UDCONMGT - BSc (Hons) Construction Management

Skilled construction managers are in demand both in the UK and globally. At the London Metropolitan University School of the Built Environment, we have designed a course which will produce highly skilled and valued construction managers who able to effectively lead the planning and delivery of projects across the globe. You will achieve this through an understanding of traditional and contemporary construction and project, management techniques and how to use them in practice. You will gain experience of industry standard technology to enhance your employability skills and prospects.

As a student on our course, you will have the opportunity to engage in authentic learning and assessment on real world projects, working with established national and international organisations operating within the construction and real estate sector. You will be able to visit live projects to experience first-hand the challenges, excitement, and opportunities a career in construction management can offer.

Placing an emphasis on real world and authentic assessment means that throughout the course students will showcase their achievements to industry and employers and contribute to solving challenges posed by authentic assessments. In some modules, such as Sustainability in the Built Environment, project choice will be available to students allowing them to choose where in the world they locate their projects which will help students to discuss different perspectives within and outside the UK. This will aid students’ critical thinking and awareness of how different perspectives on issues relating to diversity in ethnicity, culture and nationality can impact the move towards more sustainable built environments.
Assessment types will be varied, and modules such as L6 Inclusive Teamwork and Leadership and L5 Building Pathology and Refurbishment, will include assessment choice whereby the students can agree with the module team the format of the presentation which, for example, could be live in person, a recorded talking head video, or a recorded PowerPoint presentation with commentary.

Formative assessment is key to students’ progression as it provides the opportunity for impactful feedback to the students which will directly benefit their future submissions. Formative assessments will be embedded in modules, sometimes taking the form of a scheduled event, for example a workshop in the L6 Applied Research Project module, the output of which will be a project outline proposal which will be arrived at through group and individual discussions with the module team.

The course will adopt a blended learning approach which will combine the benefits of a traditional classroom taught course with the flexibility which is afforded by delivery that is enhanced through embracing web-based technology and resources. These web-based technologies allow students flexible ways of engaging with the course material, academics, and their peers. The University’s Virtual Learning Environment will provide students with access to the course materials, including lecture notes, recordings and supporting resources. Through the library students will have access to e-books, journals, and construction industry databases.

A number of the 30 credit modules have been proposed as semester long and these include the Level 4 Construction technology and Building Services, and Materials Science and Structural Principles and Level 5 Advanced Construction technology and Structures, and Environmental Science and Sustainability. The rationale behind this intensive delivery mode for these modules is that it allows for meaningful student engagement with the laboratory-based activities such as materials testing, model making, structural frame and component testing, and sufficient time to participate in external visits to construction projects and suchlike.
London Metropolitan University’s commitment to social justice and using the power of education to change lives is central to the learning and teaching on this course, encouraging all students to engage and fulfil their potential. The course has been designed with the objective of removing arbitrary and unnecessary barriers to learning, by facilitating a learning experience accessible for all, irrespective of the group or groups to which students belong. The student experience will raise aspirations and support achievement for people with diverse requirements, entitlements, and backgrounds. All our students belong and contribute to our community of learners, engaging with the opportunities the course, School, and University offer.

The need for expert planning and management of construction projects is a key strategic objective for every organisation operating, developing, and owning built environment assets across the globe. Construction managers are experts in the effective project planning and delivery of construction projects throughout the project lifecycle. Projects can range from small and medium scale specialist installations to major infrastructure projects which are critical to a nation’s development and competitiveness. Construction managers are skilled in tackling complex challenging projects and play a key role in the success of a building project. They are highly motivated and active individuals who are creative thinkers, expert planners, and problem solvers, with excellent people skills. They have a wide skill base which includes project planning and execution, construction technology, health and safety, building legislation, business and communication skills.
The aim of the course is to develop construction managers who have the requisite knowledge, skills, and behaviours, to ensure that the planning and delivery of construction projects is achieved to time, cost, and quality requirements, safeguarding the health, safety and wellbeing of the whole project delivery team.
During the course you will gain experience of the challenges associated with management of projects of different sizes and types and be required to demonstrate a thorough understanding as to how to organize and plan the delivery of construction projects using your technical, project and people management skills. You will gain an understanding of the nature of project teams and the duties construction managers fulfill, including during the pre-planning and delivery stage of a project.

The course will embrace the latest construction management techniques and mobilize the latest technologies within authentic project scenarios. This will ensure the learning experience of our students is one through which they become highly employable professionals leading ethical and sustainable project delivery within a sustainable, low carbon world.

