Program Overview

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Quantity Surveying - MSc / PgDip

Overview

The course is intended for graduates working, or intending to work, in the construction industry offering advice on project feasibility, methods for financing and procuring construction work and financial management of the design and construction process within consultant firms, client organisations or contracting companies.

Applicants should have an interest in construction cost management and the motivation to pursue an intensive route to professional qualifications. Course content covers the skills required of the practicing quantity surveyor.

We’re the number one London modern university for overall score in Building (Complete University Guide 2021).

Course Options

We offer different course options, depending on your circumstances:

• Cognate version: If you hold an undergraduate Surveying degree, you should apply for the ‘Surveying graduates’ route as you will study fewer modules; your previous study will be taken into account.
• Non-Cognate version: If you do not hold an undergraduate Surveying degree, you should apply for our ‘Conversion’ course. Three supplementary modules at the beginning of the course bring you up to speed in relation to construction technology, law and contract documentation and administration before you embark on the masters level modules. These supplementary modules are a distinguishing feature of the course and are highly valued by students and their employers. There is a higher fee because you will be studying more credits.
• For either of the above routes, you can opt to study either a full Masters qualification or a PGDip (without dissertation) qualification. Please note: Postgraduate loan funding via Student Finance England, is only available for students taking full Masters courses without any module exemptions. PGDip courses are ineligible for this scheme.

Features of the Course

• RICS accredited (PGDip) award in 2 semesters for full-time students or 4 semesters for part time students
• Option to achieve a PGDip award, take a break of up to 2 years, and return to do a 'top-up' Masters
• Emphasis on the business skills required in quantity surveying practice
• Contributions to programme from practitioners
• An expanding Alumni Association that provides you with excellent networking opportunities.

Entry Level Requirements

• Conversion:
  • A minimum of a 2:1 Honours degree, the subject area does not matter as number of students undertake the course as part of a career change
• For Surveying graduates/professionals:
  • A minimum of a 2:1 Honours degree in a Surveying subject, or
  • Corporate membership of a professional body concerned with property or construction, for example, CIOB, RIBA, RTPI, CIOH or other relevant body of equal standing.

APEL/APL

• An applicant who is offered a place on the course may seek credit for recent prior academic qualification or professional experience. The applicant should expect to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Course Director and Module Coordinator substantial relevant knowledge and skills at least equivalent to Level 6 or Level 7 as appropriate to those modules for which credit is being sought. Applications should be made before the commencement of the semester in which the particular modules are being offered.
• Please note however, that if you are granted any APEL/APL which allows you module exemption you will be ineligible for a Student Finance England Postgraduate Loan. If you have already started to receive loan instalments and you are then granted module exemption, the University has a duty to inform SFE that you are no longer eligible for the loan and no further loan payments will be made.

Part-time Additional Requirements

The P/T mode requires the student to be in employment related to Quantity Surveying (a reference from the employer will be required)

Admissions Based on Experience

Applicants who do not meet this requirement will be considered for entry on the basis of the length and quality of their employment experience in areas cognate to surveying and construction. Evidence of this will be required in support of any application made.

Overseas Applicants

Applicants are expected to have competency in spoken and written English. Oral presentations are an integral part of the course. Written English should be at the British Council/Cambridge IELTS Level 6.5 or above.

Fees

• United Kingdom:
  • £15333.33
• International:
  • £21333.33

Tuition Fees

Tuition fees are subject to annual inflationary increases. Find out more about tuition fees for Undergraduate or Postgraduate courses.

Postgraduate Loan (PGL) for Masters Study

If you are starting a Masters course, studying either full- or part-time, you may be entitled to apply for a postgraduate study loan. Find out more at our postgraduate fees and funding section.

Scholarships

We offer several types of fee reduction through our scholarships and bursaries. Find the full list and other useful information on funding your studies on the scholarships and fee discounts page.

Fee Status

Please check your fee status and whether you are considered a Home, EU or International student for fee-paying purposes and for our regulatory returns, by reading the UKCISA regulations.

Stuart Johnson Scholarship

We are able to offer a subject scholarship from the generous donations of alumnus Stuart Johnson. Read more about the Stuart Johnson scholarship.

