Building Surveying

Building surveying is the professional discipline responsible for the condition, maintenance, repair, and adaptation of the built environment. Where quantity surveyors focus on cost, and architects on design, building surveyors provide expertise in the physical fabric of buildings, advising clients on defects and their causes, overseeing renovation and refurbishment projects, managing building contracts, and ensuring that properties meet the legal and regulatory standards required of them. It is a discipline that requires both technical knowledge of building construction and materials and professional skills in contract management, client communication, and problem-solving.

At the University of Northumbria at Newcastle, this three-year programme provides the academic grounding and professional preparation needed to work as a building surveyor. You will study the technology of buildings in depth, learning how structures are put together, how materials behave over time, and what causes the defects that building surveyors are called upon to diagnose and address. Contract law, project management, professional practice, and the regulatory framework governing buildings, including planning, building regulations, and health and safety law, are central to the curriculum.

The programme includes a sandwich year in industry, giving you an extended period of professional experience, a year abroad for an international perspective on built environment practice, and work placement opportunities throughout the degree that develop your professional skills and contacts. Northumbria's strong industry connections in the North East and beyond support these professional development opportunities.

Building surveying graduates typically seek to become chartered through the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, which is the recognised professional body for the discipline, and a degree from an RICS-accredited programme is the standard route to this status. Careers span private practice in building surveying consultancies, working for clients who need independent advice, and in-house roles within large property-owning organisations including housing associations, NHS trusts, local authorities, and commercial property companies. Some graduates specialise in particular building types or technical areas, while others develop project management or commercial expertise.

The profession offers good career prospects and a variety of working environments.