Quantity Surveying and Commercial Management - 2013 entry
BSc (Hons)
- single
Typical A-level offer: grades BBC to BCC
Accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB)
Overview
This course is run by the Department of Real Estate and Construction
This four-year course provides you with the knowledge and industrial experience to prepare you for a professional career in quantity surveying and commercial management. It focuses on four main themes: technology, management, project-based learning and practical experience.
The Department of Real Estate and Construction has an outstanding employment record for its graduates. Through the industrial placements programme, we have strong links with national and local construction-based companies, developers and surveyers who visit the department annually to interview students for placement and graduate positions.
Coupled with the breadth of knowledge gained on the course, the placements programme provides graduates with diverse options for their career path, including construction management, project management, quantity surveying and commercial management.
Why Brookes?
- You’ll be taught by supportive staff, who are experts in their field, in modern, well-equipped facilities.
- Oxford Brookes has excellent links with a wide variety of construction-related employers, giving you great opportunities for work placements and graduate employment.
- The degree is accredited by both the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), therefore offering graduates a professionally-recognised qualification.
- You’ll study the same choice of modules in Years 1 and 2 as Construction Project Management students, meaning that you do not have to make a final decision about which course to graduate in until after your third-year industrial placement.
- Our graduates have excellent employment prospects.
Teaching, learning and assessment
A variety of teaching and learning methods are used to help you develop professional, personal and study skills, from practical work, presentations and small group tutorials to lectures and demonstrations.
Assessment methods for the modules vary and can include combinations of coursework assignments, laboratory and field practicals, class and web-based tests, oral presentations, group work and examinations.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of the course, you will have:
- an understanding of the principles, roles and purposes of construction and cost management
- knowledge and experience of current technologies used in building construction
- practical project management skills, such as budgeting and cost control, preparation of estimates and programming of construction work
- technical skills, including preparation of working drawings, site surveying and appraisal, drafting performance specifications and dealing with legislation
- broad-based management skills, such as organisation of resources, management of labour, evaluation of alternative strategies, and liaison with other design and construction disciplines
- transferable skills, including oral and written communication, teamworking, independent learning and research, problem solving, organisation, and use of information technology.
In detail
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Course content
In Year 1 you will acquire the knowledge needed to understand the process of construction management, learning about building construction, materials, law, economics and processes, and how they are managed, while developing teamworking skills.
In Years 2 and 4 you will take modules that broaden and deepen your understanding. Technology studies will prepare you for your year in industry and include the processes of production, the provision of services and the principles and procedures of building design and construction. In relation to management, you will explore the analytical and quantitative techniques associated with planning, organisation and costs. You will also study construction law, contracts and project financial control, and practise and develop your skills through simulated construction projects.
In your final year, you will also complete a supervised dissertation on an approved commercial management-related subject of your choice.
In Year 3 you will gain real-life experience working within the industry through a work placement.
Due to the course having similar professional competency requirements and learning outcomes to the BSc degree in Construction Project Management, the students of both courses study the same choice of modules in years one and two.
In the final year of study (normally after a year of industrial experience) there will be a different choice of modules for each course. The benefit of sharing the same modules until the final year of study is that students will be able to defer the decision on which course to graduate until they have completed their third year industrial placement and are able to make a more informed decision about their future career progression.
As courses are reviewed regularly the module list you choose from may vary from that shown here.
Year 1
- Introduction to Building Design and Construction
- Introduction to Construction and Property Management
- Integrative Project I
- Economics of Built Environment
- Foundation Real Estate and Construction Law (double)
- Introduction to Commercial Management
- Introduction to Spatial Planning
Years 2 and 4
- Construction Practice and Procedure
- Construction Technology (double)
- Building Science and Environmental Systems
- Construction Procurement and Law
- Integrative Project II
- Construction CIT
- Financial Appraisal (double)
- Innovation in Management and Technology
- Advanced Procurement and Dispute Resolution
- Project Financial Control
- Facilities Management
- Quantity Surveying Practice
- Commercial Management Dissertation (double)
- Languages modules
Work placements
The compulsory work placement, taken in Year 3, provides a valuable learning experience and is an important part of the course, consolidating your knowledge and preparing you for your final-year studies. During this year you will work in the construction industry for a minimum of 36 weeks.
Oxford Brookes has strong links with a variety of construction-based employers ranging from local house builders to international construction companies. Hence work experience opportunities are broad, from managing the restoration of a country manor house to the project management of a multi-million-pound city office development.
If you are a part-time student working in the industry in a suitable capacity, you will be exempt from industrial placement.
Study abroad
In the second year there is a European field trip aimed at broadening your understanding of construction design and management outside the UK. In addition, some students undertake their industrial placement year abroad.
Free language courses for students - the Open Module
Free language courses are available to all full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students who are studying any course on our Headington (including Marston Road), Harcourt Hill or Wheatley Campuses, and can be taken as a credit on some courses.
