| Code | Faculty | Department |
|---|---|---|
| 12132025 | Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology | Department: Construction Economics |
| Credits | Duration | NQF level |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum duration of study: 3 years | Total credits: 393 | NQF level: 07 |
Construction management is the field of study meant for the person who wishes to become part of the process of infrastructure development, especially the construction of buildings. The construction manager is a professional business person who acts as manager for undertakings in the building, construction and property industry as well as related support services.
Career opportunities cover a wide spectrum and construction managers find employment as main and subcontractors in the building and construction industry, as project managers or investment experts with financial institutions and property developers, as property experts who offer broker services and compile packages, as managers of building and property portfolios for investors, as suppliers of material and equipment to the building and construction industry, as consultants for financial services in the construction and related sectors, or as private entrepreneurs working in these fields.
The examinations of the BScHons degree in Construction Management are recognised by the minister as prescribed examinations in terms of the stipulations as described in the Project and Construction Management Professions Act (Act No 48/2000), as well as by the Chartered Institute of Building.
The degree is awarded if all the prescribed modules have been passed.
Important information for all prospective students for 2025
The admission requirements below apply to all who apply for admission to the University of Pretoria with a National Senior Certificate (NSC) and Independent Examination Board (IEB) qualifications. Click here for this Faculty Brochure.
Minimum requirements | |||
Achievement level | |||
English Home Language or English First Additional Language | Mathematics | Physical Sciences or Accounting | APS |
NSC/IEB | NSC/IEB | NSC/IEB | |
5 | 5 | 4 | 30 |
The suggested second-choice programme for Bachelor of Science Construction Management is Bachelor of Science Real Estate.
Life Orientation is excluded when calculating the APS.
Applicants currently in Grade 12 must apply with their final Grade 11 (or equivalent) results.
Applicants who have completed Grade 12 must apply with their final NSC or equivalent qualification results.
Please note that meeting the minimum academic requirements does not guarantee admission.
Successful candidates will be notified once admitted or conditionally admitted.
Unsuccessful candidates will be notified after 30 June.
Applicants should check their application status regularly on the UP Student Portal at click here.
Applicants with qualifications other than the abovementioned should refer to the International undergraduate prospectus 2025: Applicants with a school leaving certificate not issued by Umalusi (South Africa), available at click here.
International students: Click here.
Transferring students
A transferring student is a student who, at the time of applying at the University of Pretoria (UP) is/was a registered student at another tertiary institution. A transferring student will be considered for admission based on NSC or equivalent qualification and previous academic performance. Students who have been dismissed from other institutions due to poor academic performance will not be considered for admission to UP.
Closing dates: Same as above.
Returning students
A returning student is a student who, at the time of application for a degree programme is/was a registered student at UP, and wants to transfer to another degree at UP. A returning student will be considered for admission based on NSC or equivalent qualification and previous academic performance.
Note:
Closing date for applications from returning students
Unless capacity allows for an extension of the closing date, applications from returning students must be submitted before the end of August via your UP Student Centre.
Refer also to G5.
Promotion to the second semester of the first year and to the second year of study
Promotion to the third year of study
The degree is conferred with distinction on a student:
Minimum credits: 126
Module content:
Find, evaluate, process, manage and present information resources for academic purposes using appropriate technology.
Module content:
Apply effective search strategies in different technological environments. Demonstrate the ethical and fair use of information resources. Integrate 21st-century communications into the management of academic information.
Module content:
By the end of this module students should be able to cope more confidently and competently with the reading, writing and critical thinking demands that are characteristic of the field of Construction Economics.
Module content:
The structure of the building industry and the role of building disciplines and related parties. Content from Humanities and social sciences 120 to introduce students to a variety of texts and encouraged them to understand themselves as products of – and participants in – different traditions, ideas and values.
Module content:
Students are introduced to design aspects in the built environment by doing basic technical drawings of simple building structures with appropriate detail sketches.
Module content:
Principles, methods and materials used in best practice in the construction of single-storey buildings up to wall plate height.
Module content:
Principles, methods and materials used in best practice in the construction of single-storey buildings from wall plate height to completion including finishes and external work. Introduction to alternative practices and materials for sustainability.
