BSc (Hons)

Construction Project Management

Play your part in the infrastructure of tomorrow. Great project managers are needed on construction projects of all sizes – from skyscrapers to small residential developments. This double-accredited degree will give you the core skills needed to build your career in construction.

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Key Course Details

  • UCAS Code

    K220

  • 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.

  • Start Date

    September

  • Location

    Pontypridd

  • Campus Code

    A

Fees

  • UCAS Code

    K221

  • 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.

Hone your skills as a construction project manager, learning how to be the bridge between client and contractor and deliver projects on time and budget.

DESIGNED FOR

With urban landscapes rapidly evolving, skilled construction project managers are more crucial than ever. This dynamic field is perfect for problem-solvers with a passion for leadership and innovation. Your first year will give you a broad introduction to the industry before you specialise in project management as the course progresses.

Accredited By

  • Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
  • Association for Project Management (APM) 

Career Paths

  • Project manager
  • Site manager
  • Consultant
  • Planner or scheduler
  • Health and safety manager
  • Quantity or building surveyor 

Skills Taught

  • Project planning and management
  • Cost estimating and budgeting
  • Construction law, contracts and dispute resolution
  • Construction technology and software skills
  • Leadership, communication and teamwork 

Three students in grey hoodies smile and chat while gathered around a piece of equipment at a building site

Course Highlights

Double professional accreditation

Get a head-start on your chartered status and attract a higher salary.

Study full-time or part-time

Earn while you learn or complete your degree as a full-time student. The choice is yours.

Develop desirable skills

The construction industry has a skills shortage – you’ll graduate with the skills employers need.

Construction on campus

Watch a live building going up and contextualise your learning by visiting the live site.

Module Overview

You’ll learn everything you need to know for a career in construction project management – from lean construction techniques to industry-standard project management processes. Develop your critical thinking as you apply what you learn with assessments based on real-life scenarios.

Year One

Built Environment Law 
Built Environment Economics        
Built Environment Principles 
Digital Technologies  
Development and Society    
Construction Technology     

Year Two

Management of Buildings    
Tendering and Costing 
Contract Management Practice       
BIM & Data Management    
Project Management and Professional Practice    
Advanced Construction Technology  

Year Three

Built Environment Dissertation
Construction Management 
Commercial Management and Enterprise
Sustainability and Decarbonisation for the Built Environment   
Project Management in Practice 

Your first year is shared with our other built environment courses – quantity surveying, building surveying and real estate. Together you’ll learn construction fundamentals and visit sites to see how what you’ve learnt 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 the construction industry. Understand general and built environment economy; develop your understanding of economic theory.  

Built Environment Principles 
Explore the core concepts to align foundational knowledge with professional roles in building surveying, construction project management, quantity surveying, and real estate.  

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 over time. 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. 

You’ll start to specialise in project management as you build on what you’ve learned. Enjoy site visits, including two large construction sites on campus, and see your theory in action. At the end of the common first year, if you want to specialise in a different area, you can move across.

Management of Buildings    
Grasp the principles involved in the management of commercial and domestic buildings, covering legislation, safety in surveying, and the various types of surveying.  

Tendering and Costing 
Build your knowledge of tendering and estimating; basic rate build-ups and composite rate calculations relating to projects.  

Contract Management Practice       
Develop your understanding of contract administration procedures during pre and post-contract stages.  

BIM & Data Management    
Use building information modelling (BIM) software on a simulated project through all stages – from design, through construction to occupancy.  

Project Management and Professional Practice   
Learn about project management and professional practice, through real project scenarios and simulated problems. 

Advanced Construction Technology  
Understand how construction technology is used, performance fundamentals, and common construction techniques for major components of commercial high-rise buildings.  

In your final year, you'll refine your skills, develop your dissertation, and work towards graduating with the technical expertise to work towards an APM Chartered Project Professional (ChPP) status and RICS Chartership.

Built Environment Dissertation       
Go deep into your research in this double credit module and follow your interests to produce a dissertation relevant to construction project management. 

Construction Management  
Focus on managing health and safety, site logistics and planning how to run a construction site, embedding the legislation which underpins this.  

Commercial Management and Enterprise   
Take on an industry-linked commercial management challenge to hone your management and business skills.  

Sustainability and Decarbonisation for the Built Environment    
Develop your awareness of the critical issues involved within environmental sustainability and the built environment.  

Project Management in Practice     
Learn about managing the needs of your various stakeholders, including construction clients, and how to manage them over the full project lifecycle.  

