Course overview

Technological and managerial evolution of the construction industry during the last two decades demands a new generation of construction professionals. To compete successfully in national and international arenas, during all phases of a project, construction organisations need managers with strong leadership and interpersonal skills that blend technical and management skills, understand the financial and legal issues involved in a project and are sensitive to technological issues.

The discipline of construction engineering and management (CEM) is structured to develop this type of professional. Our degree includes a set of technical core subjects, supplemented by options that can be used to customise a plan of study to suit your specific career interests. You will also be encouraged to take courses from other areas of civil engineering and various other academic units at the University of Portsmouth.

The course aims to equip you with the technical knowledge and skills you will need to undertake construction project processes such as design, construction management and contract management. It seeks to produce graduates who can:

• Use a combination of general and specialist civil engineering knowledge and understanding to apply existing and emerging technology.
• Apply appropriate theoretical and practical methods to design, develop, construct, commission, operate and maintain civil engineering products, processes, systems and services.
• Provide technical and commercial management in the construction industry.
• Demonstrate effective interpersonal skills and a personal commitment to professional standards, recognising obligations to society, the profession and the environment.

Career focused

The entrance criteria of this degree have been designed to comply with the requirements of major engineering graduate programmes. Competent students can have the opportunity to apply their skills to real-life practical problems as part of the department’s partnership scheme with charities, local and global organisations. Please view the 'Career prospects' section for further details.

To find out more about placement opportunities in the Faculty of Technology, please visit our Placements Office pages.

Professional accreditation

The BEng (Hons) Construction Engineering Management course is appropriate for those seeking a first degree leading to a recognised professional qualification in civil engineering. It is accredited by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE), the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (CIHT) and the Institute of Highway Engineers (IHE). The course fully satisfies the educational base for Incorporated Engineer (I Eng) under the United Kingdom Standard for Professional Engineering Competence (UKSPEC). The School maintains excellent links with these professional bodies and regularly updates and advises students on matters relating to their progress to professional status.

Placement and field work

The course can be taken in sandwich mode, enabling you to take a year in industry to gain experience, and is usually taken between years two and three of the degree programme. We maintain close links with a wide range of organisations in the civil engineering industry and the School has an excellent record of obtaining suitable industrial training. In addition to the experience gained on a placement, you will also gain valuable experience during field trips. All students undertake field studies in surveying, soil mechanics, environmental hydraulics and construction. The course makes extensive use of the ‘real-world laboratory’.

Exchange opportunities

Opportunities exist for part of your studies to be undertaken in France, Germany, Spain or the Czech Republic. The School has developed educational links with a number of institutions including Grand Ecole d’Ingenieur at St Etienne in France, Ecole Superieure at Cachen in France, Fachhochschule Trier in Germany, Universidad de Granada in Spain, Universidad de A Coruna in Spain, and Technical University of Ostrava in the Czech Republic.

Course content

The BEng (Hons) Construction Engineering Management is completed over three years. The course may also be taken as a sandwich course, with approved year-long industrial training undertaken at the end of year one or two. The course is unitised and credit is given for each unit successfully completed. Each year is made up of a number of compulsory (core) units with years two and three also offering additional optional units. All units have 20 credits except for the ‘Research Methods and Individual Project’ in year three, which has 40 credits.

Year one

In your first year you will be introduced to the key theories and principles upon which civil engineering practice is based. It comprises 120 credits.

Core units include:

• Soils and Materials 1: the nature and performance of soils and major construction materials.
• Water Engineering: the behaviour of fluids at rest and in motion including environmental aspects.
• Construction Management and Practice:the construction process and the implications for health, safety and welfare of project participants and the environment.
• Professional Development 1: technical, practical and people skills required for effective communication in the construction industry as well as continuing professional development.
• Engineering Analysis: the fundamental mathematical techniques that have application in civil engineering.
• Introduction to Building Measurement

Year two

Your second year comprises 120 credits (80 from core units, 20 from subject strand units and 20 from optional units).

Core units include:

• Soils and Materials 2: the nature and performance of soils and major construction materials and their subsequent impact on civil engineering structures.
• Numerical Methods and Economics: probabilistic and numerical techniques relevant to civil engineering with the financial and economic considerations relevant to construction projects.
• Professional Development 2: technical, practical and people skills required for effective communication in the construction industry as well as continuing professional development including creative thinking in solving civil engineering problems.
• Understanding Structures: behaviour, modelling and design of simple structural elements.

Subject strand units include:

• Water and Infrastructure
• Introduction to Project Management Principles
• Tender Documentation and Measurement

Optional units include:

• Diving and Underwater Engineering: the basic theory and practice of diving at work.
• Fieldwork for Civil Engineers
• Heritage Property
• Institution-Wide Language Programme: the basics of a variety of languages from Arabic, British Sign Language, French, German and Italian, to Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese, and Spanish.