Module content:
This module deals with the core principles of economics. A distinction between macroeconomics and microeconomics is made. A discussion of the market system and circular flow of goods, services and money is followed by a section dealing with microeconomic principles, including demand and supply analysis, consumer behaviour and utility maximisation, production and the costs thereof, and the different market models and firm behaviour. Labour market institutions and issues, wage determination, as well as income inequality and poverty are also addressed. A section of money, banking, interest rates and monetary policy concludes the course.
Module content:
This module deals with the core principles of economics, especially macroeconomic measurement the private and public sectors of the South African economy receive attention, while basic macroeconomic relationships and the measurement of domestic output and national income are discussed. Aggregate demand and supply analysis stands core to this course which is also used to introduce students to the analysis of economic growth, unemployment and inflation. The microeconomics of government is addressed in a separate section, followed by a section on international economics, focusing on international trade, exchange rates and the balance of payments. The economics of developing countries and South Africa in the global economy conclude the course.
Module content:
Sanitary services; soil and waste drainage for simple, multi-storey and multi-purpose buildings; local sewage by-laws; construction of all types of sewage and sanitary fittings.
Module content:
Sanitary services; hot and cold-water supply to simple and multi-storey buildings; local by-laws; water reticulation to town development; different hot-water systems; water purification systems; water and energy saving.
Module content:
Introduction to quantity surveying, mensuration; interpretation of drawings, methodology of measuring, working up processes, general instructions, measuring of simple building elements.
Module content:
Design; basics (forces, moments, equilibrium, reactions, stress, strain); materials; loads; pin-jointed trusses; tension members.
Module content:
Beams (shear force and bending moment, bending and shear stresses, design of standard beams in steel, concrete and timber, section properties, lateral restraint); compression members; combined axial and bending; deflection.
Module content:
*Students will not be credited for more than one of the following modules for their degree: WTW 134, WTW 165, WTW 114, WTW 158. WTW 134 does not lead to admission to Mathematics at 200 level and is intended for students who require Mathematics at 100 level only. WTW 134 is offered as WTW 165 in the second semester only to students who have applied in the first semester of the current year for the approximately 65 MBChB, or the 5-6 BChD places becoming available in the second semester and who were therefore enrolled for MGW 112 in the first semester of the current year.
Functions, derivatives, interpretation of the derivative, rules of differentiation, applications of differentiation, integration, interpretation of the definite integral, applications of integration. Matrices, solutions of systems of equations. All topics are studied in the context of applications.
Minimum credits: 121
Please note: Students registered for this programme must please register for STK 161 in Quarter 3.
Module content:
Advanced application of construction technology for the erection of multi-storey, steel reinforced concrete structures as well as steel portal frame construction. Bulk excavations for the creation of deep basements including lateral support through piling systems and other retaining wall structures to prevent embankment failure. Introduction to construction management principles and the effect thereof on the construction process in terms of time, cost and quality. Management of temporary site works, applying formwork design principles, building equipment and earth moving machinery required in advanced construction technology.
Module content:
Material study of metals and materials. Study and development of sensitivity for and the philosophy of industrial safety, accident prevention and total loss control safety risk management in the construction industry.
Module content:
The development of an understanding of the South African Law of Property and statutes relating to immovable and real rights; the acquisition of rights over land in South Africa; forms of land tenure; possession and occupation of immovable property, survey of land, registration of rights over immovable property, servitudes, real and personal securities, subdivision of land zoning regulations.
Module content:
*Only for BSc (Mathematical Statistics. Construction Management, Real Estate and Quantity Surveying) and BEng (Industrial Engineering) students.
Purpose and functioning of financial management. Basic financial management concepts. Accounting concepts and the use of the basic accounting equation to describe the financial position of a business. Recording of financial transactions. Relationship between cash and accounting profit. Internal control and the management of cash. Debtors and short-term investments. Stock valuation models. Depreciation. Financial statements of a business. Distinguishing characteristics of the different forms of businesses. Overview of financial markets and the role of financial institutions. Risk and return characteristics of various financial instruments. Issuing ordinary shares and debt instruments.
Module content:
Introduction to the principles of indoor comfort. Heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems. Installation and operation of lifts and other mechanical services. Fire detection and protection.
