Master of Science in Real Estate Development

at University of Westminster - Marylebone Campus United Kingdom

Our design-led Architectural Technology BSc will give you the skills you need to launch your career in design and development. 

From architectural composition and technical analysis to the business and management skills you'll need for contract procurement, we'll teach you how to apply technical decision-making to real-life design challenges.

Learning in our dedicated Architectural Technology studio and working on real design briefs, you’ll develop a sound understanding of the processes of design and construction and the management tools, particularly CAD, for communicating design information.

You'll gain an understanding of the multidisciplinary and collaborative nature of the modern construction industry, and will have the chance to work alongside students from all construction courses in Year 1.

Studying the Architectural Technology BSc will give you the framework to practise privately, or — on successful MCIAT chartership — run a business in the architectural and construction industries. 

All of our courses are delivered using an enquiry-based blended learning approach involving workshops, lectures, tutorials and independent study. We assess your learning through a variety of methods including project work, essays and exams.

Setting you apart in a competitive job market, you’ll graduate with direct experience from a three-month internship and the holistic business knowledge, capabilities and cutting-edge digital expertise demanded by today’s employers.

In the fast-moving global business environment, employers demand multi-skilled, digitally competent graduates with a sophisticated understanding of business and its changing context, one which cuts across the traditional business disciplines that include human resources, management and marketing. To succeed you need a ‘big picture’ approach. You must be capable of adapting to emerging business models, creating new enterprises, leading and managing people effectively and improving processes with digital solutions.

At Westminster Business School, we recognise that future business professionals need the full range of technical and personal development skills – more responsible, resilient, adaptable and versatile than ever before. Our aim is to help you become an aspiring leader and entrepreneur, someone who can add value to any type of organisation. But we believe it’s essential for this transformation process to start early, before you have extensive working experience or have adopted the mindset of one particular employer or business sector. By starting this process early, it’s much easier to develop your skills, learn to think outside the box, and independently lead changes in the business world – wherever your career takes you. It’s also what our employer contacts tell us they’d prefer.

Globalisation has enabled companies to become better connected, able to target international customers, develop a worldwide supply chain and attract a multicultural workforce. Our degree will prepare you to respond proactively and creatively to the opportunities and risks presented by international business and the challenges of the global business environment – from cultural, legal and economic perspectives.

Today, almost all companies, involved in anything from the sale of physical goods to services such as finance, marketing and construction, are affected by global events and competition. Exciting opportunities exist for graduates with a cross-cultural perspective who can operate with confidence, adapt and successfully negotiate increasingly complex internal and external global environments.

On our course, you’ll have a truly global learning experience, studying alongside staff and students from all over the world. We also try to provide as many opportunities as possible for you to hear direct from our alumni, who have established successful international careers in sectors as diverse as human resources, IT, law and finance.

You’ll be studying in the heart of London, one of the world’s major cities and international business hubs, and can also choose to spend a year living, studying and/or working abroad at one of our partner institutions in Europe, Asia, Australia or the USA. This will give you a valuable insight into another country’s learning experience and broader cultural environment.

Top reasons to study with us

• Programmes are delivered by a multicultural and international teaching body, who come from professional practice and/or regularly publish in top international journals
• Participate in Westminster Working Cultures trips to understand working cultures within businesses abroad, which in the past have included Berlin, Mumbai and Washington DC
• Extend your learning and your international experience by taking part in an overseas Summer School. Past venues include ESCE, Paris, Copenhagen Business School, and Inha University, South Korea
• Option to spend one year studying abroad at one of our partner institutions or gain valuable work experience, or a combination of both, for example, one student studied at Copenhagen Business School and then worked at Volkswagen in Germany
• Opportunity to study a foreign language as an optional module in each year of study
• Access to one of the largest financial databases in our state-of-the-art Bloomberg virtual trading room
• Guest lectures from industry practitioners have previously included speakers from IBM, Tableau, Coca Cola and LinkedIn

Core management skills are in high demand in our rapidly changing environment. Successful managers need to know how people behave, the nature of leadership and sources of power and influence within the workplace. They must also plan, prioritise, develop new processes and identify new opportunities. That’s why our MA provides a broad understanding of business – from finance and people management to operations, communications and marketing. You’ll graduate with the all-round expertise and decision-making capabilities required to lead modern organisations.

Whether you aim to be self-employed heading your own company, work for private businesses, or not-for-profits or government agencies, this course is designed to develop the necessary management skills to succeed in a rapidly changing economic environment. This course will therefore open flexible career avenues or will enable you to take the next step to progress your career.

Blending theory and practice, our teaching is designed to equip you with the knowledge, competencies, analytical and problem-solving skills around the management of organisations and how to apply these to management problems and situations. As the course progresses, you will study operational, tactical and a more strategic approach to management.

Incorporating the latest digital and analytic marketing practices, the broad curriculum of our Master’s degree reflects the rapidly changing global marketing environment. Whilst at Westminster, you can also secure two internationally-recognised professional qualifications – the Institute of Data and Marketing (IDM) Certificate in Digital Marketing and the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) Global Foundation Certificate, as well as joining the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR).

Here at Westminster, we’ve been teaching postgraduate degrees in marketing communications for over 20 years. Our goal is to prepare you for professional life in the increasingly complex and dynamic marketing communications industry, incorporating the growing content of digital marketing and new innovations.

Economics is more relevant than ever to understand contemporary events in the global economy and provide the tools and techniques for business and governments to analyse and interpret the issues and problems they face. Reflecting the needs of both private and public sector employers, our highly practical MSc prepares you to assess business problems, interpret public policy and effectively communicate the insights that economic analysis can provide.

