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Building Surveying

Entry requirements


A level

B,B,B-B,B,C

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)

DDM-DMM

112-120 Tariff points.

T Level

M

UCAS Tariff

112-120

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.

Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Other options

4 years | Sandwich | 2024

Subject

Building surveying

**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:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£9,250
per year
International
£19,200
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

University of Portsmouth

Department:

Faculty of Technology

Read full university profile

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.

74%
Building surveying

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

70%
Staff make the subject interesting
83%
Staff are good at explaining things
77%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
70%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

72%
Library resources
80%
IT resources
83%
Course specific equipment and facilities
57%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

96%
UK students
4%
International students
75%
Male students
25%
Female students
83%
2:1 or above
25%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
C
B

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.

£27,000
high
Average annual salary
98%
med
Employed or in further education
95%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

85%
Architects, town planners and surveyors
4%
Engineering professionals
3%
Production managers and directors

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

£23k

£29k

£29k

£30k

£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.

Explore these similar courses...

Higher entry requirements
University of Reading | Reading
Construction Management and Surveying
BSc (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 120-141
Lower entry requirements
University of Plymouth | Plymouth
Building Surveying
BSc (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 96-112
Nearby University
University of Brighton | Brighton and Hove
Building Surveying
BSc (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 104-120

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This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

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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).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

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?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here