DEGREE GUIDE

Quantity Surveying

What do Quantity Surveying degrees involve?

Quantity Surveying degrees teach you how to manage costs and contracts in construction projects, ensuring they are completed on time and within budget. You will explore key areas such as construction law, project management, cost estimation, sustainability, and procurement. These courses help you develop analytical, numerical, and problem-solving skills while understanding how to balance financial control with quality and efficiency. You will also learn how to assess risks, negotiate contracts, and use industry-standard software. Many degrees include site visits, industry placements, and professional accreditation opportunities, giving you the expertise needed to work in construction, property development, and project management.

Example
Modules

Construction Technology: Learn how buildings are assembled, exploring materials, structural systems, and construction methods used across the built environment.

Measurement and Estimating: Build core skills in taking dimensions from drawings and calculating the materials and labour needed for construction projects.

Sustainability in Construction: Understand how environmental considerations affect cost planning and material selection in sustainable building design.

Common Degree Names

💼 A placement year is commonly available and encouraged in construction firms or surveying practices.
🌍 Study abroad is available at some universities.

BSc (Hons) Quantity Surveying
BSc (Hons) Quantity Surveying and Commercial Management
BSc (Hons) Quantity Surveying and Construction
BSc (Hons) Quantity Surveying and Building Services

Quantity Surveying is a vocational BSc degree, and many courses are RICS-accredited.

Level 3 (A-level / IB Diploma (HL) / Scottish Highers)

Quantity Surveying degrees combine technical construction knowledge with financial and legal understanding. Strong numerical skills are essential for this career.

Subjects that strengthen your application:

Mathematics – highly valued for cost calculations, estimating, and financial management
Business Studies – relevant for understanding contracts and commercial management
Economics – useful for understanding markets and financial principles
Physics – helpful for understanding construction technology
Design and Technology – provides a practical understanding of materials and construction
Geography – relevant for understanding land and environmental factors

✨ Maths is essential for Quantity Surveying – you'll work with budgets, costs, and financial data throughout your career. Your other subjects can be flexible, but a combination showing numerical and analytical skills is ideal.

Universities may also accept:

BTEC Extended Diplomas in Construction (being phased out), Built Environment, or Business
BTEC National Extended Certificates or National Diplomas alongside A-levels that meet the subject requirements above
T-Levels in Building Services Engineering or Design, Surveying and Planning for Construction
IB Career-related Programme (IBCP) with at least two IB Higher Level subjects (ideally three) alongside your Career-Related Study — see above for IB subjects that could strengthen your application

Most Quantity Surveying degrees are accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and/or the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB). This accreditation is important for becoming a chartered surveyor. Always check specific course requirements.

Level 2 Qualifications (GCSE or equivalent)

Most courses ask for:

GCSE English Language and Maths (or equivalent) – Maths often required at grade 4/C or above. Equivalents include Scottish National 5s, BTEC Level 2, or IB MYP certificates
Some universities ask for around five GCSEs at grade 4/C or above

📋 Strong Maths skills are particularly important for Quantity Surveying as the role involves extensive cost calculations and financial management.

💬 Interviews

Interviews are not usually required, but some universities may invite you for a short conversation, either online or in person, to learn more about your interest in the subject.

🔍 Work Experience

Not required, but quantity surveying is an industry-focused profession and seeing how construction projects work in practice helps you understand what the degree leads to. A building site, construction firm, or property developer's office gives you a sense of how projects are planned, costed, and managed. If you can arrange to shadow a quantity surveyor, even briefly, that's the most direct way to see the role. Any experience involving budgets, project planning, or working with numbers in a practical context is also relevant.

✨ Personal Statement Tips

What interests you about the financial and project management side of construction? Quantity surveying is about making sure building projects are delivered on time and within budget. It combines technical construction knowledge with cost estimation, contract management, and financial planning. If you enjoy working with numbers, solving practical problems, and the idea of seeing physical results from your decisions, think about what draws you to construction specifically rather than finance or management more generally. You don't need construction experience, but if you've noticed building projects in your area, thought about what goes into costing a major development, or explored how the construction industry manages budgets worth millions, reflect on what sparked that curiosity. Reading about how quantity surveyors work on real projects, how construction costs are estimated before a single brick is laid, or how the industry is adapting to sustainability targets can show genuine engagement. Admissions tutors want to see you understand this is a professional role that combines numbers with real-world construction, not just that you're good at maths.

If your qualifications don't match the usual entry requirements, there are some other possibilities.

🌱 Foundation Year in Construction or Built Environment

Some universities offer a foundation year if you don't have the required subjects or grades. This adds an extra year but leads directly into the full degree.

