The Swiss engineering master's degree

Building Technologies (BT)

The planning, design and construction of buildings is a highly interdisciplinary process with influencing factors of steadily increasing complexity. Within the MSE discipline of Building Technologies, you will meet this challenge by developing sustainable and user-centred solutions.

Outline of the profession

The MSE, Building Technologies profile, aims to develop all the skills required for the design and construction of comprehensive and sustainable building technology systems.
After graduation, you will have opportunities to hold leading positions in engineering firms, industry, or research and development, as well as with full-service or general contractors, home builders' organisations or government agencies. In addition, you will have career options in the fields of building operations and sustainable building maintenance, for instance as the head of technical building management.

Profile content

By studying for the MSE with a Building Technologies profile, you will acquire in-depth skills and knowledge in the following areas:

• Advanced methods of building-related applied thermodynamics and electrical engineering for dynamic power consumption and energy requirements.
• Systemic constructive interactions between the outdoor climate, the building’s construction and its users as well as future challenges around climate change and its effects. Long-term agile construction, optimized solar gains and sun protection, indoor air quality, acoustic requirements as well as urban design aspects create ideal conditions for “lean technology” (LowTec) and functional buildings in a context that is sustainable from a building physics perspective.
• Simulations-based optimization of synergistic overall concepts, including building automation and information aspects. Larger-scale climatic models as well as sustainable building materials and processes also play an important role.
• The development of sophisticated heat, cooling and electrical concepts and their implementation in applicable systems configurations with particular focus on the design conditions and the requirements of individual buildings and sites.

Professional Skills

In the Building Technologies profile, you will deepen your knowledge of building technology and building-climate fundamentals. The profile will equip you with the tools to systematically and competently develop and communicate holistic building technology solutions for complex problems based on a comprehensive analysis.
It also encompasses an introduction to complementary fields in relation to individual buildings and site developments such as district heating, decentralized storage, thermal and electrical grids and lifecycle analysis of material resources.

Entry skills and enrolment process

Specific qualifications are required to enroll in this profile. Students holding one of the following bachelor’s degrees with above-average marks generally fulfil these entry requirements.

• BSc in Building Technology/Energy (major in HVAC and building electrical engineering)
• BSc in Energy and Environmental Systems (Energy in Buildings specialization)

Assessment of entry skills is part of the enrolment process of the relevant school. Students who do not hold one of the above-mentioned bachelor’s degrees will be individually assessed for their suitability by the relevant University of Applied Sciences.

Recommended theory modules

The theory modules comprise 30 out of 90 ECTS. The modules are taught by professors from all over Switzerland at various locations. You will take these modules together with other MSE students. You can find the recommended theory modules for the MSE in Building Technologies (BT) here. 

Additional skills relative to Bachelor of Science

Compared to the BSc, you will deepen the skills and knowledge around your chosen focal points during your master’s program and complement them with systems and process management skills.  After graduation, you will be able to develop and launch larger and more complex projects and manage the associated integral and iterative processes. Systems technology will allow you to optimize all relevant aspects of sustainable building as a whole.

Discover more

Universities of Applied Sciences (UAS) offering the Building Technologies (BT) profile are shown below. Find out more about the courses of study at the individual UASs.