In Year 1 you will acquire the knowledge needed to understand
the process of construction and commercial management, learning about building
construction, materials, information technology, law, economics and processes,
and how they are managed, while developing team-working 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, building information modelling
(BIM), 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.
Because the course has 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 1 and 2.
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 in until they have completed
their third-year industrial placement and are able to make a more informed decision
about their future career progression.
Study modules
As our courses are reviewed regularly as part of our quality assurance framework, the modules available may vary from those listed here.
Year 1
- Introduction to Building Design and Construction
- Introduction to Construction and Commercial Management
- Integrative Project I
- Economics of Built Environment
- Foundation Construction Law
- Quantity Surveying Practice I
- Introduction to Spatial Planning
- Construction Communication and Information Technology I.
Years 2 and 4
- Construction Practice and Procedure
- Quantity Surveying Practice II
- Construction Technology I
- Construction Technology II
- Building Science and Environmental Systems
- Construction Procurement and Law
- Integrative Project II
- Construction Communication and Information Technology II
- Financial Appraisal and Commercial Management (double)
- Innovation in Management and Technology
- Advanced Procurement and Dispute Resolution
- Project Financial Control
- Facilities Management
- Commercial Management Dissertation (double)
- Languages modules (optional)
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 commercial and 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.
Field trips
There are a number of one-day UK field trips during the course to aid knowledge and understanding through live projects.
In the second year there is a mandatory European field trip aimed at broadening your understanding of construction design and management outside the UK.
Your course tuition fee covers the cost of all mandatory field trips. The cost of an optional field trip is not included in your course tuition fee, and a separate fee will apply. Please contact our Enquiry Centre (see right for details) if you would like more information about the field trip(s) on this course.
Study abroad
There is opportunity for studying part of the course abroad on a one-semester overseas exchange to Europe, USA or Australia. In addition, some students undertake their industrial placement year abroad.
Studying abroad provides an amazing opportunity to add value to your studies by:
- increasing your employability within an international market
- boosting your language skills
- building your confidence in adapting to new situations
- improving your knowledge of different cultures.
While on exchange you will gain credits which count towards your degree.
We have more than 100 partner universities around the world. Funding is available through the Erasmus scheme, and also via some international programmes such as the Santander Student Awards.
Free language courses for students - the Open Module
Free language courses are available to full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students on many of our courses, and can be taken as a credit on some courses.
Please note that the free language courses are not available if you are:
- studying at a Brookes partner college
- studying on any of our teacher education courses or postgraduate education courses.
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.