Course Highlights

How you’ll learn

You’ll learn from construction industry professionals who now work at the university and bring their real-world experience to the classroom. Expect a mixture of lectures, guest visits, group work and workshops.  

Site visits bring theory to life, and you’ll be expected to work independently to prepare for classes and complete project work. We believe in helping you develop skills like analytical decision-making and problem-solving through practical activities, not just by reading about them. So you’ll get plenty of hands-on experience on this course  

Assessments take the form of exams, coursework and problem-based exercises using real-life scenarios.  

 

Teaching staff

Our teaching team is made up of many former industry professionals who help bring concepts to life through real examples from their careers. You’ll learn from experienced construction project managers, quantity surveyors, building surveyors, architects and solicitors, all who work hard to make the course theory as relevant as possible to today’s industry needs.  

 

Placements and work experience

Practical experience is critical when working in construction and we build this into the curriculum from the start. We’ll take you to on-site visits so you can see things in action. And our black book of industry contacts sees students get experience on a variety of sites. 

You can do a year in industry between your second and third year to further improve your job prospects, gathering relevant experience and making valuable connections. A dedicated careers placement partner can support you to source these opportunities as well as summer placements.  

Facilities

You’ll have access to industry-standard technology and software in our dedicated computing labs. Think Revit, ArchiCAD, AutoCAD, Autodesk QTO, CostX, Synchro, and Navisworks.  

You can also take advantage of our latest digital technology including VR equipment, drones and thermal imaging cameras – all of which are increasingly used within real estate.  

Careers and Employability

Graduate careers

Construction is one of the largest industries in the world and none of it would be possible without project managers. Project management is a thriving profession in the UK and internationally. Our strong industrial and commercial links mean we know what employers want from our students – and why we’ve been developing industry-ready graduates for over four decades.  

After graduation, you'll be able to work towards corporate membership of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and be eligible to apply for APM Chartered Project Professional status, having met the requirements for technical knowledge with your degree 

Industry Partners

Our industry advisory board helps shape the curriculum of your degree and maintains a close connection with relevant companies. Presently the advisory board is represented from by industry partners including Morgan Sindall, ChandlerKBS, Transport for Wales, Dŵr Cymru, Amey, Caerphilly Council, and NHS Wales - Special Estates Services who can also offer placements and work experience.  

Construction contractors on our live sites on campus have committed to taking a certain number of students on placement each year, and we have strong local connections with a wide range of construction-related companies that provide quality opportunities for our students.  



Careers Support

Work experience is critical, and you’ll have plenty of opportunity built in, from short placements to a year in the industry. We have a dedicated placement partner to help you secure the right work experience for you.    

You’ll also have access to advice from the Careers and Employability Service throughout your studies and after you graduate to help you refine your CV and support with job applications.  

Innovation Hub at USW

A student observes a robot arm with a claw on the end on a desk while sat at a computer at the Innovation Hub in an engineering workshop at the Treforest campus

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

UCAS points: 96 (or above)

Typical qualification requirements:

  • A Level: CCC
  • BTEC: BTEC Extended Diploma Merit Merit Merit
  • Welsh BACC: Advanced Skills Baccalaureate Wales Grade C and CC at A Level with a relevant art and design subject.
  • Access to HE: Pass the 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

UK Full-time Fee

£9,535

per year*
International Full-time Fee

£16,200

per year*
International Full-time Fee

£16,200

per year*

Further Information

Studying at university is one of the most significant investments you'll ever make. Whilst you’re studying, you’ll have two main financial obligations – tuition fees and living costs. There’s lots of financial help available from the University of South Wales and external funding sources, that may provide loans (which have to be paid back) and grants, scholarships and bursaries (that don't).

*Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits. Once enrolled, the fee is anticipated to remain at the same rate throughout the duration of your study on this course except as described below.

Please be aware that we may increase the maximum fee for home students on full-time undergraduate courses only where the Welsh Government increases the permitted level of inflation of fees. Fees for all students (including part-time, postgraduate and international students) may be amended in accordance with our applicable Fees and Debt Management Policy.  We will ensure that students are given clear, intelligible, unambiguous and timely information about our courses and costs in good time, ahead of the next academic year.

 

Fees and Funding Scholarships and Bursaries Cost of Living Support

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.

Investing in your future

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.

THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT QUALIFICATION IS IDEAL FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO BECOME A MANAGER IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY. I LEARNT HOW TO MANAGE AND COORDINATE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT ACTIVITIES, HOW TO OPTIMISE THE COMMERCIAL OUTCOME OF CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS AND HOW TO ENSURE LEGISLATIVE COMPLIANCE.

Mercedes Vaughan-Matthews

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.)

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