After World War II, a housing boom created a demand for real estate business expertise. Decades later, demand only increased in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Now with unprecedented levels of international real estate investment at play, demand for this specialization has reached a fevered pitch.
This rings particularly true for investments in the Mid-Atlantic region where many top real estate MBA programs are headquartered.
Best Mid-Atlantic Real Estate MBAs
Located in Charlottesville, UVA’s Darden Graduate School of Business consistently ranks among the top MBA programs nationally. In addition to Darden’s Real Estate specialization, the Real Estate Club offers alumni connections, internship info sessions, ARGUS training, LEED certification study sessions, and “case competition preparatory sessions.”
The Real Estate Club also participates in the Darden Finance Conference, offering participants the chance to connect with real estate executives in the financial sector. UVA offers in-state tuition of $94,524, $97,524 for non-residents, and $98,796 for international students. Ninety percent of graduates are employed after graduation with a median base salary reported at $125,000.
One out of 10 UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School MBAs complete the school’s Real Estate Concentration, making it one of the largest programs of its kind in the nation. Real Estate MBA students choose from development and/or finance/investments tracks. Here are just a few of the available courses:
- Argus Certification Training
- Financing Real Estate in Today’s Capital Markets
- International Real Estate Investment
- Real Estate Law
- Real Estate Macroeconomics
- Securities Markets
Kenan-Flagler tuition is a hefty $132,648 but the average starting salary is reported at $116,543 with 11 percent of placements in Real Estate.
Founded in 2005, the George Washington School of Business Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis (CREUA) strives to offer a high-caliber real estate curriculum to both GW graduate and undergraduate students. The Center also conducts real estate research on “walkable urban place development and management,” for which a graduate certificate is offered to MBAs. Tuition at GW is $105,700 and the average starting salary is $96,000.
The University of Maryland at College Park was among the first schools to offer the MRED degree. At UMD Smith, MBA candidates have the option to pursue an MBA/MRED dual degree. Dual degree candidates can expect to begin their studies with MBA coursework and then cross over to MRED focus as the program progresses.
Full-time MBA students can expect to pay $44,766 per year for in-state tuition, while out-of-state students can expect to pay $53,946. Smith reports that 95 percent of its graduates are employed within six months of graduation with an average salary of $114,845.
Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business is home to Steers Center for Global Real Estate, which aims to provide its MBA students an “industry-grade education that produces students who are uniquely competitive in the global real estate job market.”
The Center’s major selling points are its diversified Four Quadrant curriculum model, immersion in the Washington DC market, and the Real Estate Clinic.
Tuition is $59,700, with an average salary of $116,946 and 98 percent percent of employment-seeking students receiving a job offer within three months of graduation.