Construction Management with Foundation BSc Honours
London, United Kingdom
DURATION
4 up to 5 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2025
TUITION FEES
GBP 17,000 / per year
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
Introduction
Our degree courses with a Foundation year offer the opportunity to prepare you for advanced study before you progress on to a full honours degree at the University of Westminster.
Whether you do not feel ready for degree-level study, don’t have the right qualifications, or want to change your subject specialism or return to study after an absence from education, we aim to encourage a broad range of students to undertake our Foundation year to progress onto their full honours degree with us.
The Foundation year is designed to allow you to explore new ideas, opening up new perspectives on the key debates within your chosen field. Core modules accelerate your academic and professional development, bringing together like-minded students to think about the ‘big ideas’ within your discipline. You will also take modules from areas closely related to your chosen field, giving you the chance to develop a cross-disciplinary perspective on your course.
On successful completion of the Foundation year, you will be able to move on to study for the Construction Management BSc Honours degree over a further three years of study.
Whether tackling the housing crisis, improving the world’s infrastructure, or adding to the city skyline, a career in construction management means you will be building the places we work, homes we live in, venues we relax at, the roads we commute on, and much more. Taught by qualified professionals with industry experience, our professionally oriented degree is your first step to shaping our world and leaving a lasting legacy.
Construction management is integral to the success and smooth running of a construction project, from effectively tracking development and staying on budget to improving communication across all levels of the project. Fully accredited by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) and the Chartered Association of Building Engineers (CABE), our degree incorporates real-life professional practice from the outset with the opportunity to learn directly from industry professionals and experience projects first-hand.
Our central London location and numerous industry contacts, which include Great Portland Estates, Mace, Lendlease, The Portman Estate, and The Crown Estate, enable us to invite practising professionals to give guest lectures and regularly contribute to the course. They provide buildings as case studies for coursework, learning materials (drawings, reports, client briefs, etc.), and come into the University to give face-to-face formative feedback on students’ work. We aim to create authentic learning activities to ensure you are business-ready for employment.
You will learn about the technologies of domestic, industrial, and commercial building, construction processes, planning and programming, construction health and safety, and project life cycle assessment. Our rounded curriculum means that you will also gain the knowledge of people management, leadership, and the business management of construction that organisations need to succeed in this dynamic profession.
Our construction courses share a common first year, allowing you to gain knowledge of the different professional roles and the interdisciplinary nature of the modern construction industry. At the end of the first year, should your interests change, it is possible to switch pathway. You will mix with students from across the various pathways, broadening your social circles and networks, and be taught by our professionally qualified lecturers, who will share their experience of working in the property, construction, and surveying sectors prior to joining academia.
The course also offers practical experience opportunities, with the option to spend a year in the industry between Year 2 and Year 3. Alternatively, you'll have the chance to explore international perspectives through a year abroad, providing you with valuable real-world experience.
While this degree equips you with the professional and technical skills to work in construction management, you may also follow a career in project management, financial management, or property development.
Top reasons to study with us
- Fully accredited by CIOB and CABE
- Courses are professionally oriented, producing graduates capable of dealing with the technological and managerial processes associated with the production and post-construction life of buildings
- Put theory into practice on a year-long work placement or gain international experience studying abroad
- Programmes are delivered by a multicultural and international teaching body, who come from professional practice and/or regularly publish in top international journals
- Opportunities for internships and/or a placement year. For example, one student recently worked at Barratt Homes
- Take part in site visits to major construction sites and infrastructure projects in the UK and abroad – 45 final-year students visited Kuala Lumpur in partnership with Landlease and CIOB in 2020
- Street walks and talks – a series of guided walks around Marylebone, Fitzrovia, and Kings Cross, which have a wealth of historic buildings, modern buildings, examples of regeneration, and the adaptation and reuse of buildings, such as Coal Drop Yard in Kings Cross
- Outstanding facilities include the Fab Lab, which is used to build models, test construction materials, 3-D and laser printing, photographic facilities, robotic arms, etc
Admissions
Curriculum
The principles of construction technology, professional practice, ethics, health and safety, and the Construction Design and Management Regulations (CDM) are fundamental to the delivery of the built environment and are covered at each level in the programme. You will also gain knowledge of the professional, managerial and legal aspects of construction and digital practice, which is increasing in construction and will affect working practices, decision-making and efficiency in project delivery, and sustainability.
The following subjects are indicative of what you will study on this course.