Aimed at those with a genuine interest in the application of economics to real-world situations, this course aims to provide you with an in-depth knowledge of the latest theories, practices and key concepts in economics that underpin public sector policy and business decision making. This includes the various scenarios where we explore opportunity cost, equilibrium and disequilibrium, strategic interaction, market failure and the related concept of externalities.

The focus is very much on developing the practical skills needed by a working economist – the ability to apply economic techniques to complex, multi-faceted business problems and provide specialist advice. You’ll gain hands-on experience of the industry-standard computing and econometrics software used to analyse and manipulate data.

Financial economics is all about managing financial assets such as trade and share prices, interest rates and exchange rates. You’ll not only be introduced to financial economics, but also gain a solid foundation in general economic concepts, principles, analysis, techniques and knowledge.

Learning how to predict and advise on the impact of economic, social and public policy issues on monetary activities, you’ll develop your analytical and decision-making abilities, expanding your skills in data gathering, handling and interpretation, quantitative analysis and forecasting.

In our state-of-the-art Bloomberg virtual trading room, you will use industry-standard software, including Bloomberg, SAGE, FAME, Excel and other statistical packages, to analyse data, build models and produce forecasts. You will also develop key soft skills such as communicating complex economic ideas to a non-expert, presentation skills and teamwork.

We enjoy strong links with employers, including the Government Economic Service and Society of Professional Economists, which was relaunched here at Westminster Business School in 2018. Membership of the Society is offered to all final-year economic students and there are opportunities to attend their monthly meetings, conferences and continuous professional development courses.

Modern organisations increasingly rely on digital technologies, such as the Internet of Things, Big Data, blockchain, cryptocurrencies and data analytics, to improve their business processes and provide increased value to customers. However, integrating these new technologies into existing operations can prove complex and costly – it requires a unique skillset that combines business acumen and digital competence.

Open to graduates from any subject area, this course is ideal for aspiring digital business professionals who want to enhance their skills and career prospects by becoming business oriented, but with sufficient understanding of the latest technology to envisage, plan and manage digital initiatives successfully. It will prepare you to manage digital business challenges and lead at the forefront of digital transformation. 

Underpinned by company visits, field trips and the chance to tackle real-life business challenges, our exciting Master’s programme provides a practice-driven understanding of the global business environment. You’ll study in the heart of London, one of the world’s major cities and international business hubs.

Our comprehensive curriculum will equip you with the competencies, analytical, professional and problem-solving skills needed to successfully manage operations, tactical activities and direct strategy within organisations that are based overseas or trade globally.

You’ll develop your knowledge of a broad range of business and management disciplines in the context of international cultural perspectives, challenges and global contemporary business and commerce practices. Topics covered include economics, finance, international trade, branding, corporate social responsibility, strategy and sustainability, marketing and digital communication, leadership and managing people. The course is ideally suited for recent graduates and ambitious early-career professionals who may not have a business education background, but who are determined to pursue business and management careers.

Our teaching focuses on experiential learning, integrating theory with practice and real-world problem-solving. You’ll interact directly with businesses and be exposed to ‘live’ business situations through field trips, case studies, business simulations, special talks and seminars given by leading business practitioners.

This exciting programme is designed with input from financial firms, public and private companies. Our aim is to combine theoretical learning content with practice to give you a deep understanding of modern financial theories together with learning about how companies make investment, financing and acquisition decisions. It will prepare you for a career in the dynamic, highly regulated world of financial services. 

Developing core quantitative and analytical skills, you’ll learn how to prepare and interpret financial data and managerial information. This education will enable you to develop your expertise to evaluate financial issues to  confidently make financial decisions. You will gain a broader understanding of the socio-economic, legal and professional environment within which finance operates. Graduates from this programme will be better placed to provide expert guidance to both professionals and non-professionals to solve complex real-world problems – the scope of the subject areas is broad ranging from graduates taking on roles from corporate financial management to highly analytical areas of the field in financial risk and investment management.    

The University is also recognised by the Chartered Financial Institute (CFA) as a University Affiliated Program partner. A fair proportion of the CFA Program Candidate Body of Knowledge is embedded in this specialist finance degree.  

You’ll be taught by academics with professional experience in investment banking, derivatives, asset pricing, Treasury Management, algorithmic and high frequency trading, pricing and hedge fund trading. Theoretical aspects of your learning are seamlessly blended to develop  practical skills using our state-of-the-art Financial Markets Suite (FMS). The learning resources facility provides  access to a rich source of  financial and market data.

As well as a firm grounding in investment, finance fundamentals and general management, you’ll be able to study a wide variety of specialist finance modules, such as portfolio management and securities analysis. With the City of London's global financial institutions on our doorstep, you’ll begin building your professional network from day one. We also have guest lecturers and industry speakers, from big brokerage firms and asset management companies. 

The course enhances your analytical abilities, together with team-working, problem-solving, communication skills and commercial awareness needed to meet the needs for talent in a changing global financial world. The skills and knowledge you develop will open up a range of careers in the skills necessary for a successful career in the financial services industry, economic consultancy, government departments or in regulatory agencies. With further study, you could also progress to professional finance qualifications from the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute (CFA) and the CISI. 

Our course was designed with input from a range of industry professionals with expertise in financial markets, institutions and financial regulation. To retain currency and relevance, we receive ongoing feedback from the School of Finance and Accounting’s Employability Advisory Board, whose members include practitioner representatives from Vanguard, JPMorgan and Global Structured Finance, as well as former students now working in the finance industry who provide suggestions on how to improve future employability for students. As much as 70% of the BSc Finance course content is in line with the CFA’s study units’ syllabuses.