Curiculum for the Master’s Program in Management in the Building Industry, 2018

1: Preface

Pursuant to Act 261 of March 18, 2015 on Universities (the University Act) with subsequent changes, the following curriculum is established. The programme also follows the Joint Programme Regulations and the Examination Policies and Procedures for The Faculty of Engineering and Science, The Faculty of Medicine and The Technical Faculty of IT and Design.

2: Basis in Ministerial orders

The Master’s programme is organised in accordance with the Ministry of Higher Education and Science’s Order no. 1328 of November 15, 2016 on Bachelor’s and Master’s Programmes at Universities (the Ministerial Order of the Study Programmes) and Ministerial Order no. 1062 of June 30, 2016 on University Examinations (the Examination Order). Further reference is made to Ministerial Order no. 111 of January 30, 2017 (the Admission Order) and Ministerial Order no. 114 of February 3, 2015 (the Grading Scale Order) with subsequent changes.

3: Campus

The Master’s programme is offered in Aalborg.

4: Faculty affiliation

The Master’s programme falls under the The Faculty of Engineering and Science, Aalborg University.

5: Study board affiliation

The Master’s programme falls under the Study Board of Built Environment.

6: Affiliation to corps of external examiners

The Master’s programme falls under the external examiners corps on Nationwide engineering examiners/Building.

7: Admission requirements

Applicants with a legal right of admission (retskrav)
Applicants with the following bachelor’s degree are entitled to admission:

• Aalborg University offers no bachelor’s programmes with a legal right of admission to this Master's program

Applicants without legal right of admission
Bachelor’s programmes qualifying students for admission:

• Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering; Structural and Civil Engineering, Aalborg University
• Bachelor of Science in Engineering (Civil Engineering with specialisation in Structural and Civil Engineering)
• Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering; Indoor Environmental and Energy Engineering, Aalborg University
• Bachelor of Science in Engineering (Civil Engineering with specialisation in Indoor Environmental Engineering)
• Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering; Water and Environment, Aalborg University
• Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Engineering (Civil Engineering with specialisation in Water and Environment)
• Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering; Transportation Engineering, Aalborg University
• Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Engineering (Civil Engineering with specialisation in Traffic and Highway Engineering)
• Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Engineering (Structural and Civil Engineering), Aalborg University, Campus Esbjerg
• Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering, Structural and Civil Engineering, Aalborg University
• Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering; Indoor Environmental and Energy Engineering, Aalborg University
• Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering; Water and Environment, Aalborg University
• Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering; Transportation Engineering, Aalborg University
• Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering; Traffic and Highway Engineering, Aalborg University
• Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering, Aalborg University, Campus Esbjerg
• Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering, VIA University College, Horsens

• Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Engineering (Architecture and Design with specialisation in Architecture and Urban Design)
• Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering (Construction Engineering), Technical University of Denmark
• Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering (Construction Engineering), Technical University of Denmark
• Bachelor of Engineering in Civil and Structural Engineering, Aarhus University – School of Engineering
• Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering, University of Southern Denmark
• Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering, VIA University College 

Applicants who hold one of the above mentioned bachelor’s degrees that do not include knowledge within the field of project management and economics are recommended to acquire knowledge within this field before or during their study at Management in the Building Industry. Inspiration for the knowledge building can be found in the course “Projektledelse og økonomi” in the curriculum for Bachelor of Science in Engineering.

8: The programme title in Danish and English

The Master’s program entitles the graduate to the designation Civilingeniør, cand.polyt. i byggeledelse. The English designation is: Master of Science (MSc) in Engineering (Management in the Building Industry).

9: Programme specifications in ECTS credits

The Master’s program is a 2-year, research-based, full-time study program. The program is set to 120 ECTS credits.

10: Rules concerning credit transfer (merit), including the possibility for choice of modules that are part of another programme at a university in Denmark or abroad

The Study Board can approve successfully completed (passed) programme elements from other Master’s programmes in lieu of programme elements in this programme (credit transfer). The Study Board can also approve successfully completed (passed) programme elements from another Danish programme or a programme outside of Denmark at the same level in lieu of programme elements within this curriculum. Decisions on credit transfer are made by the Study Board based on an academic assessment. See the Joint Programme Regulations for the rules on credit transfer.

