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MSc Construction Cost Management

Year of entry
2024/25 See 2023/24 entry
Course duration
Full Time: 12 months Other: Flexible learning: 18-63 months

Year of entry
2024/25 See 2023/24 entry
Course duration
Full Time: 12 months Other: Flexible learning: 18-63 months

Our MSc Construction Cost Management course provides a route for new entrants to the professional practice of Construction Cost Management or Quantity Surveying, who have taken degrees in non-related disciplines.

It provides an introduction to the fundamental topics related to Construction Cost Management and an understanding of the latest academic theories and research, which inform vocational practice in the financial management of construction projects. The purpose is to prepare non-cognate graduates for a career in quantity surveying or financial management in construction.

The distinctive focus is on the principles, tools and techniques of financial and cost management from inception of a project, through to design and construction.

The course is for graduates from any discipline who are seeking a professional qualification leading to employment in a dynamic, exciting profession involving the application of financial, managerial and property design skills.

Construction and property cost consultancy is a thriving business activity which is seeking to recruit ambitious graduates from all disciplines who wish to enter a career in which they will develop in a climate of self-management and progress by making their own career choices. Property and construction cost consultants operate in an industry that provides essential, innovative and exciting facilities. They provide services to clients of the construction and property industries through the professional application of economic, financial, engineering, design, management and communication skills. The MSc in Construction Cost Management is designed to provide the basis of these skills for good graduates from all disciplines.

The course is offered as a one-year full-time course, or as a flexible modular course. It is accredited by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). (Accreditation is reviewed periodically. Successful completion of this course satisfies the academic requirements for membership of CIOB and RICS.)

For more information, please visit the Construction Management and Engineering website.

Overview

The distinctive focus is on the principles, tools and techniques of financial and cost management from inception of a project, through to design and construction.

For more information, please visit the Construction Management and Engineering website.

Entry requirements

IELTS: 6.5 overall with no element less than 5.5.

Entry requirements: Normally a good undergraduate honours degree (good second class or above). If you have other qualifications and a number of years’ relevant work experience, you are welcome to apply.

Pre-sessional English language programme

If you need to improve your English language score, you can take a pre-sessional English course prior to entry onto your degree.

Find out the English language requirements for our courses and our pre-sessional English programme

Structure

Modules

Core modules

Construction Cost Management: Principles and Practice

Write a reflective piece which applies what you’ve learned to a case study. You’ll consider changes in knowledge and digital practice that bring new opportunities and challenges to the construction sector.

Construction Economics and Cost Management

Learn how to estimate, plan, manage, control, and engineer building costs across stages of the development process. This includes how the economic analysis framework can be used to address problems and questions within modern construction.

Construction Contract Law and Design Management

Apply lessons from research and practice to increase your understanding of contractual relationships in construction projects, the design process in contemporary construction, and tools and techniques used for its management.

Managing Construction Projects

Strengthen your understanding of the management of resources within construction. You’ll apply your ideas to real-world contexts that address delivering service to meet targets, along with maintenance and development of the business.

Research Skills

To prepare you for your dissertation research, you’ll learn how to formulate a research problem, develop, and apply investigative approaches, interpret data, and present your findings.

Research Dissertation

Formulate a research problem in the field of construction. You’ll select appropriate research methods and apply recognised strategies and techniques to address the problem in a sustained and logical written piece on the topic.

Optional modules

Human Resource Management, and Real Estate Development and Appraisal

You’ll examine the role of human resource management in the construction industry, along with financing and financial appraisal of real estate development projects.

Strategies and International Construction

Prepare for leadership roles in construction by analysing the influence of culture, climate, geology, regulation framework of codes and standard, compliance, and ethical behaviour within different global construction markets.

Building Information Management and Socio-technical Change

Explore approaches that implement socio-technical systems into the built environment, including the use of Building Information Modelling (BIM). You’ll address how the potential for BIM rests on the understanding of how socio-technical systems are supported.

Innovations in Digital Practice

Sharpen your skills by engaging with the built environment using digital tools and technologies. You'll examine the relationship between people, technologies, and information by incorporating social science methods.

Organising for Innovation and Digital Transformation

Discover how to implement and manage innovation and digital technologies in the built environment. You’ll identify and assess the potential and ramifications for new technologies, assisting with your learning on how to map, define, and analyse design.

Infrastructure Development and Urban Sustainability

To understand sustainable development in urban settings, you’ll review the challenges of delivery and their impact on achieving goals. This explores the role of infrastructure and theoretical frameworks that underpin the process.

Carbon Management and Life Cycle Assessment

Address the management of carbon dioxide emissions and the need for mitigation by studying the latest scientific understandings on the issue. This covers key concepts in Life Cycle Assessment to assist you in interpreting and critically reviewing a study.

Construction Risk Management

Through discussion and case studies of the global construction market, you’ll identify risk in projects, implement methods and analyse their impact, develop strategies, prepare and uptake risk management plans.

These are the modules that we currently offer for 2024/25 entry. They may be subject to change as we regularly review our module offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Please note that the University cannot guarantee that all optional modules will be available to all students who may wish to take them.

You can also register your details with us to receive information about your course of interest and study and life at the University of Reading.

Fees

New UK/Republic of Ireland students: £12,550

New international students: £26,950

Tuition fee information

The fees listed are for full-time study, unless otherwise stated. Fees are calculated pro rata for flexible modular study.

Fee information will be confirmed in offer letters sent out to successful applicants. You can find further information, including information for part-time study, through our dedicated fees and funding page.

EU student fees

With effect from 1 August 2021, new EU students will pay international tuition fees. For exceptions, please read the UK government’s guidance for EU students.

Additional costs

Some courses will require additional payments for field trips and extra resources. You will also need to budget for your accommodation and living costs. See our information on living costs for more details.

Financial support for your studies

You may be eligible for a scholarship or bursary to help pay for your study. Students from the UK may also be eligible for a student loan to help cover these costs. See our fees and funding information for more information on what's available.

See list of Construction Management and Engineering scholarships

Careers

The construction and property industry provides many of life's essential services. It is a large, varied and exciting industry. Cost managers in construction and property can work for consultancy practices, designers or construction firms. They provide the essential financial direction to projects while working with clients, architects, designers or building engineers. Cost managers require a unique mixture of skills, including design appreciation, financial and cost skills and management ability. The cost consultant firms associated with this established programme are looking to recruit graduates who wish to enter a demanding and rewarding profession. Those students who secure appropriate sponsorship from such firms can take the course in flexible mode while undertaking the required professional training for RICS qualification in parallel. Full-time students will carry out their professional training after completing the MSc.

Graduates will typically find employment in cost management or quantity surveying with public and private sector clients, consultants, or contractors in the building, civil engineering or oil and gas sectors.

MSc Construction Cost Management

Tuition fee information

EU student fees

Additional costs

Financial support for your studies

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