Overview
Building on your passion
This course is ideal for those who are passionate about the construction industry, particularly reducing costs, time management, sustainability and helping to prevent climate change. Graduates in this course will always be in high demand, as the government supports the national economy demand for housing and refurbishing existing infrastructure.
You will study sustainable construction and environmental services, management, contract/business practice in a construction context, as well as construction law, building measurement and economics. We’ll make sure that you understand corporate management and finance, measurement and estimating, project analysis and cost control too, as these are essential skills for quantity surveyors. The course is internationalised and contain element of sustainable development goals (SDGs).
Why Commercial Management (Quantity Surveying) at LSBU?
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- High earning potential - our Architecture, Building and Planning graduates have a median graduate salary of £37,200 - the second highest graduate salary for this subject area in the UK (2023 LEO Data).
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- 91% of students on this programme said that assessments had allowed them to demonstrate what they had learned well. (National Student Survey 2023)
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- Ranked 1st amongst London modern competitors for Overall Score in Building (Complete University Guide 2021 and Guardian University Guide 2021).
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- History: we’ve been educating building professionals for over 100 years – and have strong industry connections.
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- Professional accreditation: we’re fully accredited by the Chartered Institute of Building.
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- Our subject-specific facilities include a Building Information Modelling (BIM Centre)
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- We use dedicated tools like CostX and Causeway for Cost Planning and Measurement.
Advanced entry
For those holding a relevant HNC/D it is possible to enter the course in the third year and 'top up' your existing qualification to a full degree. To apply, use UCAS (full-time) or apply direct to LSBU (part-time) and simply indicate which year of the course you wish to join.
| ModeFull-time | Duration3 years | Start dateSeptember | Application codeKN21 | Application method UCAS |
| ModeSandwich | Duration4 years | Start dateSeptember | Application codeKN21 | Application method UCAS |
| ModePart-time | Duration5 years | Start dateSeptember | Application code2305 | Application method Direct to LSBU |
Course Accreditations
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CIOB
Location
London South Bank University student union is located at 103 Borough Rd, London SE1 0AA.
If you are visiting our Southwark Campus, you may wish to use our downloadable campus map (PNG File 466 KB). For information on accessibility, see our DisabledGo access guides. See our location page for more details.
Entry Level Requirements
Want to start your course this September? call 0800 923 8888 for entry requirements.
- 112 UCAS tariff points. Visit UCAS for guidance on the tariff.
- GCSE Maths grade C or above or equivalent (reformed GCSEs grade 4 or above).
- If you do not meet the entry criteria above we also review any previous skills, knowledge or experience you have gained outside of your education and are happy to talk through any extenuating circumstances you feel relevant.
Choose your country
Select country here:
Missing English and Maths qualifications?
If you do not have the required English and Maths qualifications needed to satisfy the entry requirements for this programme, we have courses available at our partner College that you can take to upskill in these areas. Find out more at South Bank College.
Advanced entry
If you have already completed some studies at another university, we may be able to consider you for advanced entry. Please see our advanced entry page for more information.
United Kingdom
£9535
Tuition fees for home students
International
£15500
Tuition fees for international students
Tuition fees are subject to annual inflationary increases. Find out more about tuition fees for Undergraduate or Postgraduate courses.
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Part-time
part-time
BSc (Hons) Commercial Management (Quantity Surveying) (PT) - Year 1
UK fee: £5721 International fee: £9300 AOS/LSBU code: 2305 Session code: 1PS00 Total course fee: * The full amount is subject to fee increases, the total shown below is based on current fees.
UK: £28605 International: £46500 BSc (Hons) Commercial Management (Quantity Surveying) (PT) - Year 2
UK fee: £5721 International fee: £9300 AOS/LSBU code: 2305 Session code: 2PS00 Total course fee: * The full amount is subject to fee increases, the total shown below is based on current fees.
