Columbia

With continued business consolidation, sustained transformations in capital markets, swiftly changing demographics, and new conflicts between fast-expanding suburbs and traditional urban city centers, tomorrow's real estate developers must be capable of balancing multiple objectives with new solution methodologies. To address these challenges, the intensive one-year Master's of Science in Real Estate Development Program (MSRED) at Columbia focuses on a process-oriented format:

Concept Development - including the creation of new real estate products and repositioning of under-performing real estate assets;
Financial Analysis - project feasibility and finance, market support, and demographic analysis;
Public Policy - the politics of development approvals and the evolution of public/private partnering;
Enterprise Management - best practices for creative management of project teams and the development process.

MSRED Program and Columbia University

MSRED has the extraordinary advantage of direct access to other Columbia programs, particularly Urban Planning, Architecture, Preservation and the School for International Policy and Administration, as well as the Columbia Business and Law Schools. In the Spring Semester, a student can register for elective courses in other programs, ranging from entrepreneurship, urban economics, alternative investments and international investment to housing policy among other offerings. Columbia MSRED is at the industry's leading edge with our process-oriented focus for real estate development, and further, our presence in New York City offers extraordinary access to:

Specialized Faculty with real world experience;
Capital Markets principals and institutional investors;
Nationally recognized developers, owners, and architects;
Exposure to Wall Street, including investment research disciplines;
Variety of building types and new product prototypes.

What Is Different About Columbia's MSc in Real Estate Development Program?

Columbia MSRED is a dedicated one-year Master's Degree clearly targeted to the rapid acquisition of the Financial, Analytical, Policy Making, and Enterprise Management skills required by today's developer:

Intensive Core Curriculum with practitioner Faculty;
Access to NYC's development and Capital Markets talent ;
Dynamic, network-focused Graduate Student environment ;
Proximity to world-class Planning and Architecture programs

The typical MSRED student is a highly motivated individual who seeks to radically alter or enhance their career paths and join the real estate development industry.

"MSRED was a boost for my career in real estate. My initial experience was in construction, and as a Liberal Arts major, I was eager to learn finance yet I was a bit intimidated by spreadsheets and financial analysis. The program was perfect for me; I was able to learn this crucial component of the real estate business with people of many backgrounds, from financial professionals to beginners."

Eric Anton, '95
Senior Director, Corporate Advisory Service,
Eastern Consolidated Properties

Program Requirements

The Master of Science degree in Real Estate Development is a one-year, 45- point degree. Students attend full time during the summer, fall and spring terms, and are awarded degrees in May. In Columbia MSRED courses, theory, quantitative techniques, industry best practices, and extensive case study materials are combined. Students must take 36 credits of required core courses from the Real Estate Development Program, with the rest constituting electives chosen from elsewhere within Columbia. Upon special application the electives may be increased and certain core courses waived, based on prior experience.