Construction Law and Practice
Distance Learning
Two year
September 2025
In a nutshell
Construction law and practice affects stakeholders working across the international construction sector. Gain the necessary legal knowledge and commercial awareness to perform your current role more effectively, or make the career move into this field, with our MSc Construction Law and Practice degree.
Accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), and delivered exclusively online, our postgraduate qualification is designed to help you examine the responsibilities of employers, contractors and construction professionals together with the problems raised by the complexities of construction, design liability and insurance.
Led by academics and industry practitioners, you will build your knowledge of construction contracts and the law underpinning them, together with a wide range of standard form contracts to assess and manage risk. You will also examine the complex issues arising from the multi-party nature of the construction process, together with the uncertainties that can arise from the passage of time and latent defects.
We also offer this course as LLM Construction Law and Practice.
Start your study journey
Register for our next Open Day to learn more about studying Construction Law and speak to the course team
You will:
- Examine construction practice from a legal perspective, with detailed consideration of construction contracts, tortious and multi-party liability, insurance, dispute resolution, procurement, and the environment
- Develop the knowledge to conduct and communicate legal analysis with confidence and accuracy in relation to any aspect of mainstream professional construction practice
- Build the skills and capabilities to prepare you for career opportunities with specialist construction law departments or firms
students accepted
Course accreditations
This is for you if...
You want to learn how to promote high quality research in areas of law relating to construction, including a high level of legal analysis
You would like to build on your existing knowledge and experience in order to operate more effectively in areas of construction practice which involve construction law
You want to gain specialist legal knowledge through a flexible study programme, allowing you to balance your work and study
All about the course
Course delivery
Our MSc Construction Law and Practice course is exclusively available to study part-time via distance learning. The course starts each September. We also offer a LLM pathway.
- The course is delivered using a range of industry-aligned modules. The 180 credit MSc award comprises four taught modules plus a dissertation. The 120-credit PgDip comprises four taught modules. The 60-credit PgCert award comprises two specified taught modules
- During your studies, you will complete one 30-credit taught modules in each trimester for the first sixteen months. In the final two trimesters, you will complete your dissertation worth 60 credits, which is also delivered online and includes tutor engagement and support
Learning experience
Your teaching and learning is delivered using our Collaborate Ultra virtual learning environment, supported by real-time and on-demand interactive sessions. All modules are delivered over a 15 week period, and are assessed entirely by coursework. Module assessment is driven by real-world problems aligned to your workplace or role.
You will develop your construction law knowledge in areas such as contracts, liability and dispute resolution. You will also strengthen your research and analytical skills by completing a dissertation on a construction law topic of your choice. Learn more about the current course modules in the section below.
Course team
The Construction Law and Practice postgraduate course is delivered by an academic team with exceptional research experience and professional connections. The team is part of a global built environment community with prominence in shaping construction industry best practice.
Course leader: Dr. Paul Tracey
Fundamentals of Construction Law
This module will cover:
- Common law underpinning construction contracts
- Source, rationale and nature of key terms (Scope, cost, quality, time, variation)
- Contract formation
- Implication of terms
- Mistake, frustration, breach, causation and loss
Construction Contracts – Operation and Administration
This module will cover:
- Operation and administration of Standard Form Contracts (SFCs)
- Comparison between SFCs
- Consideration of key terms in SFCs
- Role of the Contract Administrator
- Impact of the industry specific legislation on construction contracts
Liability and Complexity in Construction Law
This module will cover:
- Legal complexities and commercial risks
- Design liability
- Limitation
- Sub-contracting
- Contribution and contributory negligence
- Insurance
- Insolvency
Dispute Resolution – Law and Practice
This module will cover:
- Dispute resolution procedures
- Management of dispute resolution procedures
- Statutory adjudication in the UK
- Arbitration
- Decision drafting
Dissertation
This module allows you to develop a research proposal with clear aims and objectives related to your study. The dissertation will typically adopt a black letter law approach, although other methodologies can be used if justifiable. You will undertake critical analysis of existing research and engage in various forms of recognised research in order to produce a sustained, sophisticated, and logical argument in the form of a written dissertation. LLM students complete a distinct LLM dissertation module and will typically have access to legal practitioner supervisors active in industry.
