering, interior design, landscape architecture, spatial planning

Or

• EFZ from another profession or another upper secondary level qualification or another equivalent qualification as well as relevant work experience in the field of construction planning of at least 1 year.

And

• For part-time studies: 50% employment in the field of construction planning*

Note:

• Many schools offer various preparatory courses, e.g. in mathematics, so that you can refresh your knowledge in an optimal and targeted manner and are thus well prepared for the HF course.
• The admission requirements for studying interior design at a university of applied sciences (HF) can vary slightly from school to school. This is because the HFs decide independently on the admission procedure. They set out the admission procedure in their study regulations. They must comply with the relevant legal basis. You can find more information on this in the answers.
• Educational achievements that have already been completed can be credited if minimum conditions are met. If necessary, this can shorten the duration of the construction planning course. The school of your choice will be happy to provide you with information on this.

* In full-time training, work experience and the transfer from specialist training to practice is regulated by internships integrated into the course.

Subject matter, content and skills taught in the continuing education course in interior design HF

Participants in an interior design HF course at a higher technical college (Techniker HF Bauplanung, Fokus Innenarchitektur) deal with the following topics:

• Building technology
• Building organization
• Color and form theory
• Design and presentation
• Building technology
• Construction
• Construction phases
• Construction processes
• Mathematics
• Physics
• Statics
• Applied computer science
• Law
• Business administration
• Accounting
• Risk, project and personnel management
• Communication
• Environment
• Sustainability
• Occupational safety

Please note that this is not an exhaustive list, as the course content may vary from school to school. This is because, although the learning content is basically based on the "Construction planning" framework curriculum*, the HFs have a certain amount of leeway in how they structure it. It can therefore vary from school to school which learning content they cover, how in-depth they cover it and how they wish to designate the modules and subjects. Finally, the schools can define specializations within the framework of a maximum of 10% of the total learning hours, such as in the field of interior design.
But beware. The protected title "Certified Technician HF Construction Planning" remains unchanged.

* The framework curriculum is drawn up by a sponsoring body, which also periodically checks that it is up to date and of high quality. The body responsible for the framework curriculum is made up of the organization of the world of work (OdA): theSwiss Society of Engineers and Architects (SIA)theAssociation of Swiss Architects (BSA)theAssociation of Independent Swiss Architects (FSAI)theSwissEngineering STVtheSwiss Association of Consulting Engineers (usic)and theAssociation of Swiss Interior Designers / Architects (VSI.ASAI)and the representative of the training providers: the Conference of Higher Technical Colleges KHF-T.

Costs and financing of further training

You can expect the following costs for the four- or six-semester interior design HF course at a university of applied sciences:

• Tuition fees*Between CHF 17'000 and CHF 26'700.
• Fees for additional certificatesSome schools offer the opportunity to obtain further certificates during your studies, for example in project management. You can find more information in the answers.
• Other extra costsSome schools charge additional fees, for example for enrolment, the student ID card, any preliminary courses, teaching materials, school documents, etc. Contact the school of your choice straight away and ask for a detailed list of all the costs involved in studying to become an interior designer HF.

* The amount of tuition fees or semester fees depends on the school and your canton of residence. The fees stated here apply to students residing in the canton of study. Students from other cantons will have to pay higher tuition fees.

Please note the following:

Courses at universities of applied sciences (HF) are financially supported (subsidized) by the cantons. Students from outside the canton pay higher tuition fees. The following requirements apply in order to receive cantonal subsidies:

• at least two years of residence in the canton
• The course is listed on the EDK (Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education) list of eligible courses (you will find the link to the list in the answer texts).

The cantonal subsidies are usually regulated by the school; these subsidies are usually already included in the tuition fees stated by the schools.

Duration of study, number of learning hours, forms of learning, teaching times, teaching format and learning effort

Duration of study:four semesters (full-time with integrated internships) or six semesters (part-time with at least 50% employment).

Number of learning hours:Between 3600 learning hours (with relevant EFZ) and 5400 learning hours (without relevant EFZ).

Forms of learning:The learning hours of the HF interior design course are divided into academic and practical components. A basic distinction is made between the following educational components:

• Contact studies: e.g. traditional classroom teaching
• Guided self-study: e.g. exercises, reading assignments, research tasks
• Individual self-study: e.g. preparation and follow-up work, independent learning
• Practical experience: Practical experience in relevant fields of activity with a workload of 50% (for the part-time course)
• Internships: e.g. internship in a real field of work (for full-time studies)
• Qualification procedures: e.g. intermediate examinations, graded term papers

Lesson times:The schools set their own teaching times, so there may be differences from HF to HF. As a rule, classes in part-time studies take place on one working day or two evenings per week, sometimes also on Saturdays. In full-time studies, lessons usually take place every day.

Teaching format:This also depends on the school. In addition to traditional face-to-face teaching, many also offer online and hybrid teaching. You can find an overview of the different teaching formats herehere.

Learning effort:You should allow sufficient time to prepare for and follow up on the lessons and for self-study - how much depends on your prior knowledge, working style, learning speed and chosen training model. We recommend that you allow at least 4-6 hours per week for the part-time model.

Note: Some schools offer so-called "taster lessons"/"trial lessons" for training as an interior designer at a HF. This gives you the opportunity to gain an insight into the lessons and the learning atmosphere. Important aspects on the way to a successful degree. Take the opportunity and contact the school of your choice directly.

Degree, diploma and title

During the Interior Design HF course, you will have to pass various assessments. These can be semester or interim examinations, for example, or semester or project work that is assessed.
The school determines the details of these learning objective assessments independently; there may therefore be differences. The grades you achieve in the learning objectives assessments are included in the final grades.

Do you meet all the qualification requirements? Then you are admitted to the final qualification procedure. This is made up as follows:

• Practice-oriented diploma thesis: It should have a practical or economic benefit and is recorded as one of the professional field-specific competencies.
• Oral and/or written examinations: The diploma thesis is presented by the candidates to a panel of experts, after which it is defended by the candidates in an expert discussion.

The universities of applied sciences specify the details of the implementation and execution of the (final) qualification procedure in their study regulations.

Diploma and title

If the candidates have passed the final qualification procedure, they will be awarded the HF diploma. They are then entitled to use the federally recognized and protected professional title "Certified Technician HF Construction Planning".

• In French: "Technicienne diplômée ES en planification des travaux / Technicien diplômé ES en planification des travaux"
• In Italian: "Tecnica dipl. SSS progettazione edile / Tecnico dipl. SSS progettazione edile"

The recommended translation in English is: "Advanced Federal Diploma of Higher Education in Construction planning". This is not a protected title.