On successful completion of this course, you should be able to:
1. Demonstrate confidence, resilience, ambition, and creativity and act as inclusive, collaborative, and socially responsible practitioners/professionals in your discipline.
2. Evaluate the contributions of stakeholders towards achieving and maintaining a sustainable built environment.
3. Critique the technology and innovations underpinning the design, construction, and performance of the built environment.
4. Appraise the contributions of design, materials, construction technology, innovation and engineering elements, processes, and practices towards a sustainable built environment.
5. Propose appropriate solutions to complex problems relating to the built environment accounting for regulatory, legal, social, risk management, environmental and professional body frameworks.
6. Formulate proposals using data collected from activities including laboratory experiments, design activities, site surveying, case studies, site visits and research including primary and secondary sources.
7. Develop proposals for sustainable practice in the built environment.
8. Demonstrate the ability to communicate complex information in an appropriate manner.
9. Generate effective solutions to unfamiliar and/or complex problems.
10. Discuss Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity, Health and Safety and Wellbeing in the built environment and identify examples of the implementation of ethical and inclusive change and practice to create an inclusive built environment.
11. Evaluate personal self-development and practice and create plans for personal and professional development.
12. Competently use technology to support the resolution of complex issues within construction management.
13. Critically evaluate and apply solutions to facilitate successful strategic and operational construction management of projects and organisations.
14. Use appropriate methodologies to manage the construction project team, project plan, resources, and uncertainty.
15. Formulate a response to a complex problem in an area specific to construction project management.

Land Construction, Real Estate and Surveying

The course uses a variety of assessment methods and modules are generally assessed using more than one type of assessment. As was mentioned in section 9, modules such as L6 Inclusive Teamwork and Leadership and L5 Building Pathology and Refurbishment, will include assessment choice whereby the students can agree with the module team the format of the presentation which, for example, could be live in person, a recorded talking head video, or a recorded PowerPoint presentation with commentary. If recorded, then there will still be a scheduled Q&A.

The course assessments will allow students to evidence their knowledge of the core course learning materials, their intellectual and problem-solving abilities, their awareness of the impact of issues relating to diversity in ethnicity, culture and nationality on the construction manager, and the skills they have gained during the course. Each module will provide an opportunity for formative assessment which will be provided ahead of any summative submissions to enable the students to learn and benefit from this feedback, improving their overall performance. The delivery of formative assessment will be different across modules and may sometimes form part of a timetabled seminar or class session.

In modules where problem-based learning is used, industry inspired scenarios will form the basis of the assessment, sometimes using a live project as the vehicle for the assessment.

Assessment types will include:

Debates: Group debates will be conducted around a particular topic or subject area. A proposition will be offered and defended within the group context. These are often used as the vehicle for formative feedback sessions and occur during scheduled workshops.

Essays: A focused piece of writing in which the student is required to inform or persuade through argument, explanation, narrative, or description.

Examinations: Time limited open book examinations will be used to test knowledge and understanding.

Practicals: These will include working in the laboratories to explore the performance of materials and building structures.

Portfolios: Typically, a portfolio brings together of several related pieces of work which together form the basis of a response to a problem set.

Project and Coursework: These will be based on a scenario that relates directly to the construction industry and will require an objective solution to the problem that has been set.

Presentations: These may be live (face to face or online) or recorded and could include video. Whether the presentations are synchronous or asynchronous there will be an opportunity for live Q&A scheduled into the assessment timetable.

For the Applied Research Project module, the assessment is based on a substantial, individual piece of research conducted by the student. Throughout the project formative feedback and guidance will be available to all students through their work with their supervisors including opportunities for 1:1 supervision meetings.
In broad terms, the assessment strategies adopted on the course will require students to provide evidence of the following:

Analysis – have key concepts been understood and the relationship between them articulated?

Integration of theory and practice – has evidence from both academic research and professional practice been effectively related to each other, and have theoretical concepts been appropriately applied to practical situations?

Critical thinking – has information been used in a critical way rather than simply reproduced and accepted as fact?

All assessment briefs will provide students with a clear and unambiguous guide to the assessment requirements and the marking criteria to be applied. Assessments will be spread across the whole academic year to minimize assessment bunching and any feedback issued will be done so in a timely manner which, where applicable, will help inform subsequent submissions.

All students are required to submit assignments via relevant WebLearn sites through Turnitin. These are marked and made available to second markers and external examiners in all cases and all students are informed of these procedures through module discussions as well as during induction undertaken by the Course Leader.

A 15-credit work-based learning module is available as an option at level 6. The work-placement activity needs to take place during the period between week 1 of your Level 5 Summer Semester and week 4 of your Level 6 Spring Semester. This is to give you sufficient time to prepare your coursework submissions once your work-placement is completed. Exact dates will be issued to you in advance. Students who wish to take the module will receive advice from the course team as to the support available to them to secure an opportunity before the end of semester 2 ahead of the summer from when they are able to undertake the placement. The module will require the student to produce a piece of reflective work based on their placement experience and further details can be found in the module descriptor.

Those studying on a Student Visa will only be able to complete a work placement if it meets UKVI monitoring requirements including, approval of the placement dates and hours by the Placement Officer prior to starting the placement, submission of weekly timesheets for the hours undertaken, signed by their line manager/supervisor and continued engagement with the Placement Officer as well as the International Student Support and Compliance Team.

