Real Estate Development (MS)

Program Description

• STEM designated program

Prepare students to be leaders in real estate profession and address the significant built environment challenges of the 21st century: sustainability, gentrification, poverty, the decline of brick and mortar retail and the shifts in demographics. Students will learn to address economic, social, and ecological issues when developing commercial, industrial, institutional, or mixed use and residential real estate development projects.

By focusing on the quadruple bottom line of real estate development and combining environmental and economic sustainability, social consciousness, design excellence, financial feasibility and economic viability, students gain first-hand experience how real estate development invigorates communities and shapes healthy places to live, work, and play. Using the city of greater Philadelphia area as a living laboratory, students learn to approach projects at various scales, ranging from a single building to an entire districts or neighborhoods.

Students have the option of taking classes in person at our East Falls Campus, or take part in an online, low-residency cohort. This cohort meets in person once a semester with other MSRED students and faculty in Philadelphia or another city in the region, while fulfilling all other requirements in a live online learning environment.

A faculty of industry experts and practitioners provide real-world insight into the sustainable and equitable practices, legal aspects of land-use, city and regional planning, and construction science and management. Much of the course work is collaborative, including case study analysis, group projects, and real-world problem solving. The Jefferson experience helps students build a network of professional contacts and resources. The Jefferson experience helps students build a network of professional contacts and resources.

Learning Goals/Outcomes

• Learn to creatively invigorate urban communities—architecturally, environmentally and fiscally
• Track demographic, sociological, technological & economic trends that impact t supply & demand for particular projects within specific markets and areas
• Apply “green” planning principles, as outlined by Urban Land Institute and United States Environmental Protection Agency, to development projects
• Assess fundamental legal principles and ethical practices applicable to real estate development
• Apply financial and investment tools in a wide array of property types and development scenarios
• Examine opportunities & challenges of public-private partnerships, the techniques employed to encourage growth, and market and fiscal feasibility of cross-sector collaborations
• Focus on projects of various scales—from single building and neighborhood revitalization, to commercial, institutional and healthcare development
• Analyze demographic, technological and economic trends using current GIS technologies
• Measure efficacy of sustainable interventions, such as Smart Growth, New Urbanism, Brownfield Redevelopment and Adaptive Reuse as a springboard to urban revitalization
• Complete a comprehensive Capstone Project under the mentorship of faculty who are in the real estate industry

Curriculum: 1.5 - 2 Year, 37 Credits

Note: the above is a suggested curriculum for completion in 1 ½ years. The MSRED program can be completed at any pace and a curriculum plan is created for each student upon entering the program.