Real Estate

The Real Estate Program equips students to become analytical thinkers, creative problem solvers and strategic decision-makers. After two years of study, they possess a sufficient foundation in real estate, finance and business to operate professionally across a wide industry spectrum encompassing both local space markets and global asset markets.

Begun in 1978, the program provides its graduates with expertise in:

• real estate fundamentals, as well as the knowledge and skills needed to manage the rapid changes in the real estate market place;
• Critical thinking and complex problem solving through cutting-edge case materials;
• Professional communication skills, through written and oral presentations.

Interdisciplinary courses support multiple career paths in real estate, including finance and investment banking, asset and portfolio management, entrepreneurial development and public and nonprofit real estate management.

The program comprises three integral elements: a general analytical business education with an emphasis on finance, a focused real estate curriculum and strong links with industry professionals. Two advanced courses, Real Estate Capital Markets and the Advanced Seminar in Real Estate, are unique to the Columbia program. The program tightly integrates theory and practice by attracting the frequent participation of top real estate executives, in and out of the classroom. In the Advanced Seminar, original case materials are developed and taught by industry professionals. The interaction accelerates learning from the marketplace.

Real Estate concentrators also typically choose additional courses in finance (B8308 Debt Markets), accounting (B8104 Financial Statement Analysis or B8110 Valuation and Financial Statements), human resource management (B8412 Managerial Negotiations) and management (B8711 Turnaround Management and B8705 Managing New Ventures), among other electives. Because the real estate concentration leads to several different career paths (i.e. real estate finance and investment banking, real estate investment management, advisory and consulting, entrepreneurial development) students are encouraged to confer regularly with the program coordinator in designing their program of study.

Email Colette Whitlock: [email protected].

Tentative Course Listing: Spring 1999

Last updated: 6-30-98