🎓 Access to HE Diploma (Construction, Built Environment or Business)

Accepted by many universities offering Quantity Surveying. Choose a pathway with numerate and business-related content, and aim for Merits and Distinctions in your graded units.

💼 Level 3 Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships such as Surveying Technician or Construction Site Supervisor carry UCAS tariff points from 2026 and can support a university application, particularly when combined with a foundation year. Quantity Surveying degrees are typically offered by universities with flexible admissions policies.

Is this degree right for you?

Members can explore whether this degree fits who they are:

Skills you'd develop and whether they match your strengths
How this aligns with your interests, motivators and values
Career paths and where graduates end up

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Skills you would develop in X degree

Skill Name

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Is this a good fit for you?

Use the tabs to explore the kind of person that this would be a good fit for. Do you share the Interests, Motivations, Values, Work identity and skills that people who thrive in this course tend to have?

Not sure what these things are? Explore your Identity Tree with us first.

Interests that connect well with a Quantity Surveying degree

Students who enjoy this degree often share these interests. You don't need to feel strongly about all of them, and interests develop over time. If one or two catch your curiosity, or sound like something you'd like to know more about, that's a good sign.

Machines, Structures & How Things Are Engineered: Understanding how buildings are put together sits at the core of the degree. You'll study construction technology, materials, building services and methods in depth, because quantity surveyors must know how buildings work to cost them accurately.

Money, Markets & How Economies Work: The financial side of construction is equally central. You'll work through estimating, cost planning, tendering, contracts, commercial management and cash flow forecasting, studying the economics of buildings from early concept through to final account.

Mathematics, Patterns & Data: Mathematics runs continuously through the degree, in measurement, cost modelling, statistical analysis and risk assessment. If you enjoy applying maths to make sense of how money and resources flow through real projects, that's the kind of maths you'll meet throughout the degree.

Running Projects, Events & Ventures: Running construction projects is a core thread in the degree, specifically from the commercial and contractual angle. You'll look at procurement, contracts, tendering, project lifecycles and the surveyor's role alongside project managers, engineers and contractors in bringing buildings together.

Students who thrive in a Quantity Surveying degree are often motivated by

Precision and Thoroughness

You feel satisfied when work is done accurately and completely. Whether it's getting calculations exactly right, spotting errors others miss, or making sure every detail is correct, the pursuit of precision gives you a sense of accomplishment. Sloppy or "good enough" work frustrates you, and you take pride in getting things right first time.

Practical Problem-Solving

You're energised by finding fixes to real-life issues, whether they're mechanical, technological, or social. You're motivated by problems you can see, touch, or experience directly, and you get satisfaction from solutions that work in practice, not just in theory. You'd rather build a prototype than write a report about one.

Analysing and Investigating

You're energised by making sense of information, looking for evidence, spotting patterns, and piecing together how things connect. Whether it's pulling apart data, questioning assumptions, or tracing a problem back to its source, you find energy in the process of understanding what's really going on. You'd rather dig into the details than accept things at face value.

Organisation and Planning

You feel satisfied when everything is organised and running smoothly. Bringing order to chaos, creating efficient systems, and making sure nothing falls through the cracks gives you energy. Disorder and inefficiency frustrate you, and you're often the person who steps in to create structure when things feel chaotic.

What makes Quantity Surveying click for the students who love it?

What excites them is knowing exactly what a building will cost, down to the last detail, and making sure nothing slips through. They are drawn to work where being organised and accurate changes the outcome, where one miscalculation throws a whole project off course. They like going through the figures to find where the money went, or why a job is over budget, then working out a practical fix while the build is live. The satisfaction is a set of numbers that holds up when the pressure is on.

These are the skills that students who love this degree tend to enjoy using. You don't need to be great at them already, but if they sound like you, that's a good sign.

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Skills that suit this degree

You don't need to be great at these already — but if you enjoy using them or want to get better at them, that's a good sign.

Do you enjoy working with numbers in a practical way — calculating costs, checking figures, and making sure the maths adds up?
Does it bother you when things aren't measured properly or when small mistakes get overlooked — do you naturally want to get it right?
Do you like comparing options and working out which one gives you the best value — weighing up costs against what you actually get?
Do you find yourself comfortable speaking up when something doesn't seem fair — and trying to reach an agreement that works for everyone?

Careers a Quantity Surveying degree could lead you to

Quantity Surveying

What do Quantity Surveying degrees involve?

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Common Degree Names

Is this degree right for you?

Skills you would develop in X degree

Skill Name

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Is this a good fit for you?

Careers a Quantity Surveying degree could lead you to

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