Graduate Real Estate Programs: An Analysis of the Past and Present and Trends for the Future

Graduate programs with concentrations in real estate have increased in recent years to fill the demand for well-educated practitioners in the industry. However, there has been a great deal of debate on what elements should be an essential part of a graduate program in order to help students succeed in the industry. This paper summarizes the results of over fifty interviews with educators, administrators, and practitioners from 14 top real estate programs in the United States, as well as data from recent focus groups on newer graduate real estate programs in the U.S. Several major themes emerged that provide insight on how to improve future graduate programs for practitioners.