Building Surveying
Shape the future of the built environment with expert skills in Building Surveying, sustainability, and property management.
Apply Direct Apply Through UCAS Book an Open Day Chat to Us/prod01/channel_2/media/university-of-south-wales/site-assets/images/03-courses/built-environment/built-environment-bsc-building-surveying-placeholder-01-1.png)
Key Course Details
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UCAS Code
K232
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Start Date
September
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Location
Pontypridd
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Campus Code
A
Fees
Home students
£9,535*
International students
£16,200*
- Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits.
-
UCAS Code
K234
-
Start Date
September
-
Location
Pontypridd
-
Campus Code
A
Fees
Home students
£9,535*
International students
£16,200*
- Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits.
There is an increasing need for people who can manage and advise on all aspects of our ever-changing built environment. Building surveyors will play a crucial role as the demand for more sustainable and efficient urban spaces grows. This course prepares you to step into that role.
DESIGNED FOR
If you have a strong interest in construction and property and want to turn that into a financially and professionally rewarding career, this course is for you. This course gives you the tools to become a professional building surveyor, with the potential to gain Chartered status soon after graduation.
Career Paths
- Building surveyor
- Construction project manager
- Construction estimator
- Site supervisor
Skills taught
- Communication
- Problem-solving
- IT/Digital skills
- Working with others
- Employability
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Course Highlights
Module Overview
You will study construction technology within the legal and regulatory framework, such as building regulations, health and safety requirements and conservation issues. Sustainability and efficient use of buildings is explored, alongside learning about the role of public and private housing providers and the wider provision of Welsh Housing Quality Standards.
Year one
Built Environment Law
Built Environment Economics
Built Environment Principles
Digital Technologies
Development and Society
Construction Technology
Year two
Management of Buildings
Contract Management Practice
Building Pathology
Housing, Planning and Communities
Project Management and Professional Practice
Advanced Construction Technology
Year three
Built Environment Dissertation
Commercial Management and Enterprise
Building Control
Sustainability and Decarbonisation for the Built Environment
Building Surveying
Your first year is shared with other Built Environment courses – Quantity Surveying, Construction Project Management, and Real Estate. Together you’ll learn construction fundamentals, go on a field study trip and potentially a placement to see how what you’ve learned translates into real-world practice.
Built Environment Law
Learn about the wide range of laws applicable to the UK construction industry and the built environment.
Built Environment Economics
Get to grips with the numbers behind construction. Understand the general economy and built environment economy; develop your understanding of economic theory.
Built Environment Principles
Explore the concept of the built environment and the impact construction has on it.
Digital Technologies
Use a 3D laser scanner, laser measurer, drone and VR headsets as you survey, draw, measure and analyse.
Development and Society
Discover how space and the built environment evolve. Consider how development is constrained and challenged through social, political and geographical processes.
Construction Technology
Your introduction to the function, performance fundamentals and common construction techniques used for the major components of domestic dwellings.
Deepen your knowledge of key areas within building surveying. You’ll develop practical skills such as identifying defects within a building and managing surveying projects. You’ll also gain an understanding of the social, economic and political issues surrounding housing.
Management of Buildings
Grasp the principals involved in managing commercial and domestic buildings, including legislation, safety in surveying, and the various types of surveying.
Contract Management Practice
Develop your understanding of contract administration procedures during pre and post-contract stages.
Building Pathology
Learn how to identify defects and provide advice on remediation and maintenance across a range of building types.
Housing, Planning and Communities
Explore the social, economic and political emergence of tenure types, including owner occupation, the private rented sector, social housing and temporary housing.
Project Management and Professional Practice
Understand the tools and techniques, legal frameworks and ethical considerations involved in project management, applying these across different scenarios.
Advanced Construction Technology
Understand how construction technology is used, performance fundamentals, and common construction techniques for major components of commercial high-rise buildings.
Get ready to become a graduate surveyor on the path to becoming Chartered. You'll develop advanced surveying skills, manage sustainability, business, planning, and building controls, and explore your chosen area of interest for your dissertation.
Built Environment Dissertation
Your opportunity to delve into an area of building surveying that interests you, carrying out extensive research as you present a professional report.
Commercial Management and Enterprise
Take on an industry-linked commercial management challenge to hone your management and business skills.
Building Control
Understand legislation relating to enforcing planning and building controls. Learn to identify breaches and disputes and provide advice on compliance and remedies.
Sustainability and Decarbonisation for the Built Environment
Develop your awareness of the critical issues involved within environmental sustainability and the built environment.
Building Surveying
Master your ability to recognise, analyse and remedy building maintenance issues, identify defects and provide advice on remediation and maintenance.
Course Highlights
How you’ll learn
You’ll learn conceptual knowledge (which we have triangulated with RICS requirements) through a blend of lectures, interactive seminars and tutorials. But you’ll also get plenty of hands-on experience mastering the practical skills required in surveying. On campus, you’ll carry out projects on our mock residential properties and use hi-tech surveying equipment. You’ll also visit local sites and property companies and see how your learning applies to the real world. There are some exams to assess your knowledge, but assessment mostly has an employment focus, mirroring the problem-solving tasks you’ll be required to do as a surveyor.
