Construction Management with International Foundation Year

Construction management is the discipline concerned with planning, coordinating and controlling the processes through which buildings and infrastructure are delivered on time, within budget and to the quality specifications that clients and end users require. It sits at the junction of technical knowledge and project management, requiring an understanding of how buildings are designed and built, how contracts and procurement work, how labour and materials are managed, and how risk and change are handled across complex projects.

The University of Reading offers this four-year full-time programme with an international foundation year at the outset, which is designed for students who need additional academic preparation before the main degree content begins, whether because their prior education has followed a different curriculum or because they need to develop their English language proficiency and academic skills alongside the technical foundations of construction management. From there the main degree develops a thorough understanding of project management, construction technology, building information modelling, contract management, cost control, health and safety, sustainability in construction and the professional and commercial context of the built environment industry. Reading has long-established connections with the construction and property sectors, which inform the curriculum and provide context for applied learning throughout the programme.

Construction management develops the organisational intelligence to manage complex projects, the technical knowledge to understand what is happening on site and in the drawings, the commercial awareness to manage costs and contracts, and the interpersonal skills to coordinate diverse teams and relationships.

Graduates enter careers as project managers, site managers, quantity surveyors, contract managers, construction consultants and development managers across the housebuilding, commercial, infrastructure and civil engineering sectors. The degree provides a strong foundation for professional qualifications including those offered by the Chartered Institute of Building, and postgraduate study in construction management or project management is available for those seeking to specialise further.