Real Estate Degree Programs are Setting a New Bar in CRE

Once upon a time and not so long ago, real estate professionals learned on the job. Without formal university programs, most real estate professionals—even those with top business school degrees—gained knowledge through experience. But, that is now changing. Real estate specific degree programs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels are soaring in popularity, and young professionals are now joining the commercial real estate industry with a formal education in the field. Real estate degrees and certifications are quickly becoming a standard.

WHY GET A REAL ESTATE DEGREE?

In most industries, it is common to have a degree or concentration specific to your career. Journalists have degrees in journalism; doctors go to medical school; and CEOs go to business school. Commercial real estate, however, never followed the same trend. But, for an industry with more nuances than a standard MBA program is fit to cover, a real estate-specific degree or concentration is just as beneficial. “Having a formal education in commercial real estate is an opportunity and advantage for anyone interested in a CRE career,” says Thomas Sherlock, a principal at Talonvest Capital. “For many individuals, that formal education provides the opportunity to start a career with a greater understanding of important fundamental factors in a variety of the industry’s interconnected specialties.”

So which route is the best? Increasingly, many in the industry are leaning towards formal education.  “Like most professions, I think both are critical,” Emily Mandrup, founder of ECM Management LLC, tells GlobeSt.com. “However, a formal education in CRE gives context that usually can’t be learned on the job.  When someone takes a position, they are typically specializing in one area and aren’t being educated on the other aspects of CRE.  Even if it’s not a full four-year degree, any supplemental CRE programs and classes are a benefit.”

Even established professionals are returning to school to earn a real estate degree. The UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate offers an MBA with a concentration in real estate, and Tim Kawahara, executive director at the school, says that many students are actually real estate professionals looking to advance their careers. “A lot of our students are career switchers or they are in commercial real estate and they want to go to the principal or investment side of the business, and they realize that they need a degree to get there to beef up their financial and quantitative skills,” he says. In many cases, brokers enter the program to transition to the principal or investment side of the business, and an MBA is generally a requirement.

Kawahara adds that many major companies see the degree as a sign that a candidate can grow within the company. “Most large institutions have great training programs, and they really want bright students they can train,” he says, adding that a degree is very important as is learning on the job.

A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

From a hiring manager’s perspective, candidates with a degree are given preferential treatment. That isn’t to say there is a requirement or that job postings are recommending a real estate degree or concentration, but candidates that have one certainly float to the top of the list. “It’s not a requirement, but there’s no doubt that I give them more consideration and weight when deciding position and salary,” says Mandrup.

Sherlock agrees that professionals with a degree program are given more attention during the hiring process, but notes that the degree is part of several characteristics that he evaluates when vetting a potential new hire. “A CRE-specific degree serves as a bonus consideration when we evaluate potential new team members.  While drive, achievement orientation, optimism and fit within the company culture are most important, we recognize that a CRE-specific degree provides a new team member with the opportunity to have a positive impact within the organization much sooner as compared to a person without that degree,” he says.

The commercial real estate industry is already a competitive field, and if there is a way for new entrants to gain an advantage, both Sherlock and Mandrup encourage young people and students to take it. “I highly recommend it for those that know they want to be in real estate.  It will give them an opportunity to understand each segment of CRE and get a feel for which aspect would be the best fit,” says Mandrup, adding that a degree has benefits beyond the classroom that will ultimately support career advancement. “Not only is the educational foundation a benefit, but the opportunity to connect with other peers in the industry and build resource groups you can continue to lean on and support after school is priceless,” she says.

For these reasons, it isn’t surprising that more entry-level applicants have a real estate degree or concentration. “We’re seeing more entry-level applicants with a CRE-specific degree. In fact, our most recent hire just earned his real estate degree this spring,” adds Sherlock. “Industry firms recognize the potential benefits associated with having the pedigree of a CRE degree, although that is in the context of a more broad-based evaluation of any candidate.”

BUT, SOME COMPANIES DO REQUIRE A DEGREE

For most segments of the commercial real estate industry, a real estate degree gives employees a competitive advantage and the foundation to advance their careers. For some companies, however, a real estate degree is already a requirement. This is especially true for large institutional investors that have long required an MBA for new candidates. More recently, that requirement has morphed into an MBA with a real estate concentration or another real estate-specific degree program.