UK: £28605 International: £46500 BSc (Hons) Commercial Management (Quantity Surveying) (PT) - Year 3
UK fee: £5721 International fee: £9300 AOS/LSBU code: 2305 Session code: 3PS00 Total course fee: * The full amount is subject to fee increases, the total shown below is based on current fees.
UK: £28605 International: £46500 BSc (Hons) Commercial Management (Quantity Surveying) (PT) - Year 4
UK fee: £5721 International fee: £9300 AOS/LSBU code: 2305 Session code: 4PS00 Total course fee: * The full amount is subject to fee increases, the total shown below is based on current fees.
UK: £28605 International: £46500 BSc (Hons) Commercial Management (Quantity Surveying) (PT) - Year 5
UK fee: £5721 International fee: £9300 AOS/LSBU code: 2305 Session code: 5PS00 Total course fee: * The full amount is subject to fee increases, the total shown below is based on current fees.
UK: £28605 International: £46500 -
Full-time
full-time
BSc (Hons) Commercial Management (Quantity Surveying) (FT) - Year 1
UK fee: £9535 International fee: £15500 AOS/LSBU code: 2216 Session code: 1FS00 Total course fee: * The full amount is subject to fee increases, the total shown below is based on current fees.
UK (excluding any optional years): £28605 UK (including any optional years): £28605 International (excluding any optional years): £46500 International (including any optional years): £46500 BSc (Hons) Commercial Management (Quantity Surveying) (FT) - Year 2
UK fee: £9535 International fee: £15500 AOS/LSBU code: 2216 Session code: 2FS00 Total course fee: * The full amount is subject to fee increases, the total shown below is based on current fees.
UK (excluding any optional years): £28605 UK (including any optional years): £28605 International (excluding any optional years): £46500 International (including any optional years): £46500 BSc (Hons) Commercial Management (Quantity Surveying) (FT) - Year 3
UK fee: £0 International fee: £0 AOS/LSBU code: 2216 Session code: 3FS00 Total course fee: * The full amount is subject to fee increases, the total shown below is based on current fees.
UK (excluding any optional years): £28605 UK (including any optional years): £28605 International (excluding any optional years): £46500 International (including any optional years): £46500 BSc (Hons) Commercial Management (Quantity Surveying) (FT) - Year 4
UK fee: £9535 International fee: £15500 AOS/LSBU code: 2216 Session code: 4FS00 Total course fee: * The full amount is subject to fee increases, the total shown below is based on current fees.
UK (excluding any optional years): £28605 UK (including any optional years): £28605 International (excluding any optional years): £46500 International (including any optional years): £46500
For more information, including how and when to pay, see our fees and funding section for undergraduate students.
Please check your fee status and whether you are considered a Home, EU or International student for fee-paying purposes and for our regulatory returns, by reading the UKCISA regulations.
See our Tuition Fees Regulations (PDF File 391 KB) and Refund Policy (PDF File 775 KB).
Possible fee changes
The University reserves the right to increase its fees in line with changes to legislation, regulation and any government guidance or decisions.
The fees for international students are reviewed annually and the University reserves the right to increase the tuition fees in line with the RPIX measure of inflation up to 4 per cent.
Scholarships
We offer several types of fee reduction through our scholarships and bursaries. Find the full list and other useful information on our scholarships page.
International students
The course is not currently open to international students.
International (non Home) applicants should follow our international how to apply guide.
Home
| Mode Full-time | Duration 3 years | Start date September | Application code KN21 | Application method UCAS |
| Mode Sandwich | Duration 4 years | Start date September | Application code KN21 | Application method UCAS |
| Mode Part-time | Duration 5 years | Start date September | Application code 2305 | Application method Direct to LSBU |
Accommodation
Once we have made you an offer, you can apply for accommodation. You can rent from LSBU and you’ll deal directly with the university, not third party providers. That means we can guarantee you options to suit all budgets, with clear tenancy agreements and all-inclusive rents that include insurance for your personal belongings, internet access in each bedroom and on-site laundry facilities.
