Quantity Surveying and Commercial 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
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 Quantity Surveying and Commercial Management BSc Honours degree over a further three years of study.
The growth in global construction is fuelling the demand for professional quantity surveyors and construction commercial managers who can take a holistic view of construction projects – overseeing costs, contractual and procurement matters – from inception to completion. Our project-based approach to learning exposes you to live and past construction projects from the outset, preparing you to accurately predict and control project costs.
This professionally focused degree will prepare you to confidently and effectively manage the commercial aspects of building and civil engineering projects across the property and construction industries. Whether you’re already working in construction or looking to enter the industry, you can start your journey to becoming a certified quantity surveyor or commercial manager.
Fully accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), and the Chartered Association of Building Engineers (CABE), it will equip you with the professional and technical skills to ensure projects are delivered on time, to the required quality, and within budget. This involves early cost planning, procurement evaluation, tendering, estimating, contractual routes, project cost control, and commercial management.
Our central London location and numerous industry contacts, which include Great Portland Estates, Mace, Lendlease, The Portman Estate, Wilmott Dixon, Multiplex, Transport for London, 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, clients 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 or can further progress in your existing careers.
Our construction courses share a common ‘Level 4’; the first year of the full-time course or the first two years if studying part-time. Shared core modules allow you to gain knowledge of the different professional roles and the interdisciplinary nature of the modern construction industry. At the end of Level 4, you’ll be better placed to choose the course-specific modules in later years of study that emphasise the knowledge and skills for your chosen profession. It also means that, should your interests change, you can switch course.
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.
Top reasons to study with us
- Fully accredited by RICS, CIOB, and CABE
- Professionally focused course designed to produce graduates capable of dealing with the technological and managerial processes associated with pre and post-construction building lifecycle
- Put theory into practice on a year-long work placement or gain international experience studying abroad
- Taught by a knowledgeable, approachable, and multicultural teaching team who are professionally qualified, having come from professional practice and/or construction research
- Take part in and visit major construction and infrastructure projects in the UK and abroad. Recently, we have visited off-site manufacturing facilities and major London projects, such as Crossrail, Battersea Power Station, Google Headquarters
- Street walks and talks – a series of guided walks around Marylebone, Fitzrovia, and Kings Cross, which have a wealth of historic buildings, modern buildings, and examples of adaptation and reuse of buildings, such as Coal Drop Yard in Kings Cross
- Outstanding facilities include the Fab Lab, used to build models, test construction materials, and for 3D printing, photographic facilities, and simulation through virtual and augmented reality
Admissions
Curriculum
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
You will be introduced to the key theories and concepts of building design, building science, construction technology, the built environment, and digital construction. You will develop your knowledge of these core theories and concepts. Right from the start, you will be introduced to real-world projects and case studies: we try to take you out of the classroom to visit building sites and learn about quantity surveying and commercial management in the field. You also attend events and exhibitions, for example, at The Building Centre and Futurebuild. Most of the topics are around simple construction at this level.
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, you will move on from simple construction to look at high-rise and wide-span buildings, looking at their structure and fabric and how to procure and manage their design, develop costings, and procure construction services. You will look at the measurement, quantification, and estimation of building costs together with the principles underlying project financial, contractual, and site management. In the future, we hope to offer a European field trip to highlight different international practices within construction and other manufacturing and production industries.
Subjects of study include:
- Advanced Measurement
- Construction Engineering Technology
- Construction Project learning
- Environmental Science and Services
- Project and Commercial Management
- Project Procurement, Management, and Law
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 the 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 upon through a Learning Agreement between you, the home institution, and Westminster Business School.
Year 3
The study focuses on the frameworks and contractual arrangements under which construction takes place to further develop your knowledge and skills in the areas of project evaluation and development, cost information systems, whole life costing, and supply chain management. You will also look at professionalism and the requirements of the professional bodies, together with sustainable design and construction, to ensure students are ready for the workplace and to carry on their journey to achieve professional recognition. Students also investigate a current issue of their choice in the final year. During this year, you have the option to take part in a week-long trip abroad to look at building and infrastructure projects, with some free time to explore the area that you are visiting.
Subjects of study include:
- Construction Technology and Innovation
- Contract Administration and Practice
- Current Issues in the Built Environment
- Professional Practice
- Project Evaluation and Development
- Project Management
Program Tuition Fee
Career Opportunities
With our focus on professionalism and international practice, this accredited course will provide you with the principal skills needed to become Quantity or Commercial Manager and, with further education and experience, you can progress towards full professional qualification with the RICS and CIOB. There is a wide choice of careers open to you, including professional quantity surveying, commercial management, project and facilities management, value and risk management, procurement management, property investment and development, arbitration and dispute resolution, capital allowances and tax consultancy, and property development.
Our graduates have developed careers with many types of organisations, including surveying firms, property consultancies, commercial companies, central government, local authorities, and large property-owning organisations, such as housing associations, retailers, and leisure groups. Others have also pursued further studies at the master's level, either on a full-time or part-time basis, typically in areas such as construction or project management, Construction Law, or Commercial Management.
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. You’ll be taught by staff with substantial industry experience and be exposed to real professional practice and projects throughout.
We are proud of our excellent industry links with a host of construction companies and key professional bodies, including RICS, CIOB, and CABE. 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 for them 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:
- Commercial manager
- Development manager
- Procurement manager
- Professional quantity surveyor
- Project manager
Graduate employers
Graduates from this course have found employment at organisations including:
- AECOM
- Arcadis
- Ballymore
- Galiford Try
- Gleeds
- Lendlease
- Mace
- Wates
- Wilmott Dixon