There are so many aspects to construction management – organising resources, materials, labour, and planning transport routes. Ensuring that a building project runs smoothly, with enough materials, equipment, workers and money to deliver it, is a huge task. So, too, is monitoring construction quality and progress.

This course will give you the knowledge, skills and understanding as well as industry contacts to help you develop into that role and to take on that kind of responsibility. It is also accredited by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) and fits within their educational framework for professional membership.

Key areas you will study include the planning and financing of projects, required contract law and of course health and safety knowledge – both for yourself and others. Time planning and logistics, cost control and management, and quality control are vital skills for a construction manager, and they are skills we will help you to gain through problem solving, digital collaborative working as well as traditional team work activities.

This course can also be studied part-time day release as independent study or as a sponsored student on a Degree Apprenticeship programme for Site Construction Management.

You will learn a broad range of skills in your first year, sharing modules in technology, surveying, maths and IT with Civil Engineering and Surveying students. Later in your second year you will specialise in specific construction management disciplines such as tendering and estimating, cost management and control, and contract law. In your final year there are key modules in project management as well as a range of current up to date module options, including Quantity Surveying Practice and Built Asset Management.

Building without proper safety planning can be a dangerous business when it comes to working at heights, excavating and shifting materials. You’ll learn how to manage it and make it safe. You’ll also learn about sustainable design. Plus, you’ll look at the contractual side of things, and how to ensure sub-contractors work to the required standards.

You need to have good inter-personal skills and be comfortable working as part of a large team, you will also have to keep in mind your client’s requirements at all times. This course will help you learn how to juggle all these responsibilities successfully.

Our Docklands site offers outstanding laboratories and workshops where we’ll support you in your studies. We organise regular weekly site visits to one of the hundreds of projects underway in and around London. This year’s programme was well received and was facilitated in collaboration with companies such as BAM, Berkeley Homes, Willmott Dixon, London & Quadrant and Mace.

You’ll learn through a mixture of lectures, tutorials, workshops and practical classes with both a 1st year surveying week long field trip and an opportunity to attend the prestigious Constructionarium field scheme. There you’ll work as a team with a sponsoring contractor, such as Atkins, and professional consulting engineers to build scaled-down versions of famous bridges or buildings.

You’ll have access to sophisticated software, including the BIM (Building Information Modelling) digital system. This has a huge database of information about components –where they can be found, how much they cost and what the best maintenance regime for them is.

Each year we’re visited by around 20 local industry professionals – known as the Industrial Advisory Board (IAB) – to update us on changing requirements for graduates. They also supervise final-year projects, when they’ll be looking out for likely candidates to recruit for jobs.

We also have a programme of guest speakers. One of our regulars is Mark Shearon, a former UEL student who's now a senior Health and Safety Executive inspector.

• Guided independent study
We are investing in key areas beyond your studies including our career services, library and well-being, to be available both face-to-face on campus and online with many of these available 24/7. We have new, modern library facilities on both campuses offering inspirational environments for study and research. Libraries contain resources in print and digital formats, a range of study spaces and dedicated librarian who can assist with your learning.

• Academic support
Students are supported with any academic or subject related queries by an Academic Advisor, module leaders, former and current UEL students.
If you need a bit of extra help with certain skills such as academic writing, maths or IT, our Skillzone and English for Academic Purposes we offer workshops, drop-in sessions and one-to-one appointments to help our students achieve their potential. You can receive advice and guidance on all aspects of the IT systems provided by the university from our IT Service Desks located on all three campuses. Our Student Support hubs in Docklands and Stratford feature centralised helpdesks to cater for your every need. UEL provides also support and advice for disabled students and those with specific learning difficulties (SPDs).

• Workload
Each year you will spend around 300 hours of timetabled learning and teaching activities. These may be lectures, workshops, seminars and individual and group tutorials. Contact hours may vary depending on each module.
The approximate percentages for this course are:
Year 1: scheduled teaching – 300 hours; guided independent study – 900 hours.
Year 2: scheduled teaching – 300 hours; guided independent study – 900 hours.
Year 3: scheduled teaching – 300 hours; guided independent study – 900 hours.

The size of classes can vary depending on the nature of the course, module and activity. This can range from large groups in a lecture theatre setting, to smaller groups taking part in seminars and collaborative work. You will receive your personalised timetable at the beginning of the academic year dependent on your course.

Who will teach on this course

Sohrab Donjavi

The teaching team includes qualified academics, practitioners and industry experts as guest speakers. Full details of the academics will be provided in the student handbook and module guides.

Thanks to our excellent links with industry, graduates from this course have gone on to work on projects all over the world. Some have been involved with UK construction projects such as the Shard and the Tottenham Court Road TFL Station.

Your most likely job on graduation will be an assistant site manager, working in a role where you have responsibility for a broad range of activities. If you perform impressively on site, and deal well with people, you could soon find yourself taking responsibility for really large or intricate projects.

A typical project will take 18 months or two years, during which time you’ll be working very closely with a wide variety of people performing different jobs.

Say you are working on a rail project, or on the London Underground, where work will often need to be scheduled for weekends and Bank Holidays. You might spend six months planning for one Bank Holiday weekend, booking in equipment, materials and labour. Imagine the satisfaction you will feel when everything you have planned for comes together.

It’s a hugely challenging but hugely rewarding area of employment.