Building Surveying BSc (Hons) with foundation year

Course overview

Why you should study this course

Foundation year

• Supports you to gain the academic skills required for degree-level study.
• Provides a grounding in key areas of engineering.

Degree

Distinctive and innovative features:

• The course was designed in collaboration with industry experts and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), a leading professional body globally.
• We prioritise hands-on experience, from conducting property inspections using thermal imaging cameras, drones and laser measure, also developing essential skills in computer-aided design (CAD), Revit, report writing and client liaison, which are crucial for success in the field.
• Our strong industry connections provide guest lectures, site visits, and potential pathways to internships and employment through CV and interview preparation sessions, resume workshops and networking events².
• A common first year enables you to undertake multi-disciplinary learning alongside other professions, if you discover an interest in another specific subject, you could swap degrees with another course (subject to meeting progression requirements).
• Offering you both work placements and study year abroad opportunities, you could explore new horizons, immerse yourself in diverse cultures and gain invaluable hands-on experience while pursuing your degree².

Careers and opportunities

Upon successful completion, you should have knowledge of:

• the key concepts, theories and principles used in construction, property and surveying. These will include legal principles; design, construction technology, performance of buildings; building defect identification and analysis; building adaptation; historic buildings and application of building surveying techniques
• contemporary global issues facing the building surveying profession and driving change within it, for example, the sustainability/environmental agenda
• professional ethics, their impact on the operation of the building surveying profession and their influence on the society; conflict avoidance/dispute resolution; communities and the stakeholders with whom they have contact
• skills that promote safe working environments and safe buildings for habitation and use
• select and use effectively a range of appropriate means of communication including information technology.

You should also be able to:

• work effectively with others within the context of a multi-disciplinary team respecting the respective inputs from fellow professionals, client(s) and other stakeholders, and reflecting on one's own performance and role within the team
• present quantitative and qualitative information, together with analysis, argument and commentary, in a form appropriate to the intended audience, including appropriate acknowledgement and referencing of sources
• produce professional reports in accordance with published conventions and/or client expectations
• analyse, interpolate and present information
• analyse and solve construction problems of a technical and managerial nature
• analyse data and information sources in construction.

Building surveying offers a rewarding and challenging career where no two days are ever likely to be the same.

You could find yourself involved in all aspects of construction and it is now one of the broadest areas of surveying practice, taking in projects from a domestic extension to a major retail development. Building surveyors offer advice on many aspects of design and construction, including maintenance, repair, refurbishment and restoration of proposed and existing buildings.

They offer quality assessments and report on defects in, or ways of improving, all kinds of buildings. As well as finding structural faults, building surveyors recommend solutions. They can advise on the feasibility of a building project, how much it might cost to carry out, or how suitable a building could be for a particular purpose.