“There are jobs in real estate where you don’t necessarily need a degree, but there are certain jobs where a credential or a degree is required,” says Kawahara. “Many of the large institutional players actually require it, and some only hire MBAs for certain higher-level positions.”

With more companies narrowing the talent pool to those with a real estate degree, UCLA’s program has become more popular. “Fortunately, we have developed a reputation for being one of the top MBA programs with a real estate concentration,” says Kawahara. “Not all MBA programs have a real estate concentration, so we are seeing students matriculate to UCLA’s Andersen School of Management that are specifically interested in real estate because we have the program.”

Students are now seeking out top-tier programs, like the one offered at UCLA, to land jobs at major companies requiring the degree. “We are seeing an increased interest in our program,” says Kawahara, who adds that there are very few MBA programs with more robust real estate offerings as at UCLA.

For students looking to make the most out of the program, Sherlock also recommends looking outside of the classroom. “Seek out programs with strong alumni networks to gain more industry exposure through internships while advancing through the university and look for programs that blend traditional academic education with adjunct professors who bring direct industry experience into the classroom,” he says. “While it may not seem as important as the university ranking, those factors are opportunities in growing a network in the industry even before a career begins.”

EDUCATION FOR EXISTING PROFESSIONALS

Universities aren’t the only way for real estate professionals to get a formal education in the industry. Many established professionals are returning to the classroom through industry organizations that offer certifications and continuing education, like NAIOP. “Industry associations were actually at the forefront of expanding the knowledge base and professionalism of people in the industry through various Young Professionals programs created by a multitude of national and local industry trade organizations,” says Sherlock.

Mandrup actually took this route after she started her career. She majored in business and finance in college without any commercial real estate-specific work, and she attended NAIOP’s SoCal’s Young Professional Group, a 12-month and 70-hour course that offers the type of formal education that one might get in a university setting. “The course was designed to educate, develop, and connect young CRE professionals,” she says. “I can say without hesitation that I was a better development manager because that program taught me the fundamentals of the land development cycle, from acquisitions and land planning to entitlements and construction, leasing, and property management.”

The Young Professional Group is one example of a popular non-university program that provides industry-specific education. More than 500 students have graduated from the program. Its success in some ways has inspired more university programs, as well as a seminar class in the MBA program at the Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine.

UCLA also offers a non-university credential for entry-level candidates in affordable housing. The Levain Affordable Housing Credential is available to 35 entry-level professionals looking to better understand and work toward solving the affordable housing crisis. The program is endowed and will be offered permanently. “If you look around the landscape today, the lack of affordable housing is at a crisis level in California and really across the globe if you look at any major metropolitan city,” says Kawahara. “We wanted to provide some service there, so we designed an affordable housing training program. It is a university-level three-week program to train new professionals in the nonprofit housing sector that are new to the affordable housing business.”

The program is wildly popular, and the school is considering expanding to serve other stakeholders in the affordable housing space. “There is also a lot of interest from the private sector to learn about affordable housing because it is such a specialized industry,” says Kawahara. “That is a possibility that we might expand and do some training for market-rate developers. We have also thought about doing some training for legislators and elected officials that need to get up to speed as well. There seems to be no lack of need.”

The program has been such a success, other universities want to replicate it. New York University is among the schools showing interest in developing a similar program. “Many organizations, banks and nonprofits really want to send their new employees to this program,” says Kawahara. “This is a problem all over the state, and fortunately, we have built the go-to training program for affordable housing for early-stage professionals.”

ENHANCING DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

The increase in attendance to real estate degree programs has one beneficial side effect: diversity and inclusion. These programs not only help advance the sophistication of the industry but also help attract and funnel new professionals into the industry. “College-level real estate specific programs are a step in the right direction for enhanced diversity and inclusion within the CRE industry,” says Sherlock. “This is because more qualified candidates will obtain a foundational education to gain access into the CRE world, as compared to the industry’s early days when ‘who you know’ made a difference in terms of entering the business.”

The commercial real estate industry has historically been difficult to access, but degree programs provide a direct path into the market. “In my anecdotal experience, CRE has traditionally been prone to lots of nepotism.  Because it’s not offered in school, if someone doesn’t have family or friends in the industry, it’s difficult to know what kind of jobs and opportunities CRE has to offer or how to get involved so it’s just not on a student’s radar,” says Mandrup. “CRE programs can give women and people of color that might not have connections, an introduction into the industry and the added foundation and credentials to help them get positions that might have previously been filled by favoritism.”