Building Surveying
Entry requirements
A level
112-120 points from 2 or 3 A levels.
112-122 Tariff points from the Access to HE Diploma.
Cambridge Pre-U score of 54-56.
GCSE/National 4/National 5
5 GCSEs at grade C or above to include English and Mathematics/5 GCSEs at grade 4 or above to include English and Mathematics
29 points from the IB Diploma. 655/754 at Higher Level - 29 points from the IB Diploma. 664 at Higher Level.
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
H3,H3,H3,H3,H4-H3,H3,H3,H3,H3
Acceptable when combined with other qualifications.
Acceptable when combined with other qualifications.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
112-120 Tariff points.
T Level
UCAS Tariff
112-120 points from 2 or 3 A levels, or equivalent.
112-120 points from the Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate including 2 A levels, plus the Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate.
About this course
This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.
**This is a Connected Degree**
Portsmouth is the only University in the UK with the flexibility to choose when to do an optional paid placement or self-employed year. Either take a placement in your third year, or finish your studies first and complete a placement in your fourth year. You can decide if and when to take a placement after you've started your course.
**Overview**
As a building surveyor, you'll be at the heart of decision-making in construction projects that could transform the built environment or contribute to a more sustainable world. You'll advise on the specification of exciting new development proposals and be responsible for assessing the success of repairs and renovations.
On this BSc (Hons) Building Surveying degree course, you'll develop the technical skills and experience you need for a specialist career as a chartered building surveyor. You'll also have the expertise to consult and lead on facilities management, project management and building conservation.
Accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), graduating from this degree course is the first step to becoming a Chartered Building Surveyor.
**Course highlights**
- Learn from practising building surveyors and guest speakers, including leading industry professionals and members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
- Benefit from our links to industry through our professional advisory board, a collection of professionals in relevant industries who help shape our course content
- Simulate projects you'll do in your career, with practical surveying sessions in residential and commercial test environments
- Work collaboratively with students from other courses to complete projects, preparing for a career working in multidisciplinary project teams
- Put theory to the test on field trips to locations such as the Passivhaus standard housing development, school refurbishment projects and The National Self Building and Renovation Centre
- Get the opportunity to visit a European city and develop a research project around the city's built environment
- Develop your knowledge of building information modelling (BIM) techniques on industry-standard software
**Accreditation**
This course is accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
**Careers and opportunities**
90% of our graduates are in work or further study 15 months after graduation and 95% are working in highly skilled roles in areas of architecture, surveying, construction, engineering and management.
What's more, graduates from all our building courses are earning an average salary of £27,000 after 15 months, and £38,500 after 5 years.
What jobs can you do with a Building Surveying degree?
Roles you can go onto include:
- building surveyor
- assistant building surveyor
- project manager
- facilities manager
- BIM coordinator
- historic building conservationist
- property developer
When you finish the course, our careers and employability service can help you find a job that puts your skills to work in the industry. We'll give you advice and support for up to 5 years after you graduate, to help you get the best start to your career.
Modules
Year 1
Core modules in this year include:
- CAD and BIM – 20 credits
- Construction, Design and Sustainability – 20 credits
- Introduction to Law for the Built Environment – 20 credits
- Multidisciplinary Project – 20 credits
- Property Economics and Financial Accounting – 20 credits
- Materials in Construction – 20 credits
There are no optional modules in this year.
Year 2
Core modules in this year include:
- Applied BIM – 20 credits
- Introduction to Project Management Principles – 20 credits
- Planning Procedures and Practice – 20 credits
- Procurement and Pre-contract Practice – 20 credits
- Professional Studies and Applied Project – 20 credits
Optional modules in this year currently include:
- Heritage Property – 20 credits
- International Built Environment Fieldwork (additional costs apply) – 20 credits
- Modern Foreign Language (Institution-wide Language Programme) – 20 credits
- Urban Regeneration – 20 credits
Placement year (optional)
On this course, you can do an optional work placement year between your 2nd and 3rd years to get valuable experience working in industry. We’ll help you secure a work placement that fits your situation and ambitions. You’ll get mentoring and support throughout the year.
Year 3
Core modules in this year include:
- Building Pathology – 20 credits
- Contract Administration, Claims Management and Dispute Resolution – 20 credits
- Energy and Environmental Management – 20 credits
- Individual Major Project – 40 credits
- Professional Practice – 20 credits
There are no optional modules in this year.
We use the best and most current research and professional practice alongside feedback from our students to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies.
Therefore, some course content may change over time to reflect changes in the discipline or industry and some optional modules may not run every year. If a module doesn’t run, we’ll let you know as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative module.
Assessment methods
You’ll be assessed through:
- written exams
- web assessments
- essays and reports
- presentations
- an individual project
You’ll be able to test your skills and knowledge informally before you do assessments that count towards your final mark.
You can get feedback on all practice and formal assessments so you can improve in the future.
The way you’re assessed may depend on the modules you select. As a guide, students on this course last year were typically assessed as follows:
- Year 1 students: 43% by written exams, 8% by practical exams and 49% by coursework
- Year 2 students: 35% by written exams, 25% by practical exams and 40% by coursework
- Year 3 students: 28% by written exams, 23% by practical exams and 49% by coursework
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
The Uni
University of Portsmouth
Faculty of Technology
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
How do students rate their degree experience?
The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Building
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Building
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
Want to take a degree that is definitely in demand? Try building! We're short of graduates in this area, so most graduates get jobs quickly. Building graduates make excellent surveyors, and that's currently one of the jobs that employers find hardest to fill, so there are great opportunities available of you want to try your hand at a surveying career. Building graduates also go into jobs in site and project management and other high skilled parts of the construction industry. There are jobs to be had in most parts of the country, so if you're technically-inclined and want to work somewhere specific, it might be worth considering this as an option. Building graduates are more likely than most to start their career with an employer who gave them work experience, so it’s particularly worth trying to secure links with industry if you take this degree.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Building
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£23k
£29k
£30k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).
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You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.
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Post-six month graduation stats:
This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.
It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.
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Graduate field commentary:
The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show
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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
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