Project Management in the Built Environment

MSc

Start dates: January 2024 / September 2024 / January 2025 / September 2025

Full time: Sept start (1 year), Jan start (17 months – including summer break)

Part time: On campus or distance learning - Sept start (24 months), Jan start (29 months – including summer break)

Location: Headington, Distance learning

Department(s): School of the Built Environment

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Overview

Our MSc in Project Management in the Built Environment is ideal for anyone with ambitions to manage projects within the sector. The course is designed to meet the growing demand for project managers in the industry who can oversee the entire life cycle of any project, including unique and specialist developments.

We consult with companies and organisations to ensure our course content retains practical relevance. Our Professional Liaison Group (PLG) is made up of practitioners in the field. They provide advice on existing and proposed courses of study, on research activities and consultancy work.

We have strong links with prominent companies in the sector, such as Mace, Willmott Dixon and BAM Construction. Our alumni network spans the globe, working in countries including:

  • Malaysia
  • South Africa
  • Russia
  • Turkey
  • Hong Kong
  • India
  • USA.

The MSc is available as a one-year, full-time (FT) programme. Or as a part-time on campus or part-time distance-learning (DL) programme, which is normally taken over two years and is extendable up to five years.

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Why Oxford Brookes University?

  • Accreditation(s)

    Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors; Chartered Institute of Building

    • Chartered Institute of Building
    • Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors

Course details

Course structure

There are three modes of delivery for this course:

  • full-time on campus
  • part-time on campus
  • part-time distance learning.

There are two entry points - September and January.

Please note, PGCert and PGDip qualifications are offered as exit awards only and are not accredited by RICS or CIOB. Applicants interested in these should apply for the MSc in the first instance.

For full-time students lectures are held on two set days every week.

For part-time on campus students, lectures are held on one set day every week.

For distance learners, the virtual learning environment (VLE) is the primary mode of delivery. Students are supported by email, Zoom, Google Meet, on-line lectures and telephone, and are welcome to attend all lectures on campus. Distance learners are advised to spend two evenings per week and one whole day per weekend on their studies.

There are also intensive on-campus study periods and a field trip, when students from all modes of study come together (attendance is optional).

Male student working in class

Learning and teaching

In response to industry feedback we have made our courses more practical by using an 'applied' approach to learning. This is sometimes called 'problem based learning' or PBL. You learn by working through problems that are adapted from complex, real situations. We use our links with industry to help devise the problems we use in class, leading to a more exciting and relevant student experience.

Full time and part-time on-campus modes

You will receive new material weekly with intermediate tutorials or seminars. There are also intensive study weeks and field trips where you will learn with students from all modes of study.

Distance learning mode

The virtual learning environment (VLE) is the primary mode of delivery. You will also be invited to attend (non-compulsory) on-campus intensive study periods and field trips where you will learn with students from all modes of study. You will be able to contact the Programme Team by email, telephone and through online meetings/tutorials.

Assessment

Assessment is designed to equip students with the skills required for employment in the Construction Industries and includes:

  • Presentations
  • Report writing
  • Briefing documents
  • BIM modelling
  • Spreadsheets
  • Online quizzes

All assessment is 100% coursework, there are no exams.

Field Trips

An optional field trip to Europe* takes place over a five-day period towards the end of January.

The field trip exposes you to European project management practices, allowing you to:

  • consolidate the knowledge gained in the early part of the course
  • develop team and other relationships
  • assess your ability to observe and report on the different approaches to project management in the UK and in a European country.

The trip normally consists of visits to prominent construction/engineering projects and sites, plus architectural attractions, both en route and at the destination. You will be introduced to the development and planning practices at the destination. And you will have the opportunity to visit major complex projects.

The majority of the costs are subsidised by the School but there are some additional costs. Please see the Additional costs section of this page for details.

* Subject to Covid restrictions

Start this course in January or September

You can start this course in January or September.

Only the Dissertation module (independent study) runs in the summer, so course lengths for January starters will appear longer due to the summer vacation.

The summer vacation does provide a good opportunity for students to find an internship or gain work experience. Please note that there is no formal internship or placement as part of the course. We do however provide many networking opportunities and advice on how to find your own internship.

Study modules

The modules listed below are for the master's award. For the PGDip and PGCert awards your module choices may be different. Please contact us for more details.

Taught modules

Compulsory modules

  • People, Leadership and Organisations (30 credits)

    This module aims to develop the students’ knowledge and understanding of how behavioural and organisational issues influence project performance and how they can be harnessed to effectively deliver projects. It includes an overview of management approaches, an exploration of the issues around understanding self and understanding others, team theory and leadership, communication, conflict resolution strategies and negotiation; and learning from experience in project environments. These themes are studied in the context of personal and cultural differences.

    To a large extent the module adopts a problem-based learning (PBL) approach. Here, PBL is facilitated through problem-solving exercises that are based on prominent case studies and game play exercises.

  • Project Planning, Control and Risk (30 credits)

    This module prepares students to manage projects within the built environment through the use of advanced planning and control techniques. Students will learn and apply a range of skills in project planning, scheduling, monitoring and control that includes cash flow and capital expenditure analysis, value management, risk and opportunity management and the use of software-based decision support tools as used in industry.

  • Construction Law and Procurement (30 credits)

    This module starts with the consideration of project procedure and participants and their roles in different types of projects in the built environment. Through the aspects of law needed to understand construction procurement and contracts, to the various forms of building contracts and procurement procedures, the module covers alternative procurement routes and current trends in procurement in both the public and private sectors, placing a particular emphasis on collaboration and best practice. Furthermore, it covers the basics of planning law and building regulations and looks at specific issues related to contract terms, professional liability and property torts.

