2021 Leading Schools for CRE
More than two-thirds of participating schools conducted coursework at least partially online in 2020. Find more insights in CPE’s annual survey of the top real estate education programs.
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].
Charting a New Course
Higher education drastically changed last spring, when most universities were forced to adapt almost overnight to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many schools were hopeful that students would be back in the classroom by fall, but remote education largely continued into the 2020 academic year. According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, overall postsecondary enrollment dropped by 2.5 percent this past fall, with undergraduate enrollment declining by 3.6 percent. This coming fall semester may be a turning point, however, since early indicators showing an uptick in applications.
Our 2021 survey of Leading Schools for Real Estate highlight the lengths to which real estate departments across the country have adapted to provide worthwhile, valuable programs for their students. More than two-thirds of our participating schools indicate that coursework was conducted online to at least some extent, underscoring the importance of flexible, remote education. The schools in this year’s survey had an average of four full-time real estate faculty and accepted an average of 65 students into their individual programs in 2020. Most schools reported between 80 and 100 percent of graduates were employed in the field shortly after graduation.
In looking at commercial real estate-specific coursework, many of our participating schools offer a wide range of study areas. Classes range from focusing on particular asset types such as office, industrial or retail, to deeper dives within the realms of development, financial analysis, property operations and asset management.
—Madeline Harper, Senior Research Analyst, Yardi Matrix
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