PROGRAMME SPECIFICATION
Programme title:
MSc Infrastructure Investment and Finance
Final award (BSc, MA etc):
MSc / PG Diploma
(where stopping off points exist they should be
detailed here and defined later in the document)
UCAS code:
(where applicable)
Cohort(s) to which this programme
specification is applicable:
From September 2013
(e.g. from 2015 intake onwards)
Awarding institution/body:
University College London
Teaching institution:
University College London
Faculty:
Bartlett Faculty of the built Environment
Parent Department:
Bartlett School of Construction and Project Management
(the department responsible for the administration of
the programme)
Departmental web page address:
http://www.bartlett.ucl.ac.uk/cpm
(if applicable)
Method of study:
Full-time/Part-time/Other
Criteria for admission to the
programme:
Length of the programme:
(please note any periods spent away from UCL, such
as study abroad or placements in industry)
Level on Framework for Higher
Education Qualifications (FHEQ)
(see Guidance notes)
Relevant subject benchmark statement
(SBS)
The programme can be studied full time or part-time (on a modular
basis)
A minimum of an upper second-class Bachelor’s degree (2:1) from a
UK university in a relevant subject (including engineering,
mathematical-based science, built environment, economics and
finance), or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard. In
exceptional cases, a lesser academic qualification combined with
substantial professional experience and demonstrable academic
ability will allow acceptance onto the course.
One year under full time study.
Up to five years under modular/flexible (part-time) study
Level 7
N/A
(see Guidance notes)
Brief outline of the structure of the
programme
and
its
assessment
methods:
4 X 3,000 word essays; 4 X 2-hour unseen examinations; 1 X 10,000
word research report (MSc Dissertation)
(see guidance notes)
Board of Examiners:
Name of Board of Examiners:
MSc Built Environment
Professional body accreditation
(if applicable):
Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors
(RICS)
Chartered Institute for Securities and
Investments (CISI)
Date of next scheduled
accreditation visit: N/A
EDUCATIONAL AIMS OF THE PROGRAMME:
The MSc in Infrastructure Investment and Finance (IIF) is designed to enable infrastructure specialists to develop
the multi-disciplinary skills essential to the effective financing and delivery of complex infrastructure projects.
PROGRAMME OUTCOMES:
The programme aims to provide a rigorous and theoretically informed approach to the study of infrastructure
investment and finance that will serve the students throughout their subsequent career. The programme will equip
them either for practice in the infrastructure ownership, finance, and project management industries, or for
academic careers.
A: Knowledge and understanding
Knowledge and understanding of:
Teaching/learning methods and strategies:
Infrastructure investment and finance as
a field that is not self-contained and which
involves the application to infrastructure
delivery of general principles from
financial theory, economics, management
and engineering.
The course uses a variety of pedagogical techniques
combining academic lectures as well as seminars from a
large numbers of guest speakers from across the
industry, academe and government.
The peculiarities of the infrastructure
investment and finance industry, focusing
on powerful analytic tools in general
disciplines and adapting them to the
infrastructure context.
The course also uses peer-based learning, whereby
students demonstrate the breadth and depth of their
knowledge by challenging and informing others. This
knowledge is based on students’ academic backgrounds
and previous professional experiences (if/when
applicable). To draw on this knowledge, highly
interactive lectures are used with a significant amount of
case-based learning.
Assessment:
The course has a well-balanced mix of the two methods
of assessment and includes 50% essay/coursework and
50% unseen written exams. Essay briefs as well as
exam paper questions are based on various topics
explored within the various modules of the course.
B: Skills and other attributes
Intellectual (thinking) skills:
Teaching/learning methods and strategies:
Ability to apply appropriately a wide range
of theory to a wide range of problems and
contexts within infrastructure investment
and finance.
The use of group work, formal and informal
presentations, and the engagement of students in
interactive discussions all contribute to the skill-sets
needed.
Ability to critically appraise and interpret
the importance of trends and
developments in the infrastructure
investment and finance sectors of the
countries in which they work.
Ability to critically appraise continuing
developments in research and in the
literature of infrastructure investment and
finance.
Assessment:
The course continuously tests students’ ability to
understand specific key topics and their interaction and
extensions during lectures and/or seminars. Additionally,
all essay briefs and exam questions are crafted so that
students learn to synthesize information and to comment
critically on various aspects of infrastructure investment
and finance.
C: Skills and other attributes
Practical skills (able to):
Teaching/learning methods and strategies:
Practical skills are those that the IIF
students can immediately apply in their
working environment. Such skills include
(but are not limited to) understanding
project financial structures and
stakeholder perspectives; identifying
project risks and allocating them
efficiently; understanding and working
with financial models; understanding
infrastructure regulation and how it affects
project delivery and financing;
understanding infrastructure sector
characteristics and specificities;
understand the difference between
financial and economic project appraisal;
etc.
The delivery of class content through lectures, case
presentations, class debates and workshops, led by a
select group of eminent practitioners and academics,
provide students with the opportunity to identify and
learn particular tools and/or techniques.
Assessment:
All essay briefs are crafted so that students explore
topics that are related with the development of such
practical skills. Additionally, the 10,000 word research
report allows students to develop significant expertise in
areas and topics that are important both to academia as
well as to potential future employers.
D: Skills and other attributes
Transferable skills (able to):
Teaching/learning methods and strategies:
The entire curriculum of the programme
aims to provide a set of skills,
competences and abilities that are
directly transferable to the students’
projects and employers. Such skills
include (but are not limited to) critical
thinking, report writing, presentation
preparation and delivery, working in
groups, independent research and
problem solving, time management,
ability to work and deliver under pressure,
etc.
The entire delivery of the programme is designed so that
such skills are continuously practiced and further
developed.
Assessment:
The entire range of assessments (essays, timeconstrained exams, research report) as well as nonassessed presentations and group work are all meant to
test for these skills, competences and abilities.
The following reference points were used in designing the programme:
 the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications:
(http://www.qaa.ac.uk/en/Publications/Documents/qualifications-frameworks.pdf);
 the relevant Subject Benchmark Statements:
(http://www.qaa.ac.uk/assuring-standards-and-quality/the-quality-code/subject-benchmark-statements);
 the programme specifications for UCL degree programmes in relevant subjects (where applicable);
 UCL teaching and learning policies;
 staff research.
Please note: This specification provides a concise summary of the main features of the programme and the
learning outcomes that a typical student might reasonably be expected to achieve and demonstrate if he/she takes
full advantage of the learning opportunities that are provided. More detailed information on the learning outcomes,
content and teaching, learning and assessment methods of each course unit/module can be found in the
departmental course handbook. The accuracy of the information contained in this document is reviewed annually
by UCL and may be checked by the Quality Assurance Agency.
Programme Organiser(s)
Dr Aris Pantelias
Name(s):
Date of Production:
September 2013
Date of Review:
October 2015
Date approved by Chair of
Departmental Teaching
Committee:
Date approved by Faculty
Teaching Committee
October 2015
October 2015