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Teaching staff
Staff who teach the building surveying course are Chartered by RICS or the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB). Many are still active in the industry, running their own consultancies or employed by major property firms. This means they know exactly what companies are looking for in graduate surveyors and can shape you into a highly employable candidate. It also means they can enrich your learning with the most up-to-date case studies from their own practice, giving you exceptional preparation to enter the industry. The built environment faculty operates an open-door policy, ensuring staff are available to support you at all times.
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Placements
If you intend to study building surveying around your existing employment in the property industry, the course enables you to progress into more specialised roles. If you are not employed and are studying full-time, we recommend taking a sandwich placement – a year working in the construction industry before your final year. This hands-on experience makes you more attractive to future employers and you may even secure a role at the company where you do work experience. Our course staff along with the dedicated careers team help you source meaningful work experience that supports your career aspirations.
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Facilities
We prepare you for work as a graduate surveyor by providing real practical experiences, and we have a range of facilities that support this. On campus, we have several empty houses which you will use to practice your inspection and surveying skills. You’ll have access to hi-tech hardware such as drones, laser scanners, thermal imagers and damp meters – all equipment you’ll be required to use in employment. You’ll also get to grips with industry-standard software engineering software such as Revit, ArchiCAD, AutoCAD, Autodesk QTO, CostX, Synchro, and Navisworks, as well as emerging technologies such as virtual and augmented reality.
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98%
of USW Built Environment and Civil Engineering graduates are in employment and/or further study 15 months after graduation
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Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Accredited
RICS is a globally recognised and highly regarded professional body that promotes positive change in the built and natural environments.
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ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Typical qualification requirements:
- A Level: CCC
- Welsh BACC: Grade C and CC at A Level
- BTEC: BTEC Extended Diploma Merit Merit Merit
- Access to HE: Pass Access to HE Diploma with a minimum of 96 UCAS Tariff points
- T Level: Pass (C and above)
Additional requirements include:
The University normally requires a minimum 5 GCSEs including Mathematics/Numeracy and English at Grade C or Grade 4 or above, or their equivalent, but consideration is given to individual circumstances.
International applications welcomed:
We welcome international applications with equivalent qualifications of our entry requirements. For more details related to your country of residence, please view our dedicated country pages.
English language requirements
International applicants will need to have achieved an overall of IELTS 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each component/TOEFL 72 overall and a minimum of 18 in reading, 17 in listening, 20 in speaking and 17 in writing or equivalent.
Equivalents can be located on our English Language pages.
If you have previously studied through the medium of English, IELTS might not be required, please visit our country specific page for further details. If your country is not featured, please contact us.
If you do not meet the English entry criteria, please visit our Pre-Sessional course pages.
Contextual offers
We may make you a lower offer based on a range of factors, including your background (where you live and the school or college that you attended, for example), your experiences and individual circumstances (as a care leaver, for example). This is referred to as a contextual offer, and we receive data from UCAS to support us in making these decisions.
USW prides itself on its student experience and we support our students to achieve their goals and become a successful graduate. This approach helps us to support students who have the potential to succeed and who may have faced barriers that make it more difficult to access university.
We're here to help
Whether you a have a question about your course, fees and funding, the application process or anything else, there are plenty of ways you can get in touch, and we'd love to talk to you. You can contact our friendly admissions team by phone, email or chat to us online.
Fees and Funding
£9,535
per year*£16,200
per year*£16,200
per year*Additional Costs
As a student of USW, you’ll have access to lots of free resources to support your study and learning, such as textbooks, publications, online journals, laptops, and plenty of remote-access resources. Whilst in most cases these resources are more than sufficient in supporting you with completing your course, additional costs, both obligatory and optional, may be required or requested for the likes of travel, memberships, experience days, stationery, printing, or equipment.
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Introducing Calon
We are investing in the future of STEM at USW with an exciting new Computing, Engineering and Technology building at our Pontypridd Campus.
University Quality Assurance
At USW, we regularly review our courses in response to changing patterns of employment and skills demand to ensure we offer learning designed to reflect today’s student needs and tomorrow’s employer demands.
If during a review process course content is significantly changed, we’ll write to inform you and talk you through the changes for the coming year. But whatever the outcome, we aim to equip our students with the skillset and the mindset to succeed whatever tomorrow may bring. Your future, future-proofed.
How to apply
All applications for full-time undergraduate courses or foundation degrees should be made via UCAS. Take the next step: Apply through UCAS. You can apply to us directly for all part-time undergraduate courses, if you’re seeking advanced entry or you’re an international student. To apply directly, please choose the application form below for your preferred start date and mode of study (full-time or part-time.)
- September 2025 Full-time
- September 2025 Sandwich
- September 2025 Part-time
- September 2026 Part-time
- September 2026 Full-time
- September 2026 Sandwich
Advanced entry
If you already have a relevant qualification or experience related to the course you're applying for, you may be eligible to start at a later stage of the course. For example, students from partner colleges can ‘top up’ their qualifications to a degree by joining us in Year Two or Year Three of a course. This process is known as ‘advanced entry’, you can apply directly to the University for 'advanced entry' using the application forms provided above.
International admissions
International applicants can apply to us directly. If the University has an in-country team in your region, your application will be assigned to them for assistance.
Work, earn and learn!
This course is also available through Network75, a combined work and study route.
Learn more