  • Managing Technology for Sustainable Environments (30 credits)

    Design techniques and technological innovations and how they are used and managed are key elements in the development of our built environment.  This module introduces these as considerations that should be made at the inception and briefing stages of a project, not as afterthoughts later in the process. It also recognises that design and construction are not devoid of the human dimension - the contexts within which a construction project is situated, including influences of climate, culture, and surrounding and supporting infrastructures are also important. There is also an examination of the design and building processes, and the end-product-buildings, as continuously changing entities. Students should not study developments in design and technology in isolation, but as part of a continuously innovating industry. In this respect, managing Building Information Modelling (BIM), developments in off-site construction and low carbon construction are covered as part of the module.

  • Applied Research Methods (10 credits)

    This module provides students with the fundamentals of research design highlighting the difference between qualitative and quantitative research paradigms and demonstrates how data can be both gathered and analysed and how deductive arguments can be used to produce valid generalisations from data. It also provides students with an overview of particular research techniques such that they can choose and develop those tools most appropriate to their Dissertation.

Final project

Compulsory modules

  • Project (or Integrated Studies/ Project) (50 credits)

    This follows on from Applied Research Methods and aims not only to generate new knowledge or insights but also to develop students’ capacities to undertake rigorous research, to plan and execute an extended project and to communicate complex ideas effectively in words and graphically. Each student will work with a supervisor from within the School to produce an original piece of work of publishable quality, generally, through conducting their own primary research and presenting their findings in a professional manner.

Please note: As our courses are reviewed regularly as part of our quality assurance framework, the modules you can choose from may vary from those shown here. The structure of the course may also mean some modules are not available to you.

Research

Many members of staff are part of the Oxford Institute of Sustainable Development (OISD). This research and promotional organisation is noted for its work on sustainable technology in buildings and sustainable urban form among many ongoing projects. Areas of research expertise include:

  • Climate change and sustainable construction
  • Carbon footprinting and waste management
  • Collaborative planning and supply network management
  • Procurement, Project and Process management
  • Whole-life cost and value modelling
  • Risk analysis and management
  • Lean construction and applied operations research
  • Sustainable building maintenance
  • Emerging technologies and innovations for sustainable buildings
  • Social networks and innovation diffusion
  • Information and knowledge management
  • Advanced ICT and applied artificial intelligence
  • Knowledge-based decision support systems
  • Building Information Modelling (BIM)
  • Virtual prototyping
  • Building informatics.

Careers

Graduates of the School of the Built Environment have an outstanding employment record. Usually, 100% of the graduates of the postgraduate construction programmes are in employment within six months after graduation.

Local, national and international construction companies, developers, project management consultancies, house builders, surveyors and housing associations regularly recruit our graduates.

Many of these companies visit the department regularly to meet students for graduate positions. Our graduates are recognised as having an excellent level of communication, presentation and problem-solving skills.

Our distance learning students are usually employed full-time by prominent companies in the sector.

Full-time students find similar employment shortly after graduation. They typically hold (Assistant) Project Manager positions. However, the breadth of knowledge that our students gain gives them the flexibility to function effectively in a number of different roles.

Many graduates are employed globally, including in:

  • India
  • Pakistan
  • Africa
  • Canada
  • Australia
  • Peru
  • The Middle East
  • China
  • The Americas

Entry requirements

International qualifications and equivalences

How to apply

Application process

We advise applying in advance to secure places, and allow sufficient time for applications to be reviewed.

There is no formal application deadline (recruitment closes when teaching capacity is reached).

Applicants should also factor any time needed to meet offer conditions, arrange accommodation, and obtain a UK Student visa (if applicable).

Tuition fees

Please see the fees note
Home (UK) full time
£10,300

Home (UK) part time
£5,150

Home (UK) distance learning part time
£5,150

International full time
£17,150

International distance learning part time
£8,575

Home (UK) full time
£10,800

Home (UK) part time
£5,400

International full time
£17,950

Questions about fees?

Contact Student Finance on:

Tuition fees

2024 / 25
Home (UK) full time
£10,300

Home (UK) part time
£5,150

Home (UK) distance learning part time
£5,150

International full time
£17,150

International distance learning part time
£8,575

2025 / 26
Home (UK) full time
£10,800

Home (UK) part time
£5,400

International full time
£17,950

Questions about fees?

Contact Student Finance on:

+44 (0)1865 534400

financefees@brookes.ac.uk

Fees quoted are for the first year only. If you are studying a course that lasts longer than one year, your fees will increase each year.

The following factors will be taken into account by the University when it is setting the annual fees: inflationary measures such as the retail price indices, projected increases in University costs, changes in the level of funding received from Government sources, admissions statistics and access considerations including the availability of student support.

How and when to pay

Tuition fee instalments for the semester are due by the Monday of week 1 of each semester. Students are not liable for full fees for that semester if they leave before week 4. If the leaving date is after week 4, full fees for the semester are payable.

  • For information on payment methods please see our Make a Payment page.
  • For information about refunds please visit our Refund policy page

Additional costs

Please be aware that some courses will involve some additional costs that are not covered by your fees. Specific additional costs for this course are detailed below.

Funding your studies

Financial support and scholarships

Featured funding opportunities available for this course.

All financial support and scholarships

View all funding opportunities for this course

Programme changes:
On rare occasions we may need to make changes to our course programmes after they have been published on the website. For more information, please visit our changes to programmes page.