11: Exemptions

In exceptional circumstances, the Study Board study can grant exemption from those parts of the curriculum that are not stipulated by law or ministerial order.  Exemption regarding an examination applies to the immediate examination.

12: Rules for examinations

The rules for examinations are stated in the Examination Policies and Procedures published by the faculty on their website.

13: Rules concerning written work, including the Master’s Thesis

In the assessment of all written work, regardless of the language it is written in, weight is also given to the student's formulation and spelling ability, in addition to the academic content. Orthographic and grammatical correctness as well as stylistic proficiency are taken as a basis for the evaluation of language performance. Language performance must always be included as an independent dimension of the total evaluation. However, no examination can be assessed as ‘Pass’ on the basis of good language performance alone; similarly, an examination normally cannot be assessed as ‘Fail’ on the basis of poor language performance alone.

The Study Board can grant exemption from this in special cases (e.g., dyslexia or a native language other than Danish).

The Master’s Thesis must include an English summary (or another foreign language: French, Spanish or German upon approval by the Study Board). If the project is written in English, the summary must be in Danish (The Study Board can grant exemption from this). The summary must be at least 1 page and not more than 2 pages (this is not included in any fixed minimum and maximum number of pages per student). The summary is included in the evaluation of the project as a whole.

14: Requirements regarding the reading of texts in a foreign language

At programmes taught in Danish, it is assumed that the student can read academic texts in modern Danish, Norwegian, Swedish and English and use reference works, etc., in other European languages. At programmes taught in English, it is assumed that the student can read academic text and use reference works, etc., in English.

15: Competence profile on the diploma

The following competence profile will appear on the diploma:

A Candidatus graduate has the following competency profile:

A Candidatus graduate has competencies that have been acquired via a course of study that has taken place in a research environment.

A Candidatus graduate is qualified for employment on the labour market based on his or her academic discipline as well as for further research (PhD programmes). A Candidatus graduate has, compared to a Bachelor, developed his or her academic knowledge and independence so as to be able to apply scientific theory and method on an independent basis within both an academic and a professional context.

16: Competence profile of the programme

Knowledge

• Has knowledge within management in the building industry that, in selected areas, is based on the highest international research in a subject area.
• can understand and, on a scientific basis, reflect over the knowledge of management in the building industry and identify scientific problems.
• has knowledge about the organisation and management of order-based production in the building activity, including management systems, both technical, economic, social and organisational.
• can understand and, on a scientific basis, reflect over the builders and construction contractors frames and conditions for production, and be able to identify innovation and development potentials.

Skills

• excels in the scientific methods and tools and general skills related to employment within management in the building Industry.
• can evaluate and select among the scientific theories, methods, tools and general skills within management in the building industry and, on a scientific basis, advance new analyses and solutions.
• can communicate research-based knowledge and discuss professional and scientific problems with both peers and non-specialists.

Competencies

• can manage work and development situations that are complex, unpredictable and require new solutions.
• can independently initiate and implement discipline-specific and interdisciplinary cooperation and assume professional responsibility.
• can independently take responsibility for own professional development and specialisation.
• can structure and communicate problems and solutions and consequences targeted at different recipients and consider both professional, technical ethics as a possible conflict of interests.

17: Structure and Contents of the programme

The programme is structured in modules and organized as a problem-based study. A module is a programme element or a group of programme elements, which aims to give students a set of professional skills within a fixed time frame specified in ECTS credits, and concluding with one or more examinations within specific exam periods. Examinations are defined in the curriculum.

The programme is based on a combination of academic, problem-oriented and interdisciplinary approaches and organized based on the following work and evaluation methods that combine skills and reflection:

• lectures
• classroom instruction
• project work
• workshops
• study groups
• exercises (individually and in groups)
• laboratory tests
• measurements and testing in the field
• teacher feedback
• reflection
• portfolio work
• independent study

The modules are evaluated either through written or oral exams as stated in the description of the modules.

