UDRLESTT - BSc (Hons) Real Estate

Real estate professionals are highly valued and in demand in the UK and globally. London Metropolitan University’s School of the Built Environment have designed a course to produce skilled and forward-thinking real estate professionals, who are able to lead on the investment, development, and management of property, whilst promoting environmental and social values in everything they do.

The work of surveyors in commercial real estate is wide and varied. The principal sectors within commercial real estate are retail, office, industrial and leisure. Commercial real estate serves a vast array of purposes supporting public and private sector business and services, such as government, service industries, education, healthcare, manufacturing, telecommunications and other civil infrastructure.

Our students will have the opportunity to engage in authentic learning and assessment. This will be achieved by working closely with established national and international commercial real estate organisations to provide case studies for students learning and assessment, and students will be able to present their solutions to these organisations for discussion and feedback.

Students will learn about real estate globally, as well as UK markets. In several modules, students will be able to select 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 to include posters, recorded presentations, reports and digital portfolios. 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. L4 Law and Planning allows students to choose their own development sites to build up a digital portfolio including vlogs, blogs and images, improving students’ visual presentation and digital skills. Throughout the course there is support for students in communication and presentation skills, which are essential requirements for employability and professional body membership.

Formative assessment and formative feedback is a key part of the learning process and provides constructive feedback to students, allowing them to improve their quality of work. Formative feedback is given in a number of ways, ranging from in class discussion, one to one sessions, group sessions and formative feedback (feed forward) given within summative assessment. Every module will have formative feedback embedded within it for each piece of summative assessment.

Students will create a Professional Learning Journal throughout their studies and this journal is embedded in a module at each level of study and included in the assessments. The Journal will encourage critical reflection both at a personal level and in relation to aspects of real estate. Students are given choice in how they assemble their Journal, using a digital portfolio tool, and the means of communication using mixed media (visual, written, recorded). The Journal will be of use to students when seeking employment, to demonstrate to employers their experience.

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. The VLE also facilitates communication between students and academic staff through discussion boards and tools such as Padlet.

Through the library students will have access to e-books, journals, and real estate databases. These resources provide them with industry standard guidance but also enable them to keep up to date with current issues, economic news and market data, essential for real estate surveyors.

Classroom teaching will be broken into traditional lectures, seminars and tutorials. The emphasis will be away from didactic teaching and towards student centred teaching which facilitates learning and students’ own exploration of subject areas.
There will also be visits to construction sites, buildings in use and areas of real estate development throughout the curriculum.
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.

Commercial real estate surveyors work in many areas, such as development, investment, asset management and valuation. The aim of this course is to provide students with a comprehensive foundation of knowledge in all these areas, which they will then apply to different situations using problem-based learning and case studies to reinforce their learning and enable them to transfer this knowledge to different situations.

Throughout the course there is a substantial emphasis on social value and sustainability in real estate. Competence in digital applications and data analysis also feature strongly throughout the course, providing students with contemporary skills to enhance their employability.

Students will gain the core knowledge required to work in commercial real estate. They will examine legal and economic forces influencing the real estate market; value property for different purposes; learn about legal principles affecting real estate, explore commercial agency in the UK and internationally, appraise the feasibility of developments and calculate the costs at various stages of the process; analyse real estate assets as investments and appreciate the factors which affect value; understand the economics of real estate including financing of transactions, investments and developments; and appreciate the need for ethical behaviour and the role of professional bodies in the real estate sector.

The course aims to produce students with effective communication skills, essential for employability and professional body membership.

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. Propose appropriate solutions to complex problems relating to real estate.
3. Judge decisions made in relation to their impact on the environment, social structures, health and well-being, and formulate alternative solutions where required to lessen this impact.
4. Apply the principles and processes that deliver an inclusive environment.
5. Demonstrate the ability to effectively communicate complex information in an appropriate manner.
6. Generate effective solutions to unfamiliar and/or complex problems.
7. Evaluate personal self-development and practice and create plans for personal and professional development.
8. Demonstrate competence in understanding the principles of development, investment and management of real estate and the physical, technical, legal, economic and environmental factors which influence these.
9. Distinguish the various stakeholders involved in the development, investment, occupation and management of real estate and understand their different needs.
10. Recognise different forms of construction, new building and existing buildings, and demonstrate understanding of defects which can arise in different ages of building.
11. Competently use technology to support the resolution of complex issues and challenges within real estate.
12. Demonstrate critical awareness of technology and innovation in real estate and the implications of this on the role of professionals in real estate.
13. Critically evaluate and apply the theory to produce solutions to facilitate successful outcomes in real estate operations.
14. Apply professional and ethical frameworks associated with the development, financing, investment in and use of buildings and facilities.

