2021 Leading Schools for Multifamily Real Estate
You can also read our other Leading Schools for Real Estate Education indexes.
Name of Institution/Department Name | Degrees Offered | Full-Time RE Faculty | Students Accepted Into RE Programs in 2020 | 2020 Graduates Employed in RE Field (%) |
Arizona State University/W. P. Carey School of Business | MRED | 3 | 60 | 86% |
Baruch College – The City University of New York/William Newman Department of Real Estate & Steven L. Newman Real Estate Institute | BBA, MSRE, PhD RE | 5 | MSRE: 50 | BBA: 70%, MSRE: 100% |
California State University, Fresno/Gazarian Real Estate Center | BBA | 2 | 17 | >50% |
Clemson University/Department of City Planning and Real Estate Development | MRED | 5 | 23 | 93% |
Columbia University/Graduate School of Architecture, Planning & Preservation | MRED | 4 | >100 | 96% |
DePaul University/The Real Estate Center/Department of Finance and Real Estate | BS RE, MSRE, MBA w/RE Concentration | 3 | 37 | 83% |
Florida International University/Hollo School of Real Estate | MSIRE | 6 | 180 | – |
Florida State University/Real Estate Center | BBA, MBA, MSF w/RE Specialization | 7 | – | – |
George Washington University/Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis | BBA | 3 | – | 90% |
Georgetown University/School of Continuing Studies | MSRE | 1 | – | 97% |
Georgia State University/Robinson College of Business | BBA, MSCRE, PhD RE | 4 | 50 | 100% |
Lehigh University/Goodman Center for Real Estate Studies | BBA | 2 | 30 | 90% |
Marquette University/Center for Real Estate | BBA, BS RE | 2 | 160 | 100% |
Menlo College/The Real Estate Center | BS RE | 1 | 25 | 100% |
Pennsylvania State University/Smeal College of Business | BS RE, MREAD, PhD RE | 6 | – | – |
Portland State University/Center for Real Estate | MRED | 4 | 31 | 95% |
Roosevelt University/Heller College of Business/Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate | BBA, MSRE, MBA w/RE Concentration | 1 | 20 | 90% |
Texas A&M University | MSRE | 6 | 44 | 95.5% |
The Ohio State University/Center for Real Estate | BS RE | – | 320 | – |
University at Buffalo, The State University of New York/School of Architecture and Planning | MRED | – | 35 | – |
University of Central Florida/Dr. P. Phillips School of Real Estate | BBA, MSRE, PhD | 3 | 89 | 100% |
University of Colorado – Boulder/Leeds School of Business/Real Estate Center | BS RE, MSRE, MBA w/RE Concentration | 6 | 69 | 100% |
University of Connecticut/School of Business/Department of Finance | BS RE, MBA w/RE Specialization, PhD Finance w/ RE Specialization | 4 | 42 | 90% |
University of Denver/Daniels College of Business/Franklin L. Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management | BSBA, MSREBE | 8 | BSBA: 85, MSREBE: 87 | BSBA: 86%, MSREBE: 94% |
University of Florida /Warrington College of Business | MSRE | 2 | 74 | 97% |
University of Illinois Chicago/John Marshall Law School | JD/LLM in RE Law, LLM in RE Law | – | – | 80% |
University of Miami/School of Architecture | MRED | 3 | 39 | 95% |
University of Missouri-Kansas City/Lewis White Real Estate Center | BBA, MSERE, MBA w/RE Concentration | 2 | 12 | 100% |
University of Nebraska Omaha/College of Business Administration/Finance, Banking, Real Estate Department | BBA w/RE Concentration | 2 | 45 | 75% |
University of Northern Iowa/Center for Real Estate Education | BBA | 1 | 20 | 100% |
University of San Diego/School of Business/Department of Real Estate | BBA RE, MSRE, JD/MSRE, MBA/MSRE | 4 | 27 | 90 |
University of Southern California/Smith Department of Real Estate Development | BS RE, MRED | 9 | MRED: 60 | BS: 80%, MRED: 100% |
University of Utah/David Eccles School of Business | MRED | 5 | 44 | 96% |
Villanova University/DiLella Center for Real Estate | BS RE, MBA w/RE Specialization | 4 | 60 | – |
Virginia Commonwealth University/Kornblau Real Estate Program | BS RE, MSB, MBA w/RE Concentration | 3 | – | 93% |
Virginia Tech/Program in Real Estate (REAL) & Property Management (PM) | BS | REAL: 4, PM: 4 | REAL: 103, PM: 9 | REAL: 100%, PM: 69% |
Wichita State University/W. Frank Barton School of Business | BBA w/RE Concentration | 1 | – | 100% |
BBA: Bachelor of Business Administration, MREAD: Master of Real Estate Analysis & Development, MRED: Master of Real Estate Development, MSF: Master of Finance, MSRE: Master of Science in Real Estate, MSCRE: Master of Science in Commercial Real Estate, MSIRE: Master of Science in International Real Estate, MSREBE: Master of Science in Real Estate and the Built Environment
The following noteworthy real estate programs did not submit but are worth further research: Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, the University of California-Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Real Estate Department.
To be included in upcoming surveys, email Jeff Hamann at [email protected].
Changing Majors
The higher education model was upended in the spring of 2020 when most universities were forced to close due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many were hopeful that the fall would bring a return to the classroom, but most universities continued remote learning in the fall and even into the spring of 2021.
According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, overall postsecondary enrollment declined 2.5 percent in fall 2020, with the primary driver of this decline being undergraduate enrollment, which fell by 3.6 percent. This fall may prove to be brighter for enrollment as early indicators show that applications are up, boosted by a shift away from standardized test requirements for applicants.
This year’s Leading Schools for Real Estate shows how, despite the pandemic, real estate departments in universities across the country were determined to make their programs worthwhile for students. Due to the rapid switch to online learning, the ability for institutions to offer online coursework has almost become a necessity. Of the schools in our survey, 8 percent indicated that all real estate courses were available online, while a full 65 percent stated that classes were at least partially conducted online.
The schools in this year’s survey had an average of four full-time real estate faculty members and accepted an average of 65 students into each program last year. The real estate programs at the universities surveyed demonstrated the ability to set students up for successful careers after graduation, with most schools reporting more than 80 percent of graduates found employment in real estate fields.
Our participants’ multifamily-specific coursework covers a broad spectrum, from affordable housing to applied case studies and capstone courses focused on development, asset management, financial analysis and property management of individual communities.
—Madeline Harper, Senior Research Analyst, Yardi Matrix