Why pursue real estate?
Real estate gives you more flexibility than almost any other specialized degree. A real estate degree enables you to pursue work anywhere. Urban, suburban, and rural areas all require real estate development, and every city in the world has real estate job opportunities. In earning your degree, you are empowered with skills applicable in essentially every area of finance.
Real estate counts for one in six jobs in the United States. Residential real estate and commercial real estate are the two main sectors. Within these, you can find a career as a financial analyst, investor, property manager, broker, appraiser, or accountant—and those are just a few of the plethora of options available to real estate professionals.
Before thinking about post-secondary education, keep in mind that a successful career in real estate does not require a college degree the way other professions do. However, receiving a degree in real estate opens you to more specialized roles and deepens your understanding of the industry. A degree can also enable you to pursue other lines of work in the financial sector.
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private research university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is extremely selective with an acceptance rate of 7% and is one of the eight elite Ivy League universities. University of Pennsylvania is a relatively large university with over 20,000 students.
University of Pennsylvania offers a BS in Real Estate in its prestigious Wharton School of Business. Students enrolled in the Real Estate BS study real estate investment, real estate law, housing markets, and both local and international real estate economics.
University of Wisconsin—Madison
The University of Wisconsin at Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin. It is moderately selective with an acceptance rate of 49%. University of Wisconsin—Madison is a large university with just under 50,000 enrolled students.
The Real Estate Major at University of Wisconsin—Madison has been ranked the #1 undergraduate real estate program by US News & World Report in 2024. Students in the major will learn software including Excel, ARGUS, and CoStar. They will also gain experience in sales, marketing, customer service, law and government, financial analysis, investment analysis, and lender investment analysis.
University of Texas—Austin
The University of Texas—Austin is a public research university located in Austin, Texas. It is a selective university with a 31% acceptance rate, and Texan students in the top 6% of their high school graduating class are granted automatic admission. It is a very large school with a population of over 50,000.
University of Texas—Austin’s McCombs School of Business offers a real estate track in its finance BBA program (Bachelor’s of Business Administration). Students on the real estate track are prepared for careers in mortgage banking, loan underwriting, real estate development, real estate commercial brokerage and appraisal, and property management. Students must take six courses in real estate as well as general banking courses.
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private research university located in Los Angeles, California. It is highly selective with an acceptance rate of 12%. USC has almost 50,000 students, having a very large student body.
USC offers a BS in Real Estate at its Price School of Public Policy. The curriculum for real estate majors includes microeconomics, business, statistics, real estate development, planning, and designing livable communities. Real estate majors are required to complete a 140-hour internship and lab, providing them with vital career experience. Students also have access to a network of contacts at the USC Trojan Real Estate Association.
New York University
New York University is a private research university located in New York, New York. It is highly selective with an acceptance rate of 12%. NYU is a large school with over 50,000 students.
NYU’s School of Professional Studies contains the Schack Institute of Real Estate, which offers a BS in Real Estate. NYU’s program is consistently ranked amongst the top undergraduate real estate programs in the US. Students have access to multiple concentrations, including Real Estate Finance, Real Estate Development, and Real Estate Technology and Entrepreneurship. Many students receive internships at top real estate firms.
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California—Berkeley is a public research university located in Berkeley, California. Out of state students have an acceptance rate of 9%, while Californian applicants have a 15% acceptance rate. Over 45,000 students call UC Berkeley home, making it one of the biggest UC universities, behind only UCLA.
Berkeley’s Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics offers a highly regarded undergraduate program, ranked #4 in the country by US News and World Report. Students of the real estate program can participate in the Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program, where they can gain additional experience in econometric statistical analysis.
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, about an hour and a half east from Atlanta. It is moderately selective and has an acceptance rate of 43%. UGA has a student population of 30,000 students.
UGA offers a BBA in Real Estate hosted by Terry’s Real Estate Program. The program is consistently ranked as the top real estate program in the southeastern US. Students study real estate development, investment, finance, valuation, and law. UGA plays a role in placing students in internships, with 70 students placed per year at firms across the country.
University of Florida
The University of Florida is a public research university located in Gainesville, Florida, about an hour and a half southwest of Jacksonville. It has an in-state acceptance rate of around 40% and an out-of-state acceptance rate of 19%.
Florida State University’s Heavener School of Business hosts a minor in real estate for undergraduates. Students must take four core courses and two to three electives in order to be awarded the minor. The electives allow students to explore a wide breadth of real estate topics, including urban and business geography, urban and regional planning, construction, and international sustainable development.
University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, about half an hour outside of the capitol Raleigh. UNC Chapel Hill is highly selective with an acceptance rate of 19%. It is a moderately-to-large sized college with around 20,000 undergraduates.
UNC Chapel Hill offers a real estate minor. Students must take coursework in corporate finance and real estate finance, development, and capital markets, along with diverse electives which include Solving Urban Problems and Analysis of Public Finance. Students must also complete a real estate capstone project.
University of Michigan—Ann Arbor
The University of Michigan—Ann Arbor is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, forty five minutes west of Detroit. It is highly selective with an out-of-state acceptance rate of 18%, and an in-state acceptance rate of 39%. UMichigan is a large school with over 50,000 students.
University of Michigan offers a minor in Real Estate Development at the Weiser Center for Real Estate. The minor is highly multidisciplinary and is a collaboration between the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, the Ross School of Business, and the School of Kinesiology. Students can also participate in the Michigan Real Estate Club and other co-curriculum programs.
Georgia State University
Georgia State University is a public research university located in Atlanta, Georgia. It is slightly selective with an acceptance rate of 67%. GSU has over 30,000 enrolled students.
GSU’s Robinson Business School offers a BBA in Real Estate. The program emphasizes appraisal, corporate real estate, development, finance, investments, and market analysis. Students are also given hands-on opportunities, including a Real Estate Development course where students tour buildings that have been purchased by firms who are looking to reposition the buildings’ assets.
Marquette University
Marquette University is a private research university located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is not very selective and has an acceptance rate of 87%. Marquette University is a medium-sized school, and it boasts a population of over 11,000 students.
Marquette University’s College of Business Administration hosts a Real Estate Major. Alongside the Marquette core curriculum, students take courses in commercial real estate and real estate modeling, and have the opportunity to pursue a real estate internship. Marquette University also offers a Real Estate Asset Program (REAP) concentration, which accepts 8-15 real estate majors per year and provides them with real-world experience in various real estate fields.
Should you get a degree in real estate?
Again, many successful real estate professionals do not have a college degree, or do not have a degree in their field. So don’t feel as though a four-year college degree in real estate is your only option. You could also consider minoring in real estate. This frees you up to select a major that could supplement your special interests in real estate, such as urban planning or finance.
Many real estate professionals have associates’ degrees from community colleges, which can prepare you as aptly as any college degree.
But keep in mind that a bachelor’s degree in real estate can open you up to more specialized roles or higher incomes.
Good luck choosing your path!