Course Content

The postgraduate modules cover project appraisal, methods for financing and procuring construction work and financial management of the design and construction process. There is also a module that develops understanding of the construction industry from an economic perspective and a module on construction contract law.

You also select one option from a wide selection of modules that are offered to all our postgraduate students. In order to complete the MSc stage, students are required to take a research methods module and undertake a major dissertation on a topic approved by their supervisor.

Core Modules

• Project Evaluation: This module focuses on the range of techniques used by construction professionals to appraise and manage cost and value in construction projects.
• Construction Contract Administration: This module introduces the student to key elements of contract administration applied to the roles of contract administrators, quantity surveyors and commercial managers.
• Construction Law: This module examines the various types of construction contracts, including families of standard construction contracts, and the common law, legislation and administrative procedures, which govern them.
• Procurement and Management of Construction: This module focuses on developing an awareness of the issues which need to be considered when deciding how to procure and manage construction projects.
• Economics and Finance for Construction: This module uses some analytic tools from economics and finance (and management) in broad discussion of construction markets and construction firms.
• Dissertation (MSc only): The module provides the opportunity for students to undertake an independent piece of research, investigating in depth a subject, in which, they have a particular interest and of their own selection.

Additional Modules (Conversion Course Only)

• Construction: This module is intended to provide a broad and critical perspective of the construction and assembly of buildings and their performance requirements and also to provide an understanding of the context in which construction decisions are made and implemented.
• Measurement, Documentation and Estimating: This module introduces students to documentation used for tendering in the construction industry and the techniques used to measure and specify construction work and produce estimates and tenders.
• Institutional and Legal Context for Construction: This module examines the relationship between ethics and the law, and introduces the sources of and basic rules of UK law, including common law and statute law as it affects construction professionals.

Optional Modules

Please be aware that option selection is subject to availability.

• Behavioural Finance: The module develops a comprehensive understanding of the decision-making process in any real estate decision and it transition mechanism to market prices.
• Building Control: The module focuses upon the control and enforcement of the Building Regulations and associated legislation, along with supporting technical documents and alternative solutions, to meet specific regulative requirements as they apply to various building schemes.
• Building Information Modelling and Collaborative Working: A module to provide a general understanding of the role that BIM can play throughout the design, construction and operation of building assets.
• Health and Safety Management in Construction: This module focuses on the management of safety on site – a process that can be applied to a wide range of work settings and project types.
• History of Architecture and Construction: This module examines the inter-relationship between building design and production as it occurred throughout historical time.
• International Real Estate and Construction: This module introduces students to the international context of real estate markets, construction industry and project development.
• Legal Resolution of Property and Construction Disputes: This module focuses on the range of dispute resolution techniques used by construction and property professionals to resolve and manage disputes in the construction and property industries.

Careers

The employment record for students on this programme is excellent, with previous graduates gaining employment across nearly all of the largest consulting and contracting firms. Many are also employed by smaller firms in this exciting industry.

The MSc/PgDip is fully accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors; this will allow entry to Quantity Surveying and Construction Faculty through APC.

Brighter Connections

London location affording access to:

• Major development areas and schemes to visits / study
• The main offices of the country's leading property consultancies and companies
• The RICS headquarters and its library
• Other professional and academic libraries and exhibitions
• A well developed alumni organisation
• Extensive programmes of talks and lectures, promoted by the RICS and others, often at reduced cost or free to students.

Expertise and History

London South Bank University has a long history of educating professionals for the building-related industries. With roots in London Council School of Building (1904), Brixton School of Building (1940) we have been offering training for this sector for over 100 years.

Today we are expert at attracting property and construction students from the UK and around the world. Much of this is down to the highly successful links we have with major real estate consultancies, property companies, contractors, cost consultants and developers to ensure our courses are highly relevant for the current market.

Today, according to the Guardian PG subject tables 2013 we are the largest School of Building and Town Planning in the UK (combining full-time and part-time modes of study) and our building graduates have the best employment prospects in London (Complete University Guide 2014).

Our current students and alumni hold key positions in their organisation, often as senior managers and business owners.