Key facts
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Department
Department of Real Estate and Construction
Professional accreditation
The BSc (Hons) in Quantity Surveying and Commercial Management is accredited by both the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) and therefore provides a professionally-recognised qualification for graduates wishing to gain membership of these professional bodies. At the last CIOB visit, the panel commented on the high standard of teaching facilities and the support provided to students by the well-qualified and enthusiastic team of staff.
Course length
Full-time: 4 years, including 1-year work placement.
Part-time: Please contact us for details.
Teaching location
Headington Campus, Gipsy Lane
Start date
September 2013
UCAS code
KN22 BSc/QS
Fees / funding
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Tuition fees
The fees shown are for the academic year 2012/13. The fees for 2013/14 have yet to be set, and are likely to increase.
UK/EU students
Full-time: £9,000
Part-time: £750 per module. You can take up to five modules per academic year.
Placement year: £2,000. This is the fee for students taking their placement in 2012, and will increase annually with inflation.
International students
Full-time: £11,000
Placement year: £3,290. This is the fee for students taking their placement in 2012, and will increase annually with inflation.
Questions about fees?
Contact Student Finance on:
+44 (0)1865 483088
finance-fees@brookes.ac.uk
Funding and scholarships
Leadbitter Construction, based in Oxfordshire, offers a £6,515 sponsorship each year to a second-year student.
Many companies employing students on placement also offer sponsorship for the final year.
For general sources of financial support, see:
Apply / Entry reqs
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Typical offers
A-level: grades BBC to BCC
IB Diploma: 30-31 points
Advanced Diploma: grade B, including A-level at grade B
Other typical offers include:
- 2 A-levels plus 2 AS-level equivalent
- 1 12-unit vocational A-level (any programme) plus 1 A-level or 2 AS-levels
- BTEC national diploma DMM.
Specific entry requirements
GCSE: Mathematics grade C or above
Please also see the university's general entry requirements.
Selection process
Applicants will be required to attend an interview (usually between December and mid-March) before an offer is made. Offers and the level of offers are dependent on performance at interview, so it is worth applying even if you may not meet the average offer of BBC-BCC.
English language requirements
Please see the university's standard English language requirements.
English language requirements for visas
If you need a student visa to enter the UK you will need to meet the UK Border Agency's minimum language requirements as well as the university's requirements. Find out more about English language requirements.
Full-time students should apply for this course through UCAS.
Conditions of acceptance
When you accept our offer you agree to the conditions of acceptance. You should therefore read those conditions before accepting the offer.
Credit transfer
Oxford Brookes operates the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). All undergraduate single modules are equivalent to 7.5 ECTS credits and double modules to 15 ECTS credits. More about ECTS credits.
Student experience
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Why Oxford is a great place to study Quantity Surveying and Commercial Management
As a student in Oxford you'll be at the heart of the UK's most successful economic region and in a centre for leading industries which will provide you with a host of work placement and other learning opportunities.
Oxford is an outstanding place to study the built environment, from large-scale urban developments to world-famous historic architecture.
It is a vibrant city with plenty of attractions for its large student population, from theatres and cinemas to museums, art galleries and music venues. A bustling and stunning cosmopolitan city, Oxford has excellent shopping, restaurants, cafes, pubs and clubs.
Situated in the heart of rural England and home to around 150,000 people, Oxford offers students a clean and safe environment less than an hour from London and international airports.
Specialist facilities
Oxford Brookes has first-class facilities, helping you get the very best from your studies. From libraries to IT suites, you'll find everything you need and we're constantly investing in our services.
As a built environment student you'll have access to superb facilities and resources to prepare you for professional practice. From the state-of-the-art three-dimensional printer and rendering computers with specialist programmes like ArchiCAD in our Digital Studios to the multipurpose space of the Reinvention Centre for undergraduate research, we incorporate the newest, freshest ideas in teaching.
General support services
Supporting your learning
From academic advisers and support co-ordinators to specialist subject librarians and other learning support staff, we want to ensure that you get the best out of your studies.
Personal support services
We want your time at Brookes to be as enjoyable and successful as possible. That's why we provide all the facilities you need to be relaxed, happy and healthy throughout your studies.
Accommodation
At Brookes we understand that when you live away from home it's important to be somewhere that you feel comfortable and safe.
After graduation
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Professional accreditation
The BSc (Hons) in Quantity Surveying and Commercial Management is accredited by both the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) and therefore provides a professionally-recognised qualification for graduates wishing to gain membership of these professional bodies. At the last CIOB visit, the panel commented on the high standard of teaching facilities and the support provided to students by the well-qualified and enthusiastic team of staff.
Career prospects
The Department of Real Estate and Construction has an outstanding employment record for its graduates. Our students' practical expertise makes them especially valuable to potential employers. Local and national construction companies, developers, project managers, house builders, surveyors and housing associations regularly recruit our graduates.
Many of these companies visit the department annually to meet and interview students for both placement and graduate positions. Our graduates are recognised as having an excellent level of communication, presentation and problem-solving skills as well as practical experience from their industrial placement year.