Or, if you’d rather rent privately, we can give you a list of landlords – just ask our Accommodation Service.
Read more about applying for accommodation at LSBU.
Finance
You don't need to wait for a confirmed place on a course to start applying for student finance. Read how to pay your fees as an undergraduate student.
Prepare to start
Applicant events
After you’ve received your offer we’ll send you emails about events we run to help you prepare for your course.
Welcome Week
Before you start your course we’ll send you information on what you’ll need to do before you arrive and during your first few days on campus. You can read about the process on our Welcome Week pages.
Preparatory Reading List
- Temple, M.(2004) Studying the Built Environment. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Parker, D. (1994) Tackling coursework: assignments, projects, reports and presentations. London: Letts Educational
- Domone, P. & Illston, J., 2010: Construction Materials. Their Nature and Behaviour
- Using Light Steel Framing: Design of Residential Buildings
- Seward, D., 2009: Understanding Structures(4th Ed), Palgrave Macmillan
- Taylor, G.D., 2000: Materials of Construction (3rd Ed), Longman
- Bradney, A., Cownie F., Masson J., Neal A.C., Newell D., (2010) How to Study Law (6th edn.) Thompson, Sweet & Maxwell, London.
- Coyle, D., (2004) Sex, Drugs and Economics, an Unconventional
- Introduction to Economics, Thomson, Australia, New York.
- Mankiw, N.G., and Taylor, M. P., (2010), Economics, Thomson, London.
- Turner C., and Hodge S., (2010) Unlocking Torts (2nd edn.) Hodder, Turner, London.
- Turner C., (2010) Unlocking Contract Law (3rd edn.) Hodder, Turner, London.
- McMullan R, Environmental Science in Building, Macmillan, 6th Edn, 2007
- Hall F and Greeno R, Building Services Handbook, Butterworth Heinemann, 5th Edition, 2009
- Irvine, W, Surveying For Construction 8th Edition McGraw Hill, 2008
- Uren and Price, Surveying For Engineers(5th Ed), Palgrave Macmillan
- Brookes, A.J. & Meijs, M., Cladding of Buildings, 2007
- Eisele, J. & Klaft, E. (Eds.), High Rise Manual: Typology and Design, Construction and Technology, 2003
- Reichel, A., Ackermann, P., Hentschel, A. & Hachberg, A., Building with Steel: Details, Principles, Examples, 2007
With a broad construction curriculum, this course will make you fully equipped to take up professional responsibility in a management role within the construction industry. We’ll cover: management and business practice, law, economics, construction technology and materials, measurement and project appraisal.
Methods of assessment for course overall: 65% coursework.
Year 1
- Building services and environmental science
This module focuses on building services and the environmental performance, and develops an understanding of how buildings perform in the areas of acoustics, heat and moisture transfer, lighting, ventilation and air conditioning design. The underlying principles of each topic will be covered, together with more advanced applications, enabling you to demonstrate an understanding of building performance to other professionals within the industry. Assessment methods: 50% coursework, 50% exam. - Construction technology and materials
This unit will introduce you to the study of building materials and how buildings are pieced together (i.e. building technology). Assessment methods: 50% coursework, 50% exam. - Construction technology and structures
This module will introduce you to the study of building technology associated with larger, more complex buildings, as well as to the fundamentals of structural analysis. Assessment methods: 50% coursework, 50% exam. - Construction practice
This unit focuses on the teaching of various interpersonal, learning and communication skills that will support students in their studies at university and lay a foundation for professional practice in the construction industry. Assessment methods: 100% coursework. - Legal and economic context in Built Environment
The legal content of this module will introduce the sources and basic rules of UK law, including common law and statute law, as it affects construction and property professionals. It will provide an introduction to construction contract law, and tort and restitution law as they affect professionals. It will explain the differences between common law and equity and criminal law, and their relevance to construction and property professionals. It will establish the legal and ethical framework of Health and Safety regulation. The economics content of the module will introduce you to micro and macro economics, and will examine the theoretical and empirical framework of economics, including price formation, the theory of the firm, degrees of competition, Government economic objectives, monetary policy, behavioural economics, contract theory, inflation and unemployment. Assessment method: 100% coursework. - Surveying and setting out
This module focuses on the principles and application of surveying in the construction industry using both traditional and modern surveying technology, including the establishment of horizontal/vertical control and basic setting out techniques and processes. Assessment method: 100% coursework.
