Real Estate
Get ready for a fast-paced career in real estate with our RICS-accredited and professionally informed degree. You’ll gain practical skills and insights to lead and deliver change within the dynamic property industry.
How to apply 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-real-estate-placeholder-01.png)
Key Course Details
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UCAS Code
K450
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Start Date
September
-
Location
Pontypridd
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Campus Code
A
Fees
Home students
£9,790*
International students
£17,200*
- Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits.
-
Start Date
September
-
Location
Pontypridd
-
Campus Code
A
Fees
Home students
£1,589*
- Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits.
-
UCAS Code
K451
-
Start Date
September
-
Location
Pontypridd
-
Campus Code
A
Fees
Home students
£9,790*
International students
£17,200*
- Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits.
Gain hands-on experience as you prepare for a dynamic and rewarding career in an industry where no two properties are the same. Learn from built environment experts and using cutting-edge technology as you explore everything from property valuation to commercial decision-making.
DESIGNED FOR
Are you a problem solver with an interest in property, construction and valuation? Whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, a financially savvy creative, or a community builder keen to make an impact, our Real Estate course is perfect for you.
Accredited by
- Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
Career paths
- Real estate surveyor
- General practice surveyor
- Property manager
- Valuation surveyor
- Asset manager
Skills taught
- Valuation and development appraisals
- Leadership, communication and teamwork
- Property legal frameworks
- Property Management
- Landlord and Tenant Relations
Careers in Real Estate
Real Estate Employer Case Studies: Andrew Weeks (Savills)
Work and Study: Network75
Real Estate and Sustainability
The Power of Innovation at USW
Course Highlights
Module Overview
Learn about the fundamentals of built environment and t real estate. Explore authentic construction projects, economics concepts, urban planning and development, design and building to ethical, legal, and client considerations.
Built Environmental Principles in Practice
You’ll explore how the UK construction industry shapes the built environment while developing professional skills, ethical awareness, sustainability principles and digital know-how.
Planning and Development
You’ll investigate career roles and technologies like drones, laser scanning and VR. You’ll learn how planning shapes development in the built environment, exploring planning permission, land use and stakeholder roles. The module also introduces urban regeneration, inclusive design and the legal principles guiding UK planning decisions.
Built Environment Economics and Law
You’ll gain an introduction to the economic and legal forces shaping the built environment, exploring market trends, valuation and investment basics alongside contracts, health and safety, and professional responsibilities guiding ethical construction practice.
Principles of Domestic Construction and Digital Drafting
You’ll explore how homes are designed and built, learning about construction methods, materials and building systems. The module develops your understanding of regulations, sustainability and detailing, while building practical drawing, CAD and technical communication skills.
Study different types of real estate and how they’re managed, including specialist themes in valuation, property and landlords. Learn the valuation foundations while building your skills and solving real industry challenges using data and the latest technology.
Commercial Construction, Technology and BIM Management
You’ll learn how commercial buildings are designed and constructed, exploring structural systems, materials and build sequencing. The module develops your digital modelling skills, introduces BIM workflows, and highlights sustainable, high-performance solutions for modern commercial projects.
Real Estate Valuation and Appraisal
Learn the foundations of real estate valuation as you explore property and the factors that influence how value is formed. Discover industry valuation techniques as well as the financial and mathematical principles needed during the valuation process.
Property, Landlords and Tenants
Explore housing and residential real estate, including how they’re managed. You’ll focus on the social, economic, and political development of different tenure types. Examine the rights and responsibilities of landlords, tenants and residents as you look at different lease terms.
Health and Safety Management (optional)
You’ll develop essential knowledge of health and safety management, exploring legislation, risk assessment and safety culture. Through real-world scenarios and teamwork, you’ll learn how to promote safe, ethical and sustainable practice in professional environments.
The Green Economy and Sustainable Development (optional)
You’ll explore sustainability, the circular economy and carbon reduction, examining how organisations respond to climate challenges. You’ll also apply global frameworks such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and work towards Carbon Literacy certification with the Carbon Literacy Trust.
Applied Artificial Intelligence (optional)
You’ll explore how artificial intelligence works and how it’s used across industries. Through practical activities, you’ll apply AI techniques to real-world problems while considering the ethical, sustainable and responsible use of intelligent systems.
Data Analytics (optional)
You’ll learn how to collect, analyse and interpret data to support decision-making. The module develops your statistical, visualisation and communication skills, helping you turn real-world datasets into meaningful insights for professional practice.
Applied Professional Experience (optional)
You’ll complete a short or summer placement, internship or civic project, gaining real-world experience. With university support, you’ll reflect on your learning, build professional skills and enhance your employability through practical industry or community engagement.
