Undergraduate degrees with global professional accreditation in the built environment are rare. Especially those that could help students land in just about any industry sector.
The UTS Bachelor of Construction Project Management is now one of these degrees after becoming the only undergraduate course in Australia to achieve full global accreditation status through the world’s leading project management organisation - the Project Management Institute (PMI).
The course joins a small number of undergraduate programs worldwide that satisfy the comprehensive requirements set out by this international project management body. The PMI predominantly accredits masters programs due to the stringent project management requirements.
“We’ve long been regarded by the construction and infrastructure industries as producing some of the most agile and job-ready graduates, but this accreditation will open up further opportunities for our alumni to explore pathways across any sector which incorporates project management practices and methodologies,” explains Associate Professor Peter Smith, course director of the four-year program.
This status is likely to lead to greater demand for a course which already boasts one of the highest graduate employability rates across all UTS undergraduate courses.
“What this means is that whilst the course focuses on professional management in the construction industry, our undergraduates are also being taught broader project management skills and knowledge that can be applied across other industry sectors.
“This puts the course on a reasonably comparative level with generic postgraduate Project Management Masters programs that are not industry specific” continues Associate Professor Smith.
One of the driving factors behind the program’s high employment outcomes is the mandatory work experience program, requiring students to clock up a minimum of 200 days industry experience prior to graduation.
For final year student, Sam Kerfoot, who commenced both the degree and a job at A W Edwards in 2013, this means he’s now taking on lead roles in major infrastructure projects across Sydney:
“I’ve been at A W Edwards for four years, and I’m currently a site engineer involved in the construction of a Rail Operations Centre for Sydney Trains, where I manage the structural trades and work closely with the design engineers to coordinate the structural design on site,” says Sam.
These hands-on experiences also extend across international borders, with on location learning tours allowing students exposure to construction trends in Asia and beyond.
“Last year, my classmates and I spent two weeks in the Maldives, where, along with our lecturer, we volunteered at a local school to build a a new enclosed sheltered area for the Island’s desalination plant.”
“Plus, we’ve just come back from a three-week tour of Vietnam and Japan: two countries with very different approaches to construction and building. The experiences in both countries were so enlightening, they’ve definitely broadened my perspective and given me fresh ideas.”
For more information about UTS Construction Project Management and the unique international abroad subjects available, check out a Q+A with Sam.