Land Construction, Real Estate and Surveying

The assessments generally reflect authentic learning and students will use skills required in the workplace to complete the assessments. Assessments are often based on simulated real life situations and enable students to transfer their classroom learning to these situations, creating assessments which promote deeper learning. The course uses a variety of assessment methods. 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. There are a variety of assessment types elsewhere which have been employed to suit different learning outcomes, and enable students to develop a range of skills, including essay writing, digital portfolios, live and recorded presentations, spreadsheet calculations, professional reports and posters. The variety removes the subjective nature of more formal traditional assessment types, promotes student engagement, and gives students a better chance of success. In some modules students are able to choose their own subject matter for assessment. For example, L4 Law and Planning, students compile a portfolio of evidence to demonstrate their understanding of the module and the learning outcomes. This will be based on example developments which the students choose to research in relation to planning policy, all recorded in a portfolio (as a series of blogs/vlogs containing text, graphics and recordings).

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 in relation to real estate, and the skills they have gained during the course. Each module will have an opportunity for formative feedback 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 feedback and assessment will be different across modules and will often 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.

Examinations: Time limited open book examinations will be used to test knowledge and understanding
Essays: A focused piece of writing in which the student is required to inform or persuade through argument, explanation, narrative, or description.
Practicals: These will include working in computer labs using specialist software to prepare a development appraisal or a valuation.
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 commercial real estate 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 semester/year to minimise assessment bunching. 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 Level 5 Summer Semester and week 4 of level 6 Spring Semester. This is to allow sufficient time to prepare coursework submissions once the work-placement is completed. Exact dates will be issued to students 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
Level 4
Year 1 L4 Autumn semester core modules; SU4000 Built Environment Principles; RL4000 Real Estate Economics and Valuation
Year 1 L4 Spring semester core modules; SU4000 Built Environment Principles; RL4000 Real Estate Economics and Valuation
Year 2 L4 Autumn semester core module; CO4000 Construction Technology and Services
Year 2 L4 Spring semester core module; RL4001 Real Estate Law and Planning
Level 5
Year 3 L5 Autumn semester core module; RL5000 Real Estate Development; SU5050 Building Pathology and Refurbishment
Year 3 L5 Spring semester core module; RL5000 Real Estate Development; RL5052 Accounting for Real Estate
Year 4 L5 Autumn semester core modules; RL5050 Applied Valuation; RL5001 Urban Regeneration
Year 4 L5 Spring semester core modules; RL5001 Urban Regeneration; RL5051 Real Estate Asset Management
Level 6
Year 5 L6 Autumn semester core module; RL6000 Commercial Real Estate Practice
Year 5 L6 Spring semester core module; SU6051 Big Data and the Built Environment; Option Modules (Choose 1) SU6053 Inclusive Teamwork and Leadership; SU6052 Development Finance and Risk; CO6W50 Professional Placement in the Built Environment
Year 6 L6 Autumn semester core modules; SU6PO1 Applied Research Project; RL6050 Advanced Valuation
Year 6 L6 Spring semester core modules; SU6PO1 Applied Research Project; RL6051 Sustainable Real Estate

All modules pass on aggregate.

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

Diploma of Higher Education in Real Estate (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 commercial real estate. 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. 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 real estate surveyor. 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).

As a real estate graduate, your technical skills, business knowledge and communication 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:
● Property consultants such as Avison Young, Jones Lang Lasalle and CBRE.
● Property companies such as LandSec and British Land.
● Property investment and development businesses such as Derwent London and Great Portland Estates.
● Landed estates such as The Portman Estate, Grosvenor and the Crown Estate.
● Housing associations such as L&Q and the Peabody Trust.
● Public sector and major infrastructure organisations such as the NHS, the Civil Service and Transport for London

We intend to apply for professional body accreditations for our Real Estate BSc from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors as soon as possible.

As a real estate graduate, your business knowledge, property management and people skills will be highly-valued by a range of employers in various sectors.

Both the public and private sector make up a huge source of employment within the field.

Typical employers include:

• Residential and commercial property developers
• Property consultants
• Housing associations
• Public sector organisation
• Major infrastructure organisations
• Specialist consultants

The technical, management and professional skills gained during your studies will also be valued by employers in other sectors, such as project management, and estate agencies.

Our School of the Build Environment offers a masters course in Construction Project Management, should you wish to continue your studies at a postgraduate level.

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, e.g. BTEC National, OCR Diploma or Advanced Diploma)
• English language and mathematics GCSEs at grade C/grade 4 or above (or equivalent)