The course has been endorsed nationally by the Australian Institute of Building Surveyors and has been designed to equip professionals with the qualifications necessary to be an Accredited Certifier, Building (Grade 1) and Principal Certifying Authority (Grade 1) under the NSW Building Surveyors and Allied Professions Inc Accredited Scheme.
Applications to this course must be made through the Universities Admissions Centre (UAC). International applicants should contact UWS International for details on admission. Contact information for the International Office is available from the University's website.
Applicants must hold a degree, diploma in building surveying, or its equivalent in a relevant area of study, and relevant professional work experience in the field or a related profession. Candidates with an Associate Diploma in building, building surveying or related area must have at least four years relevant professional work experience in the field or a related profession. Applicants who do not meet these requirements will be considered for admission on the basis that they can demonstrate relevant professional work experience in the field or a related profession and the ability to undertake postgraduate study.
To qualify for this award a candidate must successfully complete 80 credit points from the units below.
Students with an engineering background :
Built Environment Project
The unit will help students to solve problems in a focused professional context. The skills that are acquired can be applied to a wide range of issues in the construction industry since the method of problem solving does not change overly with the problem. The unit requires the student to identify a problem, review current literature, critically appraise the literature, develop a research question, prepare a research plan, analyse the research findings and communicate the findings and recommendations.
Fire and Building Regulations
To familiarise students with the BCA and in particular those aspects of fire engineering incorporated within the regulations. To provide students with an opportunity to relate current research to the BCA. Topics: Building Code of Australia General Provisions, Structure, Fire Resistance Services and Equipment, Health and Amenity Ancillary Provisions, Philosophy, performance versus prescriptions, testing, produce accreditation, processes. Relationship of research to the regulations, authorities, fire hazard assessment, for detection and prevention, material and people behaviour during fire.
Building Studies
Building studies seeks to analyse in depth the factors that influence the building industry. Students will be required to critically evaluate these factors. Topics: advances in both materials technology and construction techniques. Fire engineering and fire safety considerations including the health and amenity of building design and regulation. The philosophy of conservation and its application to building, cultural significance as an issue, energy conservation as an issue. Building services, regulation, impact on design, construction and maintenance requirements. Principles of building engineering related to the construction industry. Construction management from personnel through to scheduling and time management. Local government and State government administration and their effect on the building industry. Royal commissions and their impact on building law. Industrial law and industrial relations, contract law and planning law and the regulation of building activities. Building economics from estimating and quantity surveying to building macro economics. Development management, inception of reality. The relationship between building owners and occupiers on the performance and maintenance of buildings.
Development Control
Objectives: to analyse those forces important in determining the allocation and use of land and resources together with the contributions of development to the built and natural environment. Topics: urban and rural design issues; the impact of the 3 tier Government process on development control. The seminar process will examine the legal, political and technical issues relevant to impact assessments. Particular attention will be paid to the role of the private sector in developing controls, self regulation and appeal processes. Planning management in both the micro and macro environments will be examined in the context of energy, community resources and its strategic effects on; the recycling of existing land and non-renewable natural resources. Special issues to be considered. Hazardous environments, bush fires, floods, earthquakes, cyclone areas.
Fire Engineering Principles
The unit describes the principles used to design fire safety systems for life safety and introduces other objectives and processes that need to be followed to complete a fire safety engineering study. Students will be encouraged to develop an understanding of the various types of computational tools used in engineering design of fire safety systems.
Fire Technology Principles
The unit introduces students to the basics of fire behaviour so that they may appreciate fire safety systems and their components. The unit will provide the basis for understanding fire safety engineering and the techniques and tools used in fire safety engineering.
Building Fire Services
The unit develops the student's understanding of various types of building services and fire safety systems, their types and their application and introduces methods of applying recommendations of fire engineering assessments with respect to building services and systems.
Students with architecture or building background:
Built Environment Project
The unit will help students to solve problems in a focused professional context. The skills that are acquired can be applied to a wide range of issues in the construction industry since the method of problem solving does not change overly with the problem. The unit requires the student to identify a problem, review current literature, critically appraise the literature, develop a research question, prepare a research plan, analyse the research findings and communicate the findings and recommendations.
Fire and Building Regulations
To familiarise students with the BCA and in particular those aspects of fire engineering incorporated within the regulations. To provide students with an opportunity to relate current research to the BCA. Topics: Building Code of Australia General Provisions, Structure, Fire Resistance Services and Equipment, Health and Amenity Ancillary Provisions, Philosophy, performance versus prescriptions, testing, produce accreditation, processes. Relationship of research to the regulations, authorities, fire hazard assessment, for detection and prevention, material and people behaviour during fire.
Building Studies
Building studies seeks to analyse in depth the factors that influence the building industry. Students will be required to critically evaluate these factors. Topics: advances in both materials technology and construction techniques. Fire engineering and fire safety considerations including the health and amenity of building design and regulation. The philosophy of conservation and its application to building, cultural significance as an issue, energy conservation as an issue. Building services, regulation, impact on design, construction and maintenance requirements. Principles of building engineering related to the construction industry. Construction management from personnel through to scheduling and time management. Local government and State government administration and their effect on the building industry. Royal commissions and their impact on building law. Industrial law and industrial relations, contract law and planning law and the regulation of building activities. Building economics from estimating and quantity surveying to building macro economics. Development management, inception of reality. The relationship between building owners and occupiers on the performance and maintenance of buildings.
Development Control
Objectives: to analyse those forces important in determining the allocation and use of land and resources together with the contributions of development to the built and natural environment. Topics: urban and rural design issues; the impact of the 3 tier Government process on development control. The seminar process will examine the legal, political and technical issues relevant to impact assessments. Particular attention will be paid to the role of the private sector in developing controls, self regulation and appeal processes. Planning management in both the micro and macro environments will be examined in the context of energy, community resources and its strategic effects on; the recycling of existing land and non-renewable natural resources. Special issues to be considered. Hazardous environments, bush fires, floods, earthquakes, cyclone areas.
Fire Engineering Principles
The unit describes the principles used to design fire safety systems for life safety and introduces other objectives and processes that need to be followed to complete a fire safety engineering study. Students will be encouraged to develop an understanding of the various types of computational tools used in engineering design of fire safety systems.
Building Engineering
Objectives: to provide candidates with an appreciation of the factors that contribute to engineering decisions in total building design, and the evaluation of failure modes in buildings. Topics: soil mechanics, technology, failure theories, soil pedology, flow of water in soils, natural and stabilised soils. Disposal of surface; of water, subsoil water from sites. Flood water retention and removal. Structural concepts, loading patterns, properties of materials construction systems, evaluation and acceptance of materials, testing techniques, composite components. Altering the mechanical properties of construction materials in manufacture or in fatigue situations. Successful performance of buildings, failure in buildings.
Building Fire Services
The unit develops the student's understanding of various types of building services and fire safety systems, their types and their application and introduces methods of applying recommendations of fire engineering assessments with respect to building services and systems.
Fire Technology Principles
The unit introduces students to the basics of fire behaviour so that they may appreciate fire safety systems and their components. The unit will provide the basis for understanding fire safety engineering and the techniques and tools used in fire safety engineering.
