Built Environment
Boost your career prospects and deepen your skills and knowledge in construction with our Higher National Certificate (HNC) in Built Environment degree.
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Key Course Details
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Start Date
September
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Location
Pontypridd
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Campus Code
A
Fees
Home students
£1,589*
- Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits.
Sharpen your skills and develop vital knowledge in construction, where you’ll learn everything from building, and renovation to demolition. This part-time HNC is designed to fit alongside work and features the latest sector insights from specialist lecturers and industry guest speakers.
DESIGNED FOR
If you’re already in the construction industry and eager to accelerate your career, this part-time HNC provides the skills and knowledge to advance. It combines theory with practical application including the use of industry-standard software and technology to give you the edge.
Career paths
- Project manager
- Site manager
- Consultant
- Quantity or building surveyor
Skills taught
- Construction technology and software skills
- Leadership, communication and teamwork
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Course Highlights
Module Overview
Studying part-time, you’ll build on your existing construction knowledge and skills in the construction sector, including how the built environment works, exploring construction, planning, law technology while developing essential academic, digital and professional skills for your future career. Further study can top up your HNC to an honours degree.
Principles of the Built Environment in Practice
You’ll explore how the UK construction industry shapes the built environment while developing professional skills, ethical awareness and digital know-how. You’ll investigate different career roles and experiment with technologies like drones, laser scanning and VR.
Planning and Development
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.
Course Highlights
How you’ll learn
On this course, you will learn by getting stuck into real construction scenarios that bring theory to life. Through interactive lectures, workshops, presentations and digital tools, including virtual reality simulations, you will see how projects work in the real world. You will also hear from guest speakers and industry professionals, giving you insight into what working in the sector is really like.
You will explore ethical practice, inclusive thinking and the standards of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors as part of your learning. With flexible study options and supportive guidance throughout, you will build confidence, practical skills and independent thinking to prepare you for your future career.
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How you'll be assessed
Assessment on this course is designed to reflect the kinds of tasks you would complete in the construction industry, helping you build both knowledge and practical skills. You will complete a mix of coursework, including portfolios, reports and case study reviews, as well as project simulations using digital tools that mirror real professional environments.
Presentations, pitches and group projects help you develop communication and teamwork skills valued by employers. You will receive regular feedback to support your progress, and assessment standards align with expectations from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, so you know that your learning is relevant, professional and focused on preparing you for a successful career.
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Teaching staff
Learn from experienced industry professionals who work hard to make the course theory relevant. We also invite guest speakers from the industry to give talks on relevant topics to help keep the course content fresh and pass on insights about current issues and practices.
You’ll also have a personal academic throughout your studies to help you organise your work and support you with any personal concerns.
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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.
We use the latest digital technology, including drones, thermal imaging cameras, and virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) – all increasingly common in the industry.
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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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ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
UCAS points: 48 (or above)
Typical qualification requirements:
- A Level: DD
- Welsh BACC: Grade D and D at A Level
- BTEC: BTEC Extended Diploma Pass Pass Pass or BTEC Diploma Pass Pass
- Access to HE: Pass Access to HE Diploma with a minimum of 48 UCAS Tariff points
Additional requirements include:
Three GCSEs at grade C/Grade 4 or above, including Mathematics and English language
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
£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.)
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.
