Search
Did you study here?
Write a short review & help students like you! Over 1,500 students already shared their experience.
Project Management in the Built Environment – (M.Sc.)
Oxford Brookes University
Department of Real Estate and Construction
| Application Deadline: | as early as possible | ||
| Annual Tuition Fee: | ≈ € 10,207 - ≈ € 12,862 (non-EEA) | ||
| Location: | Oxford / United Kingdom / View location on map ▾ Hide location on map ▴ | ||
| Duration: | 12 months | Start Date: | September |
| Educational Form: |
| ||
| Education Variants: |
| ||
| Credits (ECTS): | 180 | ||
| Languages: | English | ||
Location of Oxford Brookes University
The MSc in Project Management in the Built Envronment (PMBE) is designed to meet the growing demand for project managers who can oversee the entire life cycle of any project, including unique and specialist developments. It is ideal for anyone with ambitions for project management within the built environment sector.
The programme adopts a problem-based learning (PBL) approach to ensure that it is real-world focused and holistic. Not only is this more effective, it is more fun than the traditional study and examination approach.
This approach will enable you to develop a whole range of management skills and knowledge including project finance, technology, law and contract. You will do this through working on real-life or realistic problems as experienced by the industry, consultants and clients. You will also be exposed to behavioural aspects of managing projects, which most project managers only experience when their careers are well-advanced.
We consult extensively with people from a wide spectrum of companies and organisations in order to make sure that the course content remains practically relevant. For example, prominent companies in the industry, such as Mace, Willmott Dixon, BAM Construction, are represented in our Professional Liaison Group (PLG) which provides advice to our courses practically relevant.
Why Brookes?
* Accreditation by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) demonstrates professional recognition of the quality of our programme.
* Strong links with prominent companies in the sector, such as Mace, Willmott Dixon and BAM Construction who are all represented in our Professional Liaison Group (PLG) which exists to provide advice on existing and proposed courses of study, on research activities and on scholarly or consultancy work.
* All of our first graduating cohort (September 2009 entry) have found project management-related jobs within six months of graduation. Our graduates now span the globe working in countries including Malaysia, India and USA.
* Our teaching is backed by strong research activity. Many of our academic staff are involved in academic research and/or professional or commercial consultancy work. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, approximately 80% of our research, with our colleagues in other Built Environment areas, was judged to be of ‘international’ quality, with approximately 40% rated as ‘internationally excellent’ or ‘world leading’. Built Environment at Brookes was placed 5th overall in the UK in the research power tables, immediately after the University of Cambridge.
* Many members of staff are part of Brookes' Oxford Institute of Sustainable Development (OISD), a leading research and promotional organisation noted for its work on sustainable technology in buildings and sustainable urban form.
Career prospects
The Department of Real Estate and Construction has an outstanding employment record for its graduates. Local and national construction companies, developers, project managers, house-builders, surveyors and housing associations regularly recruit our graduates.
Many of these companies visit the department annually to meet students for graduate positions. Our graduates are recognised as having an excellent level of communication, presentation and problem-solving skills.
All of our part-time students are employed full-time by prominent companies in the sector. Full-time students find similar employement shortly after graduation. They typically hold (Assistant) Project Manager positions. However, the breadth of the knowledge that our students gain means that they have the flexibility to function effectively in a number of different roles.
Contents
Course length
Full-time: minimum MSc: 12 months, PGDip: 9 months, PGCert: 9 months, max. 3 years
Part-time: minimum MSc: 24 months, PGDip: 21 months, PGCert: 9 months, max. 5years
The course will develop knowledge of current practice and issues as well as building real life skills including the exploration of interdisciplinary problems.
Among the issues covered are:
* technology and green construction
* sustainability and risk factors in design
* emerging procurement methods to meet new demands to collaborate and new competitive challenges
* behavioural aspects of managing projects such as negotiation and communication in all its guises
* handling uncertainty and paradox
* responding to risk and opportunity
* responding to constantly changing demands in areas such as law and regulation, and international flux of people and competition.
