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Kickstart your postgraduate journey at Brunel in January 2025

Building Services Engineering Management MSc

Key Information

Start date

January

September

Subject area

Mechanical and Automotive Engineering

Mode of study

3 years part-time (distance learning)

Fees

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Entry requirements

2:2

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Overview

Brunel's Building Services Engineering Management MSc is designed to give professional engineers the technical, business and leadership skills they need to further their careers in the building services engineering sector.  

Along with exploring the latest technological developments in the core subjects of heat transfer, energy conversion, electrical services, lighting design and health and safety, you’ll get a solid grounding in management essentials such as business operations and strategy, finance and accounting, facilities and contract management, and people management.

The course is taught as a distance learning programme over 3 years, which enables you to carry on working while building new skills in your own time and at your own pace.

This degree is accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) and the Energy Institute (EI), which means that obtaining it will put you on course to gain Chartered Engineer (CEng) status in the UK. 

Whether you’re looking to move into management or to improve the managerial skills you already have, your Brunel postgraduate engineering degree will give you the knowledge and expertise to pursue your career opportunities to the fullest.

You can explore our campus and facilities for yourself by taking our virtual tour.

Course content

This distance learning programme enables building services engineers to develop the management and leadership skills needed to advance their careers, in their own time and while carrying on working. 

Work for your business services engineering management degree consists of compulsory and optional modules and a 15,000-word dissertation.

You can choose either a traditional or renewable specialism.

Compulsory

  • Electrical Services and Lighting Design
    This module aims to provide the essential appreciation and understanding of electrical services design in building services applications, with particular reference to safety requirements, and to explain and illustrate the principles of lighting design in building services applications.
  • Building Heat Transfer and Air Conditioning
    This module aims to familiarise the students with principles of heat transfer, to develop the principles of building heat transfer, to examine the dynamic thermal behaviour of buildings, to reinforce and apply the principles of psychrometrics, and to provide an overview of the characteristics of air conditioning systems, design requirements and criteria for system selection.
  • Acoustics, Fire, Lifts and Drainage
    This module aims to introduce the design principles of noise control, fire safety, public health and vertical transportation in buildings.
  • Management of Facilities and Engineering Contracts
    This module aims to develop an understanding of the way in which assets and engineering contracts are managed within the business and legal framework.
  • Management of People in Engineering Activities
    This module aims to develop a wider understanding of the role and behaviour of individuals and groups undertaking engineering activities.
  • Organisation of Engineering Business
    This module aims to establish an appreciation of the structures of organisation, and to establish an appreciation of the tools used in effecting change within the building services engineering sector.
  • Engineering Finance and Accounting
    This module aims to establish an appreciation of the procedures and tools used in managing engineering businesses, and to develop an awareness of the external factors affecting engineering businesses.
  • Dissertation
    The dissertation aims for students to complete and report on a soundly executed and constructed programme of investigation, analysis and research containing original work.

Optional

  • Energy Conversion Technologies
    This module aims to provide familiarisation with the principles and practice of modern energy conversion technologies, and to consider local energy conversion and utilisation in buildings.
  • Renewable Energy Technologies
    This module aims to consider principles of the main renewable resources, and to provide a solid and quantitative understanding of renewable energy technologies.

This course can be studied undefined undefined, starting in undefined.

Please note that all modules are subject to change.

Read more about the structure of postgraduate degrees at Brunel

Careers and your future

Our graduates work in building services and construction-related consultancies such as Hoare Lea, Arup, BuroHappold, AECOM, Cundall, BRE, ChapmanBDSP, Atkins, WSP Group, Faber Maunsell and Hilson Moran.

Other employers include county councils within their building management and environmental departments, EDF Energy, Skanska, Trend Control Systems and Honeywell Control Systems.

You can also progress to academic research.

UK entry requirements

A 2:2 (or above) UK Honours degree or equivalent internationally recognised qualification in Mechanical, Building Services or technology subject. Other qualifications and relevant experience will be assessed on an individual basis.

Entry to this programme requires all students who are not nationals of the European Economic Area (EEA) and have temporary immigration permission to remain in the UK to obtain an ATAS certificate. If you are made an offer to join this course and you are not an EEA national, you will be required to obtain an ATAS certificate as a condition of your offer.

Applicants who will need an Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) Certificate. To find out if you will need an ATAS certificate, please visit this webpage: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/find-out-if-you-require-an-atas-certificate#when-you-need-an-atas-certificate.

The deadline for Admissions to make offers to applicants who will require an ATAS certificate is 5 August 2024. This is to ensure any offer holders who need an ATAS certificate have plenty of time to obtain the certificate before their course starts.

This course is now closed to new applications for September 2024 from visa requiring applicants who will need an ATAS certificate to study the course. This is because there will not be enough time to obtain the ATAS certificate and apply for a student visa before the start of the course.

EU and International entry requirements

If you require a Tier 4 visa to study in the UK, you must prove knowledge of the English language so that we can issue you a Certificate of Acceptance for Study (CAS). To do this, you will need an IELTS for UKVI or Trinity SELT test pass gained from a test centre approved by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) and on the Secure English Language Testing (SELT) list. This must have been taken and passed within two years from the date the CAS is made.

English language requirements

  • IELTS: 6 (min 5.5 in all areas)
  • Pearson: 59 (59 in all sub scores)
  • BrunELT: 58% (min 55% in all areas)
  • TOEFL: 77 (min R18, L17, S20, W17) 

You can find out more about the qualifications we accept on our English Language Requirements page.

Should you wish to take a pre-sessional English course to improve your English prior to starting your degree course, you must sit the test at an approved SELT provider for the same reason. We offer our own BrunELT English test and have pre-sessional English language courses for students who do not meet requirements or who wish to improve their English. You can find out more information on English courses and test options through our Brunel Language Centre.

Please check our Admissions pages for more information on other factors we use to assess applicants. This information is for guidance only and each application is assessed on a case-by-case basis. Entry requirements are subject to review, and may change.

Fees and funding

2025/26 entry

If you are a Distance Learning student, costs for 2025/26 are:

  • £1200 per 15 credit module 

 

 

More information on any additional course-related costs.

See our fees and funding page for full details of postgraduate scholarships available to Brunel applicants.

Scholarships and bursaries

Teaching and learning

Distance learning students are supplied with a study pack of text books and CD-ROMs. You will have assignments to submit and exams to sit each year. Examinations are held in May and can be taken either at Brunel or in the country where you live.

You have up to three years to complete the course, with students taking four modules in the first year, four modules in the second year and writing their dissertation in the third year.

You should allow for about twelve hours of study each week.

We have an extensive network of organisations (universities, colleges and British Council offices) throughout the world that will provide invigilation services. The cost of invigilation away from Brunel is your responsibility.

Should you need any non-academic support during your studies at Brunel, the Student Support and Welfare Team are here to help.

Assessment and feedback

Modules are assessed by combinations of formal examination and written assignments. Examinations are normally sat in May or June.

Successful completion of the taught modules allows you to proceed to the dissertation stage. To qualify for the award of the MSc degree, you must submit a satisfactory dissertation.

MSc dissertation projects for distance learning students are normally carried out over one year.

Read our guide on how to avoid plagiarism in your assessments at Brunel.