Please note that it may not be possible to deliver the full list of options every year as this will depend on factors such as how many students choose a particular option. Exact modules may also vary in order to keep content current. When accepting your offer of a place to study on this programme, you should be aware that not all optional modules will be running each year. Your tutor will be able to advise you as to the available options on or before the start of the programme. Whilst the University tries to ensure that you are able to undertake your preferred options, it cannot guarantee this.
School of Science, Engineering and Environment
Rising to the challenge of a changing world, our postgraduate courses are designed to shape the next generation of urbanists, scientists, engineers, consultants and leaders.
Driven by industry and delivered by supportive programme teams, you can develop the knowledge and skills to take your career potential further.
Energy House
The way UK energy is supplied and consumed is changing fast. Consumers and small businesses will soon be able to generate, store, share, buy and sell their energy as the government encourages the transition to a greener economy.
Through commercial and grant funded research, Salford's world-class Energy House Laboratories help businesses understand how effective their products and services are in lowering consumers’ carbon footprint and reducing energy bills.
INDUSTRY COLLABORATION AND RESEARCH
When you start this degree with Salford, you are also joining a community making a difference in industry, our local region and in our wider society.
Many of our academics and technicians who support your course also deliver collaborative, interdisciplinary, high-impact work in a range of local and global built environment issues and challenges.
Discover how you are part of something bigger.
What about after uni?
EMPLOYMENT
Our Construction Law and Practice postgraduate degree course is designed to provide you with formal qualifications for and develop a skill set to succeed in a construction law career. Applying the legal knowledge you will gain during your studies, you can use this to either enhance your existing role, or use it as a platform to move in a legal remit.
Construction law affects professionals throughout the industry. Typical career roles to consider include working as a claims consultant, commercial manager, dispute resolution specialist or a solicitor.
FURTHER STUDY
You might also choose to take your subject interest further with postgraduate research. Our Centre for Urban Processes, Resilient Infrastructure and Sustainable Environments is home to PhD and Research Master’s opportunities exploring how we can enhance our built environments at local, national and international scales.
Explore our Doctoral School to learn more about research training, support and opportunities.
Career Links
- We hold excellent links with the local, national and international architecture, engineering and construction industries. These networks provide context for your studies and inform our curriculum development.
- Throughout the course, we invite guest lecturers from industry with expertise in relevant areas of construction law to share their insight and knowledge.
What you need to know
APPLICANT PROFILE
This course is recommended for applicants looking to enhance current knowledge and gain specialism in the construction law and practice. Typically, you will have existing academic and/or professional background in the legal or built environment professions.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS
All of our courses are taught and assessed in English. If English is not your first language, you must meet our minimum English language entry requirements. An IELTS score of 6.0 (no element below 5.5) is proof of this, however we do accept a range of equivalent qualifications.
Read more about our English language requirements, including information about pathways that can help you gain entry on to our degree courses. If you do not have the English language requirements, you could take our Pre-Sessional English course.
COURSE ACCREDITATION
The full masters award is accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). Accreditation enables exemption from some academic entry requirements.
Undergraduate Degree
- A second class undergraduate honours degree in a relevant discipline, or
- A second class undergraduate honours degree in an unrelated discipline and significant relevant work experience within the built environment, or
- A recognised appropriate professional qualification such as RICS or CIOB
International student entry requirements
We accept qualifications from all around the world. Find your country to see a full list of entry requirements.
Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL)
We welcome applications from students who may not have formal/traditional entry criteria but who have relevant experience or the ability to pursue the course successfully.
The Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) process could help you to make your work and life experience count. The APL process can be used for entry onto courses or to give you exemptions from parts of your course.
Two forms of APL may be used for entry: the Accreditation of Prior Certificated Learning (APCL) or the Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL).
For more information or enquires about this scheme, please contact: ScienceAdmissions-PG@salford.ac.uk
Learn more about the Salford Alternative Entry Scheme.
Please note that the deadline for receipt of APEL portfolios is 31st July.
How much?
| Type of study | Year | Fees |
|---|---|---|
| Distance learning | 2025/26 | MSc is £1,635 per 30 credits. PgCert and PgDip is calculated on a pro rata basis |
Additional costs
You should consider further costs which may include books, stationery, printing, binding and general subsistence on trips and visits.
International student scholarships
If you are a high-achieving international student, you may be eligible for one of our scholarships.
Learn more about our latest international scholarships.