Course structure
The PGCert level modules are introductory in nature; they provide a breadth of understanding about project management and development in the built environment. To be eligible for the award of the Certificate, part-time students need to obtain 60 credits by passing the PGCert level modules identified below, while full-time students who gain 60 credits by passing any three of the PGCert or PGDip modules are also eligible.
The PGDip level modules focus upon further complexity in the development process and its legal and financial context, as well as providing a professional working context within which these issues are considered. Students need to obtain a further 60 credits in order to be awarded a PG Dip.
To achieve the MSc degree in the full-time mode, students who have reached the PGDip level need to complete the Research Methods and Dissertation modules. In the part-time mode, students must have also completed, or be exempt from, one year's experience of working at an appropriate level on one or more projects in the built environment.
Please note: as courses are reviewed regularly, the modules you take may vary from those shown here.
Course delivery
Normally, full-time students complete the MSc in one calendar year and part-time students in two. However, the course has built-in flexibility in order to help our students cope with changes to their personal or work circumstances. Such students could extend their studies to up to three years of full-time study or five years of part-time study after the initial registration date and still be eligible for the award of a PGCert, a PGDip or a MSc. The course starts in late September on campus for full-time study and by distance learning for part-time study.
An on-campus induction week introduces full-time students to the university and Brookes Virtual (our virtual learning environment), while part-time students embark on the initial activities online.
PGCert level (Year 1 of part-time study)
The PGCert level modules are:
* Project Planning and Procurement
* Management Theory and Human Behaviour
* Technology and Design Management.
They are all designed to engage the students with problem-solving or analytical exercises. These activities start during the first three weeks of the semester. The fourth week is an intensive study period at Oxford Brookes which brings full-time and part-time students together. During this week, we aim to develop through lectures, workshops and exercises:
* interpersonal skills such as problem solving, team building, leadership, negotiation and assertive behaviour
* academic skills such as referencing and the use of the electronic library.
The first intensive study week also introduces the PBL method. Practitioner tutors normally take part in this week. The PGCert modules conclude during the second intensive study period for this level.
Project Planning and Procurement moves from project participants and their roles on diverse projects to procurement routes, forms of contract and current trends. It also covers planning techniques such as barcharts and critical path analysis. The latter is used to analyse and model the stages of project development including financing, procurement and construction.
Management Theory and Human Behaviour covers, with special reference to project environments:
* management theory and approaches
* organisational and human behaviour
* conflict theory and resolution
* learning from experience.
Technology and Design Management. Developments in technology have the potential to drive dramatic changes in construction practice, both in building design and in the ways buildings are constructed. This module, through its lectures, workshops and laboratory practicals, teaches you how buildings 'work' and gives you the necessary analytical skills to engage with those emerging technologies that will improve our buildings for the future.
Field trip abroad is a compulsory element of the PGCert level. Its aim is to integrate knowledge gained in the early part of the course and to develop team building and other relationships. Another aim is to expose you to European project management practices and to assess your ability to observe and report on the different approaches to project management in the UK and in a European country.
Second Intensive Week for PGCert level. The PGCert modules end in another intensive week in March when part-time and full-time students come together in Oxford. You will be required to reflect on your learning during this week. The Applied Research Methods module for part-time study will start with a session where the full-time students, who will have completed this module, will share their experience with the part-time students in a workshop. The requirements of the dissertation will be explored with both groups. Part-time students will embark on research and developing research proposals for their dissertations. Finally, we will launch PG Dip Level modules for part-time study and start building the knowledge and skills involved.
PGDip level (Year 2 of part-time study)
PGDip level contains the following modules:
* Project Management and the Law
* Opportunity and Risk Management
* Project Evaluation and Finance.
They are all launched at the beginning of the academic year, on-campus for full-time students and by distance learning for part-time students.
Project Management and the Law ranges across legal disciplines, but starts with the basic framework. Areas of law which impact particularly on development are the focus. These include:
* basic planning law, and the requirements of building regulation
* contract and tort with primary attention to development projects
* construction law, with special consideration of the standard forms of building and civil engineering contract
* health and safety, pollution and disability discrimination.
