School of Architecture, Computing and Engineering

MSc Construction Project Management with Professional Practice Placement

MSc Full-time 16 months

Add real industry experience to your masters. MSc Construction Project Management with a 3–6 month Professional Practice Placement at Wolverhampton — 18 months, live client briefs, direct routes into major UK contractors.

Add real industry experience to your masters. MSc Construction Project Management with a 3–6 month Professional Practice Placement at Wolverhampton — 18 months, live client briefs, direct routes into major UK contractors.

Award
MSc
Start date(s)
14 September 2026, 4 January 2027
Course specifications
Course length
Full-time (16 months)
Campus location
University: City Campus,University: Springfield Campus

Why choose this course?

7th in the UK for Architecture, Building and Planning (Daily Mail University Guide 2027)

If you want your masters to end with more than a dissertation on your CV, this is the version built for that. MSc Construction Project Management with Professional Practice Placement takes the same rigorous curriculum as our standard MSc and adds a structured, portfolio-assessed industry placement — giving you workplace experience employers can see evidence of, not just hear about at interview.

  • An 18-month, full-time course structured specifically to make room for a 3–6 month industry placement, without compressing your teaching time to fit it in
  • Placement experience is formally assessed through its own 20-credit module and a reflective portfolio — evidence you can put directly in front of employers
  • Study at the £100 million Springfield site, home to VR, AR and digital construction labs, on a course ranked 7th in the UK for Architecture, Building and Planning (Daily Mail University Guide 2027)
  • Two intakes a year (September and January), so you can plan your placement window around live opportunities in the sector
  • Access to the School's employer network — organisations including Network Rail, National Grid, Gleeds, Wates and United Living have hosted placement students from this course

This course is accredited by:

CFF CIOB Logo CFF RICS Logo The QSi Logo

What's unique about this course?

Most construction masters treat work experience as an afterthought — a few unassessed weeks squeezed around teaching, easy to skip if things get busy. This course does the opposite: the placement is written into the credit structure, extends your registration period specifically to accommodate it, and is assessed on the same footing as your taught modules.

  • Professional Practice Placement (7CN031) is a dedicated, credit-bearing module, not an optional extra bolted onto a standard MSc
  • The University has formally extended both the maximum registration period and the standard credit requirement to make room for it, rather than shortening your teaching time to squeeze it in
  • Placement timing follows your intake: start in September and your placement typically sits in semester two of year one; start in January and it typically runs the following autumn — either way, it falls naturally between your taught modules and your dissertation
  • A reflective learning portfolio turns your placement into demonstrable evidence of professional competencies, not just a line on your CV
  • The same live-industry Contemporary Issues module found on our standard MSc keeps your classroom learning current even while you're out on placement

What happens on the course?

The course carries 200 credits in total — 20 more than a standard masters — split across six 20-credit taught modules, a 60-credit dissertation, and the 20-credit placement module that gives this course its name. You'll cover the same technical ground as our standard MSc during your taught semesters — contracts, operational delivery, strategic and programme-level management, and the research skills for your dissertation — before stepping into the workplace itself.

How the course is structured

  • Taught modules run across your first one to two semesters, covering forms of contract, operational construction project management, strategic programme management and research methods
  • Contemporary Issues is delivered by module leads working directly with industry stakeholders on whatever the sector is grappling with that year
  • Your placement (7CN031) runs for three to six months, arranged on a competitive basis through the School's industry contacts — it may be paid or unpaid depending on the host organisation
  • You'll keep a portfolio throughout the placement, recording the tasks, experience and professional competencies gained — this is formally assessed
  • Your dissertation follows the placement, and can be shaped around what you've learned on-site if you choose to take it in that direction

How you'll learn and be assessed

Teaching blends lectures, seminars and industry-set project briefs with guest input from practitioners, and most taught modules are assessed through portfolio work — reports, case studies and presentations built up piece by piece — rather than exams. The placement adds a genuinely different kind of assessment: a reflective portfolio judged against real workplace evidence rather than a simulated brief.

Placement opportunities will be actively investigated but the University reserves the right to default to the MSc Construction Project Management if an appropriate placement cannot be found.

Placements on the course

The placement is the reason this course exists, so it's worth being clear about how it actually works. After completing your taught modules, you'll undertake a placement lasting three to six months with a host employer from the construction, engineering or wider built environment sector. Placements are arranged competitively through the School's industry network and are not guaranteed for every student — employers make the final decision, in the same way they would for any other role.

  • Placements may be paid or unpaid, depending on the host organisation and the role on offer
  • You'll complete a reflective learning portfolio during your placement, recording the tasks you've undertaken and the professional competencies you've developed — this is formally assessed as part of the 20-credit Professional Practice Placement module
  • Placement providers the School has worked with include Network Rail, National Grid, Gleeds, Wates, United Living, William Gough and Dunton Environmental
  • Start in September and your placement typically follows in semester two; start in January and it typically runs the following autumn

Employability on the course

Every part of this course — not just the placement — is built with your next role in mind. Because you leave with a completed industry placement documented in a professional portfolio, you have something many postgraduate applicants don't: recent, referenceable, sector-specific experience to talk about at interview.

