MSc Quantity Surveying with Placement Year

Accredited by RICS, CIOB and CABE, this course will develop your skills in cost and commercial management, whole life costing approaches, law and contract, risk modelling, project management and sustainability as well as business development, critical thinking, problem-solving and team collaboration. Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Building Information Management are embedded in the course for integrated project delivery and BIM cost management. Our Quantity Surveying postgraduates are highly sought-after and have secured positions with companies such as KIER, Balfour Beatty, Vinci, Gleeds, Turner & Townsend, Colas Rail, as well as working on major infrastructure projects such as HS2 and Crossrail.

The MSc Quantity Surveying course will enable graduates with degrees from any discipline to enter the quantity surveying profession. Practitioners with extensive construction work experience but without a first degree will also be considered, subject to entrance exam and interview. The course also provides opportunities for graduates from diverse backgrounds including students from the UK and international students, students with limited exposure to the built environment, as well as students looking for mid-career development in a quantity surveying specialist area.

You will learn how to ensure construction projects are delivered to the satisfaction of the client and other construction professionals and influence a better future in the built environment. You will develop knowledge and skills to meet the challenges presented by change and innovation in the sector. The course is designed to challenge you to question your current thinking and practices in the face of a rapidly changing global construction industry and develop your ability to be innovative and creative in solving unique problems. It will encourage you to engage in life-long learning and become an independent professional learner through a range of modern interactive teaching.

Professional staff with industry experience will offer support and guidance. We are constantly reviewing and researching the most up-to-date construction developments to be able to pass on the latest industry knowledge. This is supported by guest speakers such as Milan Parmar for costX training, and Bala Kumar (a former international student and one of our recent graduates) who now works for Balfour Beatty Vinci on the HS2 project. We also have excellent links with companies in the region, including Rider Levett Bucknall, Willmott Dixon, Galliford Try and Birmingham City Council.

The Masters in quantity surveying course is taught in the prestigious £114m Millennium Point building – part of our City Centre Campus – with technology and facilities that reflect advanced professional practice. Our City Centre Campus location is an inspirational place to learn. Birmingham’s Big City Plan, regenerating and developing the city, means there are plenty of opportunities within the built environment. And you will have the added advantage of being based near construction sites, including our new Conservatoire development and the new high speed rail track, HS2, giving you invaluable insight into the construction industry.

The Professional Placement version of the course is optional and is offered as an alternative to the standard version of the course. This will allow you to complete a credit bearing, 20-week Professional Placement as an integral part of your Master’s Degree. The purpose of the Professional Placement is to improve your employability skills which will, through the placement experience, allow you to evidence your professional skills, attitudes and behaviours at the point of entry to the postgraduate job market.