Module content:
Theory of electricity; regulations of electricity-supply authorities; electrical installations; distribution of electricity.
Module content:
The Joint Community Project module is a credit-bearing educational experience where students are not only actively engaging in interpersonal skills development but also participate in service activities in collaboration with community partners. Students are given the opportunity to practice and develop their interpersonal skills formally taught in the module by engaging in teamwork with fellow students from different disciplines and also with non-technical members of the community. The module intends for the student to develop through reflection, understanding of their own experience in a team-based workspace as well as a broader understanding of the application of their discipline knowledge and its potential impact in their communities, in this way also enhancing their sense of civic responsibility. Compulsory class attendance 1 week before Semester 1 classes commence.
Module content:
Measuring of simple buildings and simple building elements and external works. Abstracting and billing.
Module content:
Descriptive statistics:
Sampling and the collection of data; frequency distributions and graphical representations. Descriptive measures of location and dispersion.
Probability and inference:
Introductory probability theory and theoretical distributions. Sampling distributions. Estimation theory and hypothesis testing of sampling averages and proportions (one and two-sample cases). Supporting mathematical concepts. Statistical concepts are demonstrated and interpreted through practical coding and simulation within a data science framework.
Module content:
Students can only get credit for one of the following modules: STK 120 or STK 121 or STK 161.
Analysis of variance, categorical data analysis, distribution-free methods, curve fitting, regression and correlation, the analysis of time series and indices. Supporting mathematical concepts. Statistical concepts are illustrated using simulation within a data science framework.
This module is also presented as an anti-semester (quarter 2) module. This is a terminating module.
Module content:
General surveying; instruments, their handling and adjusting; surveying systems and simple calculations; determining of levels; setting out of the works; tacheometry and plotting; scales, planimetry; areas and volumes; construction surveying; aerial photography.
Minimum credits: 146
Module content:
Basic principles of the employment contract. Collective labour law. Statutory conditions of employment. Individual labour disputes. Collective labour disputes. Settlement procedures.
Module content:
Introduction to law. General principles of the law of contract. Specific contracts: purchase contracts; letting and hiring of work; employment contracts. Agency. General aspects of entrepreneurial law.
Module content:
Concepts, principles, history, current trends in settlement, shelter and integrated living environments; role of housing in society; statutory policy and planning frameworks and paradigms; housing delivery options; housing development management; financing and property rights options; housing types and densities; housing product, norms and standards; management and maintenance of social housing stock; housing needs assessment and post-occupancy evaluation; consumer education and protection.
Module content:
Erection and construction of specialised building components and finishes. Acoustics. Material study of plastics, glues, rubber, mastics, bonding agents, fibre cement, bituminous products, sealers, epoxies and waterproofing.
Module content:
Thermal properties of insulation systems and construction materials. Review of current development and construction practice; alternative construction technologies; innovation in construction; technical evaluation of innovative construction materials and methods; life cycle costing and life cycle analysis; the National Building Regulations.
Module content:
*Only for BCom (Financial Sciences, Investment Management and Law) and BSc (Construction Management , Quantity Surveying and Real Estate) students.
Framework and purpose of financial management; understanding financial statements; analysis of financial statements for decision making; time value of money; risk and return relationships; business valuation; short-term planning; current asset management.
Module content:
Cash flow calculations; the investment decision and the study of financial selection criteria in the evaluation of capital investment projects; the cost of capital; determination of capital requirements and the financing of a business to maintain the optimal capital structure.
Module content:
Principles of illumination; illumination installations; lightning security; security systems; communication systems. Multimedia installations.
Module content:
An introduction to the principles of construction contract law and an overview of standardised conditions of contract for the built environment.
Module content:
Measuring of simple concrete structures, structural steelwork, plumbing and drainage, and alterations. Material lists, analysis of building costs, certificates, contract price adjustment provisions (CPAP) and final accounts.
Module content:
Introduction to sustainable development and general sustainable construction principles, processes and technology. Sustainable practices on the construction site. Relevant regulations and voluntary programmes, including an introduction to ‘Green Star’ rating. Introduction to the principles of lean construction and BIM.
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