Part time starts (day release)
September start, 6 years
Year 1 L4 Autumn semester core modules; Built Environment Principles; Design, Procurement and Management
Year 1 L4 Spring semester core modules; Built Environment Principles; Construction Site Engineering and Infrastructure
Year 2 L4 Autumn semester core module; Construction Technology and Services
Year 2 L4 Spring semester core module; Materials Science and Structures
Year 3 L5 Autumn semester core module; Advanced Construction Technology and Structures
Year 3 L5 Spring semester core module; Environmental Science and Sustainability
Year 4 L5 Autumn semester core modules; Project Management and Contract Administration; Building Pathology and Refurbishment
Year 4 L5 Spring semester core modules; Project Management and Contract Administration; Advanced Site Engineering Practice
Year 5 L6 Autumn semester core module; Construction Management Practice
Year 5 L6 Spring semester core module; Inclusive Teamwork and Leadership; Option Modules (Choose 1) Development Finance and Risk; Big Data and the Built Environment; Professional Placement in the Built Environment
Year 6 L6 Autumn semester core modules; Applied Research Project; Sustainable Built Environments
Year 6 L6 Spring semester core modules; Advanced Fire Safety; Applied Research Project;

All modules pass on aggregate.

Certificate of Higher Education in Construction (CertHE) [120credits at Level 4]

Diploma of Higher Education in Construction (DipHE) [240 credits, min 120 at Level 5]

BSc (Ord) 300 credits. 120 credits at L4, 120 credits at L5, 60 credits at L6

As with many academic disciplines it is accepted that a knowledge of fundamental concepts and vocabulary must be acquired by the student and this basic knowledge will be obtained primarily via the course material, including online resources, supplemented by their own personal research. However, the acquisition of that knowledge will not be adequate to develop the high-level intellectual skills appropriate to a degree level course. Hence, the course will make extensive use of problem- based learning.

In the problem-based learning approach students are presented with scenarios which are complex, with more than one right answer and allow a variety of responses or solutions. Students determine the lines of enquiry and the methods employed, and the enquiry requires students to draw on existing knowledge and identify their required learning needs. Staff will act as facilitators throughout the activities. Tasks will be performed through group and independent study, to develop critical thinking skills of analysis, evaluation, and synthesis around quantity surveying and commercial management. Students work collaboratively and use the extensive resources available to them to research the problems presented in the scenario.

The learning process is thus highly student-centered, with the students effectively taking responsibility for planning their own research, formulating solutions, and communicating their findings, with the emphasis on project based, interdisciplinary learning. The scenarios are carefully designed so that there is no single correct answer and indeed, many alternative responses may be available to them as is the case in the real world of the construction project manager. Students gain a much deeper understanding of the material through these interactions and feedback channels, gaining knowledge by experience, alongside developing their social, cultural and employability skills.

Through both their regular class-based activities and module assessments, students will be provided with feedback and asked to reflect and learn from this. Opportunities will be provided for students to engage with opportunities to receive feedback both real time and asynchronously. At each level of study, students will be required to produce and update a weekly Professional Development Journal (PDJ) in the form of a reflective journal. The journal will form part of an assessment in a module at each level. The PDJ will allow students to reflect on what they have learnt and help them to identify gaps in their knowledge. This approach mirrors industry where professional practitioners are required to keep records of their Continuous Professional Development (CPD).

We will be seeking accreditation for our Construction Management BSc from the Chartered Institute of Building, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, and the Association for Project Management as soon as possible.

As a Construction Management graduate, your technical, management, and professional skills will be valued by employers in a range of sectors. The private sector is a major source of employment, and within the public sector both central and local government bodies offer graduate employment opportunities in this area.

Typical employers include:

• Major UK and international construction companies and consultancies
• Residential and commercial property developers
• Construction and civil engineering contractors
• Architectural and design practices
• Social housing organisations
• Public sector organisations
• Specialist consultants including cost consultants, engineering, and environmental consultancy

The technical, financial management and professional skills you will gain during your studies are also valued by employers in other sectors, such as renewables, engineering, and manufacturing

As a construction management graduate, your technical skills, business knowledge and communication skills will be highly valued by employers, in a range of sectors.

The private and public sector are major sources of employment. Both central and local government bodies offer graduate employment opportunities in this area.

Typical employers includes:

• Major UK and international construction companies and consultancies
• Residential and commercial property developers
• Construction and civil engineering contractors
• Architectural and design practices
• Housing associations
• Public sector organisations
• Specialist consultants including cost consultants, engineering, and environmental consultancy

The technical, management and professional skills you’ll gain during your studies are also valued by employers in other sectors, such as renewables, engineering, manufacturing, general project management and management.

Should you wish to continue your studies at a postgraduate level, the School offers a master’s course in Construction Project Management. If you study your undergraduate course at London Met, you could also be eligible for a 20% discount on your postgraduate fees.

In addition to the University’s standard entry requirements, you should have:

• A minimum of grades CCC in three A levels (or a minimum of 96 UCAS points from an equivalent Level 3 qualification, eg BTEC National, OCR Diploma or Advanced Diploma)
• English language and mathematics GCSEs at grade C/grade 4 or above (or equivalent)