Quantity Surveying

Quantity surveying is the financial and contractual management of construction projects, concerned with ensuring that clients receive value for money from the projects they commission and the built assets they create. Quantity surveyors provide cost planning, procurement advice, contract management, and financial control throughout the lifecycle of a construction project, from initial feasibility and design through to construction, completion, and sometimes beyond into facilities management and maintenance. It is a discipline that sits at the intersection of finance, law, engineering, and project management, and it is essential to the effective delivery of construction projects of any scale.

At Heriot-Watt University, this four-year full-time degree provides you with the knowledge and skills to advise clients of the construction industry on financial, contractual, and technical matters, as the course description captures. You will develop expertise in cost planning, procurement strategy, contract law, project management, and the technical dimensions of construction, learning to work with both the commercial and the physical realities of building projects. Heriot-Watt is a well-regarded institution for the built environment professions, with strong connections to the construction and property sectors in Scotland and beyond.

Graduates in quantity surveying go on to work in construction consultancies, main contractors, property developers, public sector client organisations, and project management firms. The professional pathway is well defined, with graduate membership of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors leading to chartered status as a recognised mark of professional excellence. Quantity surveying graduates are in consistent demand because every significant construction project requires their expertise, and the profession offers strong earning potential and genuine career progression.

Many also go on to postgraduate study in construction project management, quantity surveying, or commercial management, deepening their expertise for specialist or leadership roles.