The module develops knowledge and awareness of appropriate legal requirements and interpretation. It also shows how good practice in project management may prevent problems from arising and allows risks and liabilities to be recognised and managed.
Opportunity and Risk Management provides an opportunity for you to explore how risk and uncertainty can be managed in both organisations and projects. Risks may be posed by:
* markets and competition
* technology, geotechnical, construction or production processes
* organisational, financial, legal or environmental concerns.
Project managers often have to achieve goals set before all the risks are known. This entails planning for and carrying out risk management - the identification, assessment, quantification, monitoring and control of risk, using appropriate response strategies.
Project Evaluation and Finance examines the assessment of projects in terms of environmental and social sustainability, life-cycle costs and finance. It considers the whole financial cycle associated with a project, building on topics included elsewhere. Techniques include environmental impact assessment, social cost-benefit analysis, the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) and the sustainability checklist developed by BRE/SEEDA. The module includes:
* company and project governance
* companies' financial structures
* sources of company and project finance
* cost estimating and managerial economics
* structures associated with private finance initiative (PFI) contracts.
First Intensive Week for PGDip level in November After two-thirds of Semester 1, part-time students and full-time students are brought together in workshops and day trips to develop insights into project management practices in the UK and the cultural issues arising in multinational firms. You will undertake assessed tasks during this week.
Part-time students will also have the opportunity to discuss their dissertations with their supervisors, attend dissertation workshops and undertake independent research during this week.
MSc level
The Applied Research Methods and the Dissertation modules form the MSc level. Full-time students take the Applied Research Methods module during Semester 1 and 2, while the module runs in the summer of Year 1 for part-time students. You will work with the module leader to develop a research proposal for your dissertation, describing a suitable research question, the context and appropriate research methods.
The Dissertation builds on Applied Research Methods. You are encouraged to undertake research in an area of interest to your employers. Suitable forms of dissertation could include:
* an investigation based on primary and secondary data of a project management or organisational practice
* testing or development of an existing project management model
* application of theories or concepts to the solving of a project management or organisational problem
* the comparison and evaluation of international practices or approaches to an aspect of project management.
The module aims not only to generate new knowledge and insights but also to develop your capacity to undertake rigorous research, to plan and execute an extended project and to communicate complex ideas effectively in words and graphics.
It is expected that full-time students will dedicate the summer during their year of study, and part-time students the summer during their second year of study, to working on their dissertations.
IELTS
You are normally required to take an English Proficiency Test.
Most European Universities recognise the IELTS test.
Take testGRE® revised General Test
GRE Scores are accepted at business schools worldwide. Learn more and register.
Register Now!Requirements
MSc Project Management in the Built Environment is open to students who hold a good undergraduate honours degree in any discipline.
We will also consider applications from applicants with relevant experience (or an alternative qualification) and demonstrable abilities to study at master's level.
Normally, applicants for part-time study should also have at least six months' work experience in a sector of the construction industry.
Applicants whose first language is not English must demonstrate that their level of English is appropriate to study at postgraduate level. This course requires an IELTS score of at least 6.5 or evidence of an equivalent level of fluency in English. For TOEFL the required score is 575 (paper-based) or 90 (internet-based).
Additional Requirements
| Minimal degree required: | Bachelor's degree |
| Minimal amount of work experience | Not specified |
Language Proficiency
| IELTS Band: | 6.5 |
| Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE): | Grade B (Score: 75) |
| TOEFL Paper-based: | 575 |
| TOEFL Internet-based: | 90 |
Accreditation
Accredited by Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB).
Ask a Question
You can contact Programme Administrator to ask a question about Project Management in the Built Environment at Oxford Brookes University.
Relevant Links
Contact
Contact Oxford Brookes University
Using the form on this page, you can directly ask questions to the contactpersons at the university.
Fill out your contact information and message. The information you fill out in this form will be sent directly to the university. They will reply to you on the e-mail address you provide here.
Explain your academic background in the message; the more sophisticated your e-mail, the better the answer.
MastersPortal.eu cannot take any responsibility for the answering of contacts or for the content of their replies.
MastersPortal.eu - Finds the Masters for you!