Foundation
Subjects of study include:
- Construction Methods, Materials and Technologies
- Critical Thinking for Academic and Professional Development
- Design and Development
- Introduction to Academic Practice
- Property, People and the Economy
- Sustainable Environments
Year 1
In the first year, we will introduce you to the principles that underpin the study of construction, specifically in relation to simple building forms, the key theories and concepts of building design, building science, construction technology, site surveying and data analysis. You will learn about the immediate and long-lasting effect that construction activities have on the environment and discover sustainable and environmentally sound construction methods and innovative management practices. Right from the start, we will introduce real-world projects and case studies, visiting construction sites, which in the past have included Marble Arch Place, the exciting new development that includes a spectacular 18-storey, 54-apartment residential building overlooking Hyde Park, Mayfair.
Subjects of study include:
- Building Design
- Building Science and Structures
- Construction Technology and Services
- Introduction to the Built Environment
- Project, Commercial and Organisational Environment
- Site Engineering and Management
Year 2
As the course develops, we consider the technology and environmental design of multi-storey and wide-span buildings and their services, including structural form and construction. You will develop detailed knowledge of management practice in a construction context, construction site production management, the centrality of health and safety in the design, planning and construction of buildings, the ethical demands of sustainable development and the implications of design on the wider community. The construction technology mode at this level focuses on long span high rise commercial construction.
Subjects of study include:
- Construction Engineering Technology
- Construction Project Based Learning
- Environmental Science and Services
- Project and Commercial Management
- Project Procurement, Management and Law
- Structural Principles
Placement year
Between Years 2 and 3 (Levels 5 and 6), you may choose to undertake either a professional placement year in the UK or an international experience year.
Professional Experience
You’ll have the option to take a placement year in industry. During the year, you’ll identify goals to work towards achieving whilst on placement; carry out research to develop awareness of the sector you are working in and gain the commercial skills required within the contemporary business environment.
International Experience
Alternatively, you may choose to undertake an international experience year at one of our partner overseas institutions. During the year, you’ll study and reside in the country of a host institution. The content of your study is agreed through a Learning Agreement between you, the home institution and Westminster Business School.
Year 3
The final year of study considers some of the innovations in construction technology, such as low environmental impact technologies and their incorporation within the built environment. Deepening your knowledge of professional practice, we examine some of the current issues and challenges within the industry, such as the impact of a fabric first approach on a building’s performance. Your studies culminate with the Dissertation, in which you conduct your own research into a current industry related topic. Previous students have researched the impact of climate change, urban flooding, green roofs, modern methods of construction.
Subjects of study include:
- Construction Management
- Construction Technology and Innovation
- Contract Administration and Practice
- Current Issues in the Built Environment
- Professional Practice
- Project Management
Program Tuition Fee
Career Opportunities
There is a huge demand for construction managers, with employment projected to grow faster than the average for all other occupations up to 2026 as population and business growth require the construction of new residences, office buildings, retail outlets, hospitals, schools, restaurants, and other structures. Alongside the knowledge and understanding of construction management theories and the practical and technical skills needed to become a construction manager, transferable skills and competencies are embedded and developed throughout the course. For example, a professional standard of presentation is required for all coursework, which must meet high standards of written English. Projects and studies based on real-world cases help students learn how to solve problems and act with realistic constraints on time, information, and resources. Examples of employment entered into by recent graduates include large and small contractors, chartered surveyors, property companies, local authorities, housing associations, developers, and many other construction and property-related areas.
Industry links
Our course was designed with input from a range of industry professionals and, to retain currency and relevance, we receive ongoing feedback from the School’s Employability Advisory Board. Current members include practitioner representatives from the multinational construction, property, and infrastructure company Lendlease, commercial property experts Chase and Partners, and CABE.
We are proud of our excellent industry links with a host of property companies and key professional bodies, including CIOB, CABE, and RICS. They enable us to host a highly successful Annual Property and Construction Careers Fair, which in 2019 attracted 40 employers, including CBRE, Mace, JLL, Barratt Developments, Bouygues UK, Savills, Carter Jonas, and Grainger. Immensely popular with our students, the fair provides a unique opportunity to meet with leading employers in the property and construction sector, learn first-hand about their organisations, secure work experience, or receive guidance from a panel of speakers on the graduate scheme application process for some of the larger employers.
Job roles
This course will prepare you for roles such as:
- Construction manager
- Facilities manager
- Property manager
- Site manager
Graduate employers
Graduates from this course have found employment at organisations including:
- Balfour Beatty plc
- Bowmer & Kirkland plc
- Galliford Try plc
- Gardiner and Theobald
- Kier Group plc
- Laing O'Rourke
- Lendlease Europe Holdings Ltd
- Mace Ltd
- Morgan Sindall
- Multiplex Construction Europe Ltd
- Skanska UK plc
- Turner and Townsend
- Wates Group Ltd