Master of Science in Real Estate

Innovative and Interdisciplinary  

The vision of the MSRE program is to  prepare graduates to become future leaders in the real estate industry by fostering innovative and interdisciplinary critical thinking, grounded in fundamental principles, while embracing sustainability and best industry practices.

Students benefit from theoretical and practical approaches to a variety of real estate issues, developing problem solving skills taught by highly qualified real estate and interdisciplinary full-time faculty, augmented by a wealth of affiliate faculty who are real estate industry leaders.

The curriculum is reviewed by the Interdisciplinary Group for Real Estate (IGRE), comprised of faculty from Architecture, Business, Construction Management, Law, Urban Design and Planning, as well as Real Estate, to ensure an integrated, interdisciplinary student experience.

Breadth and Depth

Students have the opportunity to master four critical areas in their core studies regardless of the specific Option they focus on:

• Industry Awareness: breadth complexity of industry, interdisciplinary nature connections, and critical thinking

• Theories: space capital markets, urban growth, supply demand, financial economics, built environment sustainability, and market behavior outcomes

• Methodologies: market analysis, feasibility analysis, investment and development decision-making, appraisal/valuation, leadership in a diverse and changing world, negotiation techniques, and legal attributes of land

• Skills: personal effectiveness skills, financial modeling and other specialized real estate software skills.

In addition to mastering the fundamentals in the core curriculum, students have the opportunity to delve more deeply into one of the following Options, which they will select in their first or second quarter:

• Corporate Real Estate: lease administration and transaction management, project management, workplace strategy, portfolio optimization, use of technology in facility management and building performance strategies, sustainability and change management. This Option is a first of its kind opportunity to earn a graduate degree in a field with burgeoning employment growth — large corporations such as Boeing, Starbucks, and Microsoft, as well as many banks, health care institutions and others now outsource their real estate management functions.

• Real Estate Development: deal structures, private project finance, public/private partnerships, taxation and tax incentives, feasibility analysis, project management, entitlement process, and risk mitigation

• Real Estate Finance and Investment: alternative real estate financing and investment vehicles, deal structures, capital markets, securitization of real estate assets, portfolio theory and asset management

• General Real Estate: students not wishing to pursue one of the above Options may select real estate courses from all three Options in consultation with their academic advisor.

Industry Focused

The Runstad Center provides a variety of resources to help students make connections to the industry and, ultimately, to find employment.  The Runstad Center Advisory Board is intimately involved with these efforts, which include direct access for students to Advisory Board members.  Professional mentors work with first year students in small groups to expose students to projects and companies, and to help them establish connections with potential internship sponsors.  Students receive individual coaching and internship and job placement support from Runstad Center staff.  Board members serve as Board Mentors to second year students, reviewing their job “pitch” and providing guidance and networking suggestions.  Students are encouraged to become members of industry organizations (NAIOP, ULI, CoreNet, ICSC, and others), to attend industry functions, including “young leader” programs, and to take advantage of the mentoring programs offered by these organizations.  Many local companies regularly contact the Center with job announcements and internship opportunities, and the Runstad Center alumni network is an increasingly powerful resource for students.  Every graduate of the program that has sought real estate employment has found employment in the industry.

MSRE AT A GLANCE