For individual written exams the study board selects among the following possibilities:

• Written exam based on handed out exercises
• Multiple choice
• Ongoing evaluation of written assignments

For individual oral exams the study board selects among the following possibilities:

• Oral exam with or without preparation
• Oral exam based on project report (individually graded through group exam)
• Oral exam based on presentation seminar
• Portfolio based oral exam

If the number of students following a module is small and/or if the number of students having to attend a re-exam is small the study board can decide that an exam is conducted either as an oral or written individual exam for economic reasons. In the first case decision must be notified before the start of the teaching activity, in the latter case the students must be notified when the examination date is decided.

1^st to 4^th semesters of the programme are taught in English and projects are to be written in English. However, the programme can be taught in Danish if no international students are enrolled.

18: Overview of the programme

All modules are assessed through individual grading according to the 7-point scale or Pass/Fail. All modules are assessed by external examination (external grading) or internal examination (internal grading or by assessment by the supervisor only).

At 3^rd semester, the student can choose between 4 options. Every option except from option A must be approved by the study board prior to commencement.

Of a total of 120 ECTS, 80-110 ECTS are assessed by the 7-point scale and 45-75 ECTS are assessed by external examination. The variation is caused by the options at 3^rd semester.

Study board of Civil Engineering can decide that the content of a course module can be taught in the project module at a specific semester. The number of ECTS in the project module will be raised correspondingly. This decision can be made due to lack of human or economic capacity at the semester.

Should a student choose option Study at Other University and wish to conduct a study abroad stay (of less than 30 ECTS), the student must earn the remaining credits by following the module listed under Version A - Innovation in Construction.

19: Additional information

Rules concerning written work, including the Master’s thesis
In the assessment of all written work, regardless of the language it is written in, weight is also given to the student's spelling and formulation ability, in addition to the academic content. Orthographic and grammatical correctness as well as stylistic proficiency are taken as a basis for the evaluation of language performance. Language performance must always be included as an independent dimension of the total evaluation.  However, no examination can be assessed as ‘Pass’ on the basis of good language performance alone; similarly, an examination normally cannot be assessed as ‘Fail’ on the basis of poor language performance alone.

The Board of Studies can grant exemption from this in special cases (e.g., dyslexia or a native language other than Danish).

The Master’s thesis must include an English summary.* If the project is written in English, the summary must be in Danish.** The summary must be at least 1 page and not more than 2 pages. The summary is included in the evaluation of the project as a whole. 

* Or another foreign language (upon approval from the Board of Studies).
** The Board of Studies can grant exemption from this.

Rules concerning credit transfer (merit), including the possibility for choice of modules that are part of another programme at a university in Denmark or abroad
In the individual case, the Board of Studies can approve successfully completed (passed) programme elements from other Master’s programmes in lieu of programme elements in this programme (credit transfer). The Board of Studies can also approve successfully completed (passed) programme elements from another Danish programme or a programme outside of Denmark at the same level in lieu of programme elements within this curriculum. Decisions on credit transfer are made by the Board of Studies based on an academic assessment. See the Joint Programme Regulations for the rules on credit transfer.

Rules for examinations
The rules for examinations are stated in the Examination Policies and Procedures published by The Technical Faculty of IT and Design, The Faculty of Engineering and Science, and the Faculty of Medicine on their website.

All students who have not participated in Aalborg University’s PBL introductory course during their Bachelor’s degree must attend the introductory course “Problem-based Learning and Project Management”. The introductory course must be approved before the student can participate in the project exam. For further information, please see the School of Engineering and Science’s website. 

Exemption
In exceptional circumstances, the Board of Studies study can grant exemption from those parts of the curriculum that are not stipulated by law or ministerial order.  Exemption regarding an examination applies to the immediate examination.

Additional information
The current version of the curriculum is published on the Board of Studies’ website, including more   detailed information about the programme, including exams.

20: Commencement and transitional rules

The curriculum is approved by the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Science and enters into force as of 1 September 2018.

Students who wish to complete their studies under the previous curriculum from 2015 must conclude their education by the summer examination period 2019 at the latest, since examinations under the previous curriculum are not offered after this time.

21: Amendments to the curriculum and regulations

Minor editorial changes have been made in connection with the digitisation of the study curriculum.