The following optional unit spanning the full academic year can be taken as part of a sandwich course:

• Industrial Placement: application of civil engineering knowledge in a professional work environment over a period of one year.

Year three

Your third year will build on all the knowledge you have acquired throughout the course so you are able to analyse, design and manage civil engineering systems in an integrated manner. It comprises 120 credits (80 from core units and 20 from subject strand units).

Core units include:

• Professional Development 3: technical, practical and people skills required for effective communication in the construction industry as well as continuing professional development.
• Research Methods and Individual Project (40 credits): this unit covers the application of knowledge, techniques and skills to solve a civil engineering problem and/or create new knowledge through a systematic research process.
• Project Evaluation and Development: this unit emphasises managing the close relationship among activities throughout the life-cycle of a project, from initial planning to ultimate disposal, decommissioning and/or rehabilitation.

Subject strand units include:

• Corporate Management and Contract Management: the design and management of operations in a construction organisation and of contractual relationships in construction projects.
• Project Management for Civil Engineers
• Energy Resources and Infrastructure
• Transportation Engineering: including traffic and highway engineering
• Measurement, Tender Documentation and Quantity Surveying Practice
• Contract Administration, Claims Management and Dispute Resolution

Teaching and assessment

We use a variety of teaching such as lectures, seminars, tutorials, site visits and laboratory and field exercises. Teaching is also enhanced by the extensive research, consultancy and other scholarly activities carried out by academic staff and we increasingly use the internet to support independent learning.

You will be assessed in each individual unit by either coursework or examination or by a weighted combination of both. Assessment takes place within each teaching period and your results are published after the end of each period. Feedback is provided on all assessment artefacts to show you what you did well, what you didn’t do well and how you can improve your performance.

Career prospects

Placement opportunities

In the Faculty of Technology we feel that students should be given as many opportunities as possible to gain meaningful work experience and build employability skills throughout their studies to make them more attractive to future employers.

Working with other University services, the Faculty’s Student Placement and Employability Centre (SPEC) ensure students have access to a range of volunteering and work experience opportunities, including year-long industrial placements, and provide support for the different types of application processes.

Examples of companies our students have taken up placements with include:

• MGM Surveys
• Balfour Beatty
• Kier Construction

Types of placement roles that could be relevant to this course include:

• Trainee Site Engineer
• Trainee Highway Engineer
• Assistant Project Manager

To find out more about how you can gain work experience whilst studying BEng (Hons) Civil Engineering, please visit our Placements Office pages.

Graduate roles

Since commencing degree courses more than 30 years ago, the School of Civil Engineering and Surveying has enjoyed a sound reputation with employers. Graduates have been outstandingly successful in finding employment in the construction industry, but the qualification is designed to be equally valuable as a means of securing employment in other sectors of the economy such as business, banking, IT and local government.

What the employers say

'Having recruited three Industrial Placement students from the University of Portsmouth who performed exceptionally whilst with us, BAM Nuttall are keen to continue working closely with the University. The students demonstrated excellent standards in safety awareness, were extremely conscientious, reliable and motivated. They showed a good attitude towards supervision and all got on well with their peers on site. They were honest and punctual. As a result of their performance on site, they have now been sponsored by us for the remainder of their degree courses and will join us as graduates when they finish. Since their return to university, I have heard from the sites that they are very much missed!'

Nicola Young, Student Liaison Officer, BAM Nuttall Ltd

Facilities and features

You will have use of the University Library with learning resources including books, periodicals, journals, trade magazines, electronic databases and an interlibrary loan facility, as well as our own Learning Resources Centre, which houses a wide variety of construction industry publications. The School also has laboratories for materials and structures testing, fluid flow modelling and chemical investigation, as well as an onsite environmental laboratory located at a real sewage treatment works. We also have an extensive network of computers with general and specialist software.

Our team of experienced academic, support and administration staff are always willing to help. We also have a long established network of civil engineering consulting and contracting organisations that provide real-world case studies, curriculum advice, feedback on your work and employment opportunities.

Maths Café

The Maths Café is a daily drop-in facility, where ANY student of the University can receive help on any maths or statistics problem they encounter in their studies. We operate in a friendly, informal location which we hope will encourage students to visit us. Handouts on key topics are available to take away. Students can be shown how to use computer aided learning packages, which can be accessed from any computer attached to the University's computer network.

Entry requirements

View all the entry requirements for BEng (Hons) Construction Engineering Management for the academic year 2013/14 (opens in new window).