Year 2
- Measurement 1 and documentation
This module provides an understanding of the fundamental concepts underlying the requirement to quantify and specify construction work. You'll establish the underlying principles required for the independent production of tender documents. The module will also provide the basic practical skills in measurement required for private practice, contracting and public service. Assessment method: 100% coursework - Measurement 2 and estimating
This module is designed to provide you with a sufficient grounding in measurement and analytical estimating to both, you will be able to apply measurement skills to more advanced forms of construction and perform measurement and estimating duties and learn how to use Cato and CostX for measurement and estimation. Assessment methods: 50% coursework, 50% exam. - Construction Contract Law
This module examines the various types of construction contracts, including families of standard construction contracts, and the common law and legislation and administrative procedures which govern them. It provides a working knowledge and understanding of construction contract legal problems, and related applicable law, such as non-contractual liabilities. It examines when a dispute arises in legal terms, and how dispute resolution methods may be employed to resolve problems and disputes. Assessment methods: 50% coursework, 50% exam. - Project Appraisal and Cost Control
The module will focus on the Quantity Surveying (QS) techniques for appraising projects, developing cost plans, project budget and cash flow, controlling contract costs, valuation procedures and dealing with the administration of contracts and payments. Assessment methods: 50% coursework, 50% class - Building economics
This module is about the economics of the construction and property sectors. It focuses on providing a description of the construction sector and an economic explanation of markets and industries, as well as some of the major features of construction products. Furthermore, it briefly provides an economic analysis of how investment, property and construction link together and to the wider economy. It also examines the role of regulation in dealing with negative externalities. Aspects of European construction will be examined, and flexible production in the context of construction organisations will be discussed. Assessment methods: 50% coursework, 50% exam. - Management of organisation
This module has two broad approaches. The first is an analytical approach to understanding organisations and managerial actions by considering the development of management theory, through the Classical Schools of thought up to the present day. This includes the nature of the roles of management, and the competencies required to manage organisations. The second approach introduces human resource management, the principles of personnel management and industrial relations, with particular reference to the construction industry. In parallel to the above broad areas of analysis and management practice, you'll spend time developing aspects of personal skills important in carrying out future management roles. Assessment method: 100% coursework.
Year 3
- Optional placement year
Year 4
- Contract practice and administration
This module provides the knowledge necessary for the execution of the contractual duties of the quantity surveyor and commercial manager in contracting and development companies, consultancy practice, public service and private corporations. It's designed to build on and apply knowledge obtained from a study of construction law. The module is an introduction to the period of professional training necessary to qualify as a professional and covers key areas of practice. Assessment methods: 50% coursework, 50% exam. - Corporate management and finance
This module will provide an introduction to financial and corporate management through an outline of the types of firm, their sources of finance, and the requirement to keep accounts and develop corporate strategy to match the firm's specific objectives. The module will explore the changing nature of financial and business markets, the need to budget and to plan in uncertain environments, and will provide an understanding of corporate governance and business ethics. The development of an understanding of finance and accounts supplemented by an understanding of markets, of opportunities and threats, will lead to the wider issues of corporate and strategic planning. Assessment method: 100% coursework. - Research project
This module applies research method skills on a project-based, applied research topic chosen by you, which includes two main phases: an initial research project proposal submitted for approval and the preparation of the full research project at the end of the module. Assessment method: 100% coursework. - Project management
In recent years the specialism of construction project management has been developed by construction professionals working within construction companies, construction consultancies and the public sector. This specialism is required to achieve effective and efficient management of the whole construction process from inception to completion. This module seeks to support this response by introducing the theory underlying project management and applying this to practical issues and problems in the construction industry. Assessment methods: 50% coursework, 50% exam. - Sustainable Construction and Environment
The aim of this module is to develop the students understanding of energy use in the construction and use of a building and the resulting environmental demands. As buildings consume a large proportion of the total energy used in industrial countries, students should be able to evaluate the design implications of poor energy efficiency in terms of cost, environmental impact and legislative consequences. Assessment methods: 50% coursework, 50% exam. - Quantity surveying project
The aims of the module are to develop knowledge of quantity surveying and commercial management practices in an integrated project setting and to develop a practical understanding of the role of quantity surveyors, commercial managers and cost consultants. The specific objectives are as follows:
- Understand the project context and the implication of different procurement options, carbon emission, and sustainable development.