Discover the processes and data that form real estate value, including key financial and sustainability considerations. Demonstrate your investigative and analysis skills through an independent research project based on a real industry challenge.
Property Law and Practice
Discover the steps and challenges involved in domestic and commercial property transactions as you solve real industry challenges. Learn about different property tax issues, like Stamp Duty and Land Tax, while examining lender requirements and considerations around money laundering.
Built Environment Project
You’ll complete an independent research project on a real built environment challenge, developing investigation, analysis and project management skills. Your work will align with industry priorities and global goals such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Applied Real Estate Valuation
Discover the core concepts, evidence sources and analytical processes that form real estate value. Learn to use market data as you develop the financial, mathematical and practical skills for valuations and constructing discounted cash flow models for real estate appraisals.
Sustainability and Commercial Management
You’ll develop commercial and leadership skills for the built environment, exploring strategy, finance and sustainability. Working in teams, you’ll create a business proposal while considering ESG, innovation and the challenges shaping future industry practice.
Course Highlights
How you’ll learn
Get stuck into real estate with the help of our industry experts through interactive practical classes and workshops, guest lectures, digital construction simulations and collaborative teamwork exercises based on real-world construction scenarios.
You’ll learn by experiencing the industry through live construction project case studies, site visits and by working with industry figures. Grow your skills, expertise and confidence as you prepare to take the next steps in your career.
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How you'll be assessed
You’ll demonstrate your real estate skills and understanding through a variety of different assessments. You’ll complete coursework such as pitches, reflective blogs, portfolio assignments, written-based assessments, oral presentations, teamwork projects, and practical assessments, including project simulations and site-based activities which mirror professional working environments and decision-making scenarios.
During the course, you’ll be assessed through exams which will test your core technical knowledge analytical skills. In your third year you will complete your final-year project, including independent research and applying the methods you’ve learned through the course to real challenges facing the industry.
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Placements
Participate in site visits and work placements to hone your skills and enhance your knowledge. Site visits will show you construction in action and help you begin to build a list of industry contracts. Gain real-world experience by undertaking a 70-hour summer placement, an internship or civic project through our Applied Professional Experience module.
Alternatively, you can complete a sandwich year placement between your second and third year, where you’ll work on building sites, gathering relevant experience and making valuable connections. A dedicated careers placement officer is on hand to help you find a sandwich year placement and work experience during the holidays.
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Personalise your degree
Year two is where your foundation becomes professional capability, advancing your expertise in commercial construction, modern building technologies and BIM, applied architectural technology in surveying practice, and the legislation, regulation, and professional standards shaping today’s built environment.
You will also personalise your experience with a choice of optional modules aligned to today’s fastest-growing industries. Choose from Artificial Intelligence, Data Analytics, Commercial Management, Project Management, the Green Economy, or Health & Safety to expand your expertise beyond your core discipline. Each module builds practical, forward-focused skills that employers value most. It’s more than extra learning; it’s a strategic way to future-proof your career and stand out.
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Facilities
Our course takes place at our Treforest campus where you’ll have access to a dedicated built environment project room, transformative learning spaces and bespoke computer labs with the latest software to support the valuation process such as Think Revit, ArchiCAD, AutoCAD, Autodesk QTO, CostX, Synchro, and Navisworks.
You can take advantage of our latest digital technology including VR equipment, drones and thermal imaging cameras – all of which are increasingly used within real estate. There is also currently a purpose-built building under construction on campus, where you can get involved in its design and apply theory to practice across your studies.
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Accredited By
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Building courses at USW are top in Wales for overall student satisfaction. (National Student Survey 2025)
98%
of USW Built Environment and Civil Engineering graduates are in employment and/or further study 15 months after graduation
(Graduate Outcomes Survey 2021/22)Building courses at USW are top in Wales for overall student satisfaction. (National Student Survey 2025)
Innovation Hub at USW
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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
UCAS points: 96 (or above)
Typical qualification requirements:
- A Level: CCC
- BTEC: Merit Merit Merit
- Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate: C in the Skills Challenge Certificate and CC at A Level
- 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 4 overall and a minimum of 4 in each component 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
£9,790
per year*£17,200
per year*£17,200
per year*£1,589
per 20 credits*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 with the exciting new Calon building at the heart of 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 2027 Part-time
- September 2026 Part-time
- September 2027 Full-time
- September 2026 Sandwich
- September 2026 Full-time
- September 2027 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.
Applicants accepted through advanced entry may study a different combination of modules to those advertised, as they will be joining a course already in progress. You will be contacted and advised about these modules once your application has been processed and an offer made.
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