  • Graduates typically move into roles such as Construction Project Manager, Site Manager, Project Controls Manager, Development Manager, Construction Planner, Client Representative / Employer's Agent and Sustainability or Environmental Manager
  • Placement hosts have included Network Rail, National Grid, Gleeds, Wates, United Living, William Gough and Dunton Environmental
  • Successful completion supports your progress toward professional membership of bodies including RICS, CIOB and APM
  • A placement reference and portfolio give you a concrete talking point for job applications that a dissertation alone can't provide
  • Guest lectures, site visits and an annual Meet the Employer event keep you connected to employers before, during and after your placement

Course Modules

Potential Career Paths

Manage the planning, execution, and delivery of large-scale construction projects.

Oversee on-site operations, ensuring work is completed safely, on time, and within budget.

Monitor project performance metrics including scheduling, budgeting, and risk.

 Coordinate planning, design, and delivery of new development projects for public or private clients.

 Create detailed project plans, identify resource needs, and sequence construction activities.

Act on behalf of clients to manage construction contracts and delivery.

Ensure compliance with environmental regulations and implement sustainable building practices.

Additional Information

Everything you need to know about this course!

Beyond the placement itself, Wolverhampton sits in a region with a genuinely active construction and infrastructure sector on its doorstep — a natural pool of placement employers close to where you're studying, rather than a course that sends you searching nationally on your own.

  • Ranked 7th in the UK for Architecture, Building and Planning (Daily Mail University Guide 2027)
  • Based in the Black Country and West Midlands, a region with major live infrastructure and regeneration activity
  • Study at the £100 million Springfield Campus, home to VR, AR and digital construction labs
  • A dedicated Personal Tutor and Student Support Adviser throughout your studies, including support around securing and reflecting on your placement
  • Tailored international student support, including visa and immigration guidance for placements completed in the UK

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:

  • Appraise, critique and evaluate approaches to construction project management across strategic and operational contexts
  • Apply academic, industrial and practical research to solve complex real-world problems
  • Lead and work effectively within a team, recognising and drawing on individual contributions
  • Apply numerical, statistical and quantitative methods to plan and control construction projects
  • Handle complex issues systematically and creatively, and communicate your conclusions clearly to specialist and non-specialist audiences — a skill your placement will put directly to the test
  • Take responsibility for your own learning and continue developing new skills to a high level, on-site as well as in the classroom

Location Mode Sep intake Fee Jan intake Fee Year
Home Full-time £14194 per year £14194 per year 2026-27
International Full-time £22672 per year £22672 per year 2026-27

These fees relate to new entrants only for the academic year indicated for entry onto the course, any subsequent years of study may be subject to an annual increase, usually in line with inflation.

A second-class honours degree in a construction related discipline, or equivalent, is required for direct entry onto the Master’s programme. Students are selected using application form and references in the first instance. However, if you have a compatible non-cognate degree and/or have relevant industrial experience you may be interviewed and if successful offered a place on the Masters course or on the postgraduate certificate version of the course with the potential to extend this to a full Master’s degree. or A Postgraduate Certificate in a construction related discipline, or a related subject with a minimum of grade C in all modules.

International Applicants

Your qualifications need to be deemed equivalent to the above entry requirements.

Postgraduate Loan (Home Fee Status):

You may be able to get a postgraduate student loan from Student Finance England of up to £13,206 to help pay for a Master’s degree. Applications are made through Student Finance England and more information on the regulations and eligibility criteria can be found at Masters Loans gov.uk.

* Any RPL will invalidate your eligibility as you must study a minimum of 180 credits


Changes for EU students:

The UK government has confirmed that EU students starting courses from 1 August 2021 will normally be classified as Overseas (International) students for fee purposes. More information about the change is available at UKCISA:

EU citizens living in the UK with 'settled' status, and Irish nationals living in the UK or Ireland, will still be classified as Home students, providing they meet the usual residency requirements, for more information about EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS)


Postgraduate Loyalty Discount:

You can get 20% discount on a taught on-site postgraduate course if you’re a University of Wolverhampton Graduate.

The University offers a generous 20% Loyalty Discount to students progressing from an undergraduate programme to a taught postgraduate programme, where both courses are University of Wolverhampton Awards.

There is no time limit on how long ago you completed your degree as long as this is your first Masters level qualification.

The discount applies to the first year of enrolment only. Students who receive a loyalty discount are not entitled to any further tuition discount or bursary. For full terms and conditions click here.


Self-funded:

If you are paying for the fees yourself then the fees can be paid in 3 instalments: November, January and April. More information can be found by clicking here.


Sponsored - Your employer, embassy or organisation can pay for your Tuition fees:

Your employer, embassy or organisation agrees to pay all or part of your tuition fees; the University will refer to them as your sponsor and will invoice them for the appropriate amount.

We must receive notification of sponsorship in writing as soon as possible, and before enrolment, confirming that the sponsor will pay your tuition fees.


Financial Hardship:

Students can apply to the Dennis Turner Opportunity Fund for help with course related costs however this cannot be used for fees or to cover general living costs.


Charitable Funding:

You might also want to explore the possibility of funding from charitable trusts. Please contact Association of Charitable Foundations, Directory of Social Change or Family Aid. Most charities and trust funds offer limited bursaries targeted to specific groups of students so you will need to research whether any of them are relevant to your situation.


You can find more information on the University’s Funding, cost, fee and support pages.

Telephone

01902 32 22 22

Email

enquiries@wlv.ac.uk

Online

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