- Forecast cost of construction projects at the pre-tender stage using traditional price books, BCIS and on-line information services for cost estimating/forecasting.
- Understand how to determine costs based upon limited information, drawings and specifications and the need for subsequent adjustment as more information becomes available.
- Appreciate how risk is evaluated and understanding the role of risks in cost calculations/contingencies and the influence of procurement options
- Develop project programmes and preparing cash flow for cost control and monitoring.
- Refine skills of measurement, documentation and estimating in the context of changing practice standards and methods.
- Exercise judgment in the analysis of practical project based problems.
Careers
Employability Service
At LSBU, we want to set you up for a successful career. During your studies – and for two years after you graduate – you’ll have access to our Employability Service, which includes:
- Free employability workshop and events for student all year round, more details can be found on our event section.
- Online board where you can see a wide range of placements: part-time, full-time or voluntary. You can also drop in to see our Job Shop advisers, who are always available to help you take the next step in your search.
- LSBU Careers Hub offering group workshops on CVs, interview techniques and support, guidance on future careers, as well as loads of career resources, connecting you with employers, exciting events, 1-1 support and relevant workshops.
Our Student Enterprise team can also help you start your own business and develop valuable entrepreneurial skills.
For those interested in construction and wanting a professional level job, quantity surveying could be ideal. Quantity surveyors have to make sure that projects meet legal and quality standards, as well as ensuring clients get good value for money. Understanding organisational structure and cost control aspects of construction projects are essential for quantity surveyors.
Take a look at some potential careers, including quantity surveyor, on Prospects.
Recent graduates have become quantity surveyors/estimators, site managers, construction project managers and commercial managers. And, of course you can choose to extend your qualifications by taking on further postgraduate study.
This course will provide you with a CIOB-accredited degree in preparation for a career in quantity surveying in the construction industry.
The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) is the professional body representing the building industry. It focuses on those entering and already in a management career in construction and it delivers qualifications and certifications that meet the needs of a changing industry.
Expertise and history
London South Bank University has a long history of educating professionals for the building-related industries. With roots in London Council School of Building (1904), Brixton School of Building (1940) we have been offering training for this sector for over 100 years. You’ll benefit directly from our longstanding ties to the industry.
Our current students and alumni hold key positions in their organisation, often as senior managers and business owners.
Teaching and Assessment
| Lectures, seminars and workshops | Self-directed study | |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 31% | 69% |
| Year 2 | 21% | 79% |
| Year 3 | 18% | 82% |
Personal Tutoring
As a Built Environment and Architecture student, you will be allocated a named tutor during your first three weeks at LSBU. The role of your tutor is to be your primary contact for academic and professional development support.
Your tutor will support you to get the most of your time at LSBU, providing advice and signposting to other sources of support in the University.
Your tutor should be the first person at the university that you speak to if you are having any difficulties that are affecting your work. These could be academic, financial, health-related or another type of problem.
You will have appointments with your personal tutor at least once a year for approximately 30 minutes throughout your course. You can contact your tutor for additional support by email or phone.
People profiles
