Quantity Surveying Online Degree Pathway

Examine the macroeconomic and microeconomic environment in which the UK and international construction industry operates, applying supply and demand analysis, price theory, and value concepts to construction procurement markets. You evaluate the financial structures of construction businesses, from sole traders and partnerships to listed contractors and project companies, and develop practical competence in preparing and interpreting financial reports: budgets, cash flow statements, profit and loss accounts, and balance sheets. This unit establishes the economic literacy expected of a graduate quantity surveyor in a commercial management role.

Study the legal frameworks that govern the design, procurement, and delivery of construction projects in England and Wales, covering contract law, the law of torts, and property law. You apply each area of law to realistic construction scenarios, assess the rights, duties, and liabilities of clients, contractors, consultants, and subcontractors in dispute, and develop the ability to produce structured legal analyses and advice. The unit builds the foundational legal competence that underpins RICS professional practice requirements and dispute resolution work.

Investigate the materials, building techniques, and regulatory context of low-rise residential construction. The unit covers the process of site investigation and how subsoil conditions influence substructure design, the performance characteristics of structural, facing, and finishing materials, building services installations including heating and drainage, the requirements of the Building Regulations, and the sustainability and low-carbon imperatives shaping contemporary residential design. The unit provides the technical knowledge base required for measurement, specification, and cost planning in residential projects.

Apply multi-disciplinary construction knowledge to the development of a residential scheme on a prescribed site, working through the stages of a real design and cost management process. You prepare a feasibility study and design brief, develop a scheme design using digital tools, produce technical drawings and specifications of materials and workmanship, and integrate the professional roles, project management decisions, and documentation flows of a construction project team. The unit develops the client-facing advisory and project coordination skills central to quantity surveying practice.

Develop the surveying and measurement skills that form the technical core of quantity surveying for low-rise residential projects. The unit covers site survey methods and digital site representation, the setting out of a simple building, the preparation of elemental quantities for substructure, external and internal walls, floors, roofs, finishes, components, and external works including drainage, and the cost models used to produce early-stage estimates. All measurement work is referenced to the New Rules of Measurement (NRM) published by RICS, establishing professional practice standards from the outset.

Examine how construction businesses are planned, structured, and led across the delivery of complex projects and programmes. The unit covers corporate business planning and strategy, the organisational communication structures used in construction projects, leadership and teamwork theory including motivation and group dynamics, and the ethics and diversity frameworks that responsible contractors, consultants, and clients embed in their organisations. You develop an appreciation of how effective management practice directly influences project outcomes, team performance, and commercial results.

Develop the project planning and site management skills needed to programme and deliver construction projects safely, efficiently, and on time. The unit covers the scheduling of construction operations, the use of industry-standard programming software including Asta Powerproject and Microsoft Project, statutory health and safety obligations under CDM 2015 including the preparation of risk assessments and method statements, and the transformative impact of digital technologies such as BIM, drones, and automation on construction productivity and project control.

Extend your construction technology knowledge to the design, specification, and construction of complex commercial, multi-storey, and mixed-use buildings. The unit examines advanced structural systems including post-tensioned concrete, structural steel, and unitised facades, complex building services installations, and the regulatory and energy performance standards that govern complex buildings under the Building Regulations and BREEAM. You investigate how emerging materials, digital design processes, and performance-based standards are driving technical innovation across the UK construction industry.

Study the procurement, contracting, and financial control processes that govern construction projects from inception through to final account settlement. The unit covers the principal forms of procurement — traditional, design and build, management contracting, and NEC target cost — and evaluates the standard JCT and NEC contract families and their supporting documentation. You develop practical skills in preparing interim valuations, financial control statements, valuation of variations, and statements of final account — core competencies for RICS APC pathway assessment in quantity surveying.

Apply cost planning and tendering techniques to construction projects across a range of values, types, and procurement methods. The unit covers the full spectrum of tendering models from single-stage open tender to negotiated and framework arrangements, unit rate calculation and pricing strategy, tender adjudication and bidding analysis, and the relationship between design decisions and cost at each RIBA Plan of Work stage. You prepare approximate estimates, elemental cost plans, and budget forecasts representative of the pre-contract commercial management role of a chartered quantity surveyor.

Extend measured quantities practice to complex commercial and multi-storey buildings and their engineering services installations. You prepare detailed quantities for complex structural elements, envelope systems, internal finishes, and specialist components in accordance with NRM2, and produce measured quantities for mechanical and electrical services systems including water supply, electrical distribution, heating and ventilation, and foul and surface water drainage. The unit develops the accuracy and NRM compliance required for preparing tender documentation and contract bills on major construction projects.

Integrate the technical, commercial, and client advisory competencies developed across the full pathway into a single comprehensive project-based assessment. You advise a client on procurement and tendering strategy for a complex project, prepare approximate estimates and design-stage cost plans, produce detailed measured quantities for a defined portion of the scheme, compile tender pricing documentation, and prepare interim valuations, a forecast of final cost, a valuation of variations, and a statement of final accounts. This capstone unit demonstrates the professional judgement, technical accuracy, and commercial acumen expected of a graduate quantity surveyor entering the RICS APC.