University College London (UCL)

Major Infrastructure Delivery MBA

Teaching and learning

The course structure is focused on learning through a mix of lectures, seminars, workshops, and analyses of case studies. All core modules are delivered through lectures by faculty and guest lecturers from industry. The guest lecturers come from the industry or policy field to reflect the multi-level nature of stakeholders and professions involved in major infrastructure projects.

The principal modes of assessment of these skills are analytical essays, coursework, examination and the MBA dissertation undertaken as a piece of independent research.

Around 20% of students' time is spent in lectures and tutorials, 50% on assignments and coursework and the remainder in independent study.

Modules

Part-time

The programme is delivered part-time over two years. The flexible modular structure of the programme enables students to continuing working full-time while completing the MBA, allowing them to put learning immediately into practice.

Students will attend five periods (nine days each) in London over the two-year programme. Each nine-day period will take place from Saturday morning to the end of Sunday of the subsequent week.

The in-person teaching takes place at our new UCL East campus, offering cutting-edge learning facilities in the heart of east London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

The cohort is up to 35 students and formed by a global audience of professionals. Teaching consists of eight modules and a dissertation, which works as a management consultancy project.

Year 1: October (Modules 1 and 2), February (Modules 3 and 4), May (Modules 5 and 6).
Year 2: October (Modules 7 and 8), May (Dissertation).

The students of the Major Infrastructure Delivery MBA must take all eight compulsory modules and the dissertation.

The course is based around the following core modules:

• Analysing the anatomy of major projects – the context in which major infrastructure projects are proposed and developed, revealing different market structures and models to bridge the global infrastructure gap.
• Managing economic and financial risks – an understanding of the connections throughout the project life cycle, from demand forecast, through business cases, until the implications to the financial performance of the organisations delivering major infrastructure projects.
• Structuring governance and assurance – explores the relationship between risk management, governance, and assurance processes across organisational and institutional boundaries.
• Designing client organisations and corporate strategies – explores the functions within the boundaries of the client organisation, and prepares the argument for the necessity of thinking about the inter-organisational perspective, considering the interfaces with the supply chain.
• Procuring and integrating the supply chain – principles of supply chain management, procurement and operations building upon production logics of vertical integration and outsourcing, which inform the decomposability of the asset into internal and external parts.
• Building, developing and leading teams – leadership approaches to address the different culture and values at organisational and individual levels. It introduces the power dynamics of organisations and the role of leaders in shaping the strategy of the intra- and inter-organisational forms.
• Controlling information and systems – explores the challenges of information flows and the extraction of actionable business intelligence to manage human resources and organisational functions.
• Managing stakeholders and creating value – the principles of stakeholder management, theoretically framing the dynamics between internal and external players in complex and uncertain organisations. It presents strategies for the process of creation and co-creation of value to address the requirements of different stakeholders.

The programme ends with a dissertation. It is an academically rigorous piece of research and students can choose any topic they want as long as it is relevant to Major Infrastructure Delivery and can be supervised by a staff member from the Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction. The dissertation works as a management consultancy project, building upon the latest academic thinking to provide a piece of management advice to an organisation (e.g. public, private, non-profit). The dissertation demonstrates learning in problem formulation and the application of research methods to the investigation of specific research questions. Students are encouraged to formulate their own research proposal drawing upon theoretical or practical problems.

Compulsory modules

• Analysing the Anatomy of Major Projects
• Managing Economic and Financial Risks
• Structuring Governance and Assurance
• Designing Client Organisations and Corporate Strategies
• Procuring and Integrating the Supply Chain
• Building, Developing and Leading Teams
• Controlling Information and Systems
• Managing Stakeholders and Creating Value
• Dissertation: Management Consultancy Project

Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability are subject to change.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. Upon successful completion of 180 credits, you will be awarded an MBA in Major Infrastructure Delivery.

What this course will give you

The Major Infrastructure Delivery MBA offers students the chance to take the next step in their leadership career with a global top 10 university, ranked global #1 in the Built Environment field(QS World Subject Rankings 2024).

Offering a combination of general management and leadership skills with industry-specific learning, the curriculum is developed in partnership with an external advisory group of industry leaders with professional expertise in major infrastructure projects.

Students will have access to London mega-projects through case studies and hands-on site visits, learning directly from teams delivering major projects onsite.

The Major Infrastructure Delivery MBA is delivered by The Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction, a global centre of excellence at the forefront of major and megaproject management, sustainable construction, environment and real estate.

The MBA’s flexible, modular format enables professionals to continue working full-time during their studies – with students only required to be on campus, in the UK, for five periods of nine days (45 days total), throughout the duration of the two-year degree.

The curriculum has been developed in partnership with world-leading infrastructure CEOs and industry experts to ensure the skills being taught are aligned with what the sector needs, both now and in the future​.

The foundation of your career

After completing this course, you are expected to go on to work in many related areas across several infrastructure sectors: government agencies sponsoring major infrastructure projects, public and private sector infrastructure client organisations, management consultancies, engineering consultancies, contractors, and enterprises with significant portfolios of major infrastructure projects.

96% of Bartlett graduates were in work or further study 15 months after graduation.

Top industry sectors for Bartlett graduates in work are construction, built environment and property (37% of graduates); engineering (17%); finance (8%); academic research and higher education (7%); and other scientific and technical professions (5%).

Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction graduates are working in 45 countries around the world.

Example employers:

• ARUP
• Balfour Beatty
• British Land
• Deloitte
• UK Government
• Skanska
• Turner & Townsend
• AtkinsRéalis
• TfL
• Mace
• Tetra Tech Europe
• Vodafone

(Data from Graduate Outcomes Survey 2017-2021)

Employability

The course is purposefully open-ended in the sense that it allows the development of a number of transferable skills, qualities and behaviours to deliver major infrastructure projects. Some modules focus on leadership, teamwork, interpersonal and digital skills, which are essential to future career effectiveness.

Through events aimed at industry and alumni and organised by the Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction, you will have the opportunity to meet like-minded professionals in the field. Each year the School also hosts a series of careers events for students - including CV and interview skills sessions, a dedicated Careers Fair, site visits and an alumni panel event. UCL Careers also offers a regular programme of careers fairs and practical sessions on careers advice.

Networking

You will learn from infrastructure industry leaders, making valuable connections in your field. World-leading practitioners are incorporated in all modules through guest lecturers and case-studies, leveraging the outstanding position of The Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction in the construction industry.