Building Surveying

Program Overview

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BSc (Hons) Building Surveying

Overview

Building Surveying is an in-demand professional field of work that involves advising on many aspects of building construction and design for new and existing buildings. Building Surveyors advise on a range of things including maintenance and repairs, restoration and refurbishment, and they provide expert assessments and reports on all kinds of buildings.

Edinburgh Napier’s Building Surveying course is industry focused and contains many practical applications including trips and excursions relating to various modules. The academic experience plus the practical skills gained during the course, will equip you with the tools required for the workplace. All academic staff within the surveying subject group are Chartered Surveyors themselves with professional practice experience, which allows for academic and professional skills transfer to students. These skills are essential when advising clients on residential and commercial building activities.

There is a credit-bearing work placement module in third year which allows you to apply the knowledge learned in the classroom to live projects under professional supervision.

During your studies, you will develop knowledge in design economics, property inspection methods, building conservation and estimating, life cycle costing, building measurement and building maintenance management.

You will also learn how to diagnose building faults, undertake inspections, and apply construction technology principles when advising on preventative or remedial solutions.

By the end of your studies, you will gain knowledge of contractual procedures, insurance requirements, data collation methods and their application and the use of maintenance information and operational building maintenance policies.

After graduating, you can find yourself in property refurbishment or managing and maintaining portfolios of properties. You may be involved in the diagnosis of building faults, undertaking inspections, and applying construction technology principles when advising on preventative or remedial solutions.

The honours course is fully accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and you will be eligible for Chartered Surveyor status once you have gained suitable experience after graduating and met the competency requirements of the RICS.

Mode of Study:

• Part-time (available as Full-time)

Duration:

• 6 years

Start date:

• Sep

Course details

You will undertake 4 modules each year/stage, generally two 20 credit modules each term.

In stage 1 you will learn the technical and legal aspects of building surveying along with an understanding of the costs and economics of construction.

In stage 2, you will develop this further and include knowledge on the drivers of Property value, an introduction to construction management and an introduction to computer aided design (CAAD) and develop and awareness of building control and fire engineering.

In stages 3 and 4, you will then progress on to develop an in-depth knowledge of building construction and technology and an understanding of maintenance, construction project and property management and property, and develop your skills in diagnosing building defects and identifying appropriate strategies to remedy these defects.

In stage 5 you will gain enhanced skills in areas of building pathology and building conservation and then apply your skills in a multi-disciplinary project and in your dissertation.

How you’ll be taught

• Lectures and tutorials by professionally qualified academic staff and industrial specialists, field trips, case studies and project evaluations.

Assessments

• A mixture of exams and coursework; this can consist of a variety of tasks including report writing, essays, personal and group-based presentations, posters.

Work placement

• Students will utilise their current employment related to their part-time surveying studies by undertaking the work placement module in Trimester 3 of years 4 and 5.

Facilities

• You will be given the opportunity to visit properties and are actively encouraged to develop your building inspection skills throughout your degree.

Popular modules

Year 1

• Building Design & Technology 1
• Surveying
• Property & Construction Business Law
• Construction Cost Studies 1

Year 2

• Property Value Studies
• Building Modelling 1
• Building Maintenance & Management
• Building Pathology

Year 3

• Building Design and Technology 2
• Construction Cost Studies 2
• Contract Admin and Practice
• Facilities Management
• Work Placement 1[Trimester 3]

Year 4

• Work Placement 2
• Sustainable Development
• Conservation Surveying
• Work Placement 1[Trimester 3]

Year 5

• Project Evaluation: multi discipline professional project (40 credits)
• Dissertation (40 credits)

Entry requirements

Minimum Year 1

• SQA Higher: BBBC
• A level: CCC
• Irish Leaving Certificate: H3, H3, H3, H3 at Higher Level
• BTEC National Extended Diploma (Level 3): MMM (Merit, Merit, Merit) in a related subject
• BTEC National Diploma (Level 3): DD (Distinction, Distinction) in a related subject
• International Baccalaureate Diploma: Award of Diploma with 26 points overall with three Higher Level subjects at grades 5, 5, 5
• T level: Pass

Minimum Year 2

• SQA Advanced Highers: BBC
• A level: BBB
• BTEC Extended Diploma Level 3: DDM (Distinction, Distinction, Merit) in a related subject
• HNC: Pass HNC in Architectural Conservation, Architectural Technology, Building Surveying, Built Environment, Construction or Construction Management with grade B in the Graded Unit.

English language

• If your first language isn't English, you'll normally need to undertake an approved English language test and our minimum English language requirements will apply.

International students

• We welcome applications from students studying a wide range of international qualifications.

Admissions policies

• We’re committed to admitting students who have the potential to succeed and benefit from our programmes of study.

Fees & funding

• The course fees you'll pay and the funding available to you will depend on a number of factors including your nationality, location, personal circumstances and the course you are studying.

Tuition fees for 2024/25

• Students from Scotland: £305
• Students from England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Republic of Ireland: £1,157
• Overseas and EU students: £3,225

Careers

• A degree in Building Surveying will enable you to assess the condition of existing buildings, to identify and analyse defects, and create proposals for repair.
• You’ll understand the design and legal principles around building and construction, and gain knowledge of how to ensure public safety and security.
• Once you have completed your degree, you will have lots of career paths to choose from, such as:
  • Chartered Building Surveyor
  • Chartered Commercial Building Surveyor
  • Facilities Manager
  • Technical Standards Surveyor
  • Property Management Surveyor
• As a Building Surveyor, you will be working in various branches of the construction industry.
• You will shape the way we live by guiding construction and development projects while introducing sustainable and environmentally friendly building methods.
• You will have the opportunity to collaborate with architects, engineers, ecologists, property developers and other professionals.
• It's likely you'll get to work with some of the latest technologies, such as creating virtual reality models and using data.
• Some typical day to day tasks might be:
  • Making sure properties meet building regulations, fire safety and accessibility standards
  • Assessing damage for insurance purposes
  • Ensuring projects are completed on budget and to schedule
  • Advising on the management and supervision of maintenance of buildings
  • Researching property related information like land records and other sources
  • Advising on energy efficiency, environmental impact and sustainable construction.