MBA Programs for Real Estate

To all Real Estate Finance professionals out there. I am applying to B-School next year and would like to concentrate in RE. Would you agree these following MBA's have the strongest RE programs with strong RE recruitment for IBRE and REPE?

1, Wharton
2. Columbia
3. NYU - Stern
4. Northwestern - Kellogg
5. Berkeley - Haas
6. Dartmouth - Tuck
7. Cornell - Johnson
8. UCLA - Anderson
9. UNC - Kenan-Flagler
10. Georgetown - McDonough

Thank you for all your help!

BZ

 

Hi BZ, whoops, looks like nobody chimed in here.... maybe one of these discussions below is relevant:

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Or maybe the following pros can chime in... AAAnalyst @Amir-Nour" ecander14

Hope that helps.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.
 

Wasn’t aware Tuck had a RE focused MBA. 6,7,8,10 may not be easiest to REIB as you need to be close to or in NYC for recruiting. Cornell probably fine though. UT also worth looking at. REPE recruiting is very ad hoc at schools ranked higher than Kellogg. Just less on campus recruiting that’s all. REIB is very structured and so a top NE school or UNC would be best if you’re dead set on that. Otherwise the business is very regional and figuring out where you want to live could help narrow the list down as 10+ applications seems like overkill. 5-6 more doable but that’s my $.02.

 

I am thinking about applying to 6 schools, Wharton and Columbia are 2 stretch schools, Northwestern and NYU are 2 competitive schools, UCLA and UNC will be my 2 safety schools. I wasn't aware that UNC's RE program is better than Anderson because I always thought Anderson's RE program is very strong. Thanks for the information cpgame.

 

Going REIB from UNC vs UCLA will be infinitely easier assuming you have good grades... think about it. Banks question why a kid who chose CA for school would ever pick his life up for NYC to work 90+ hour weeks with no palm tree in sights it’s a very tough sell.

 

What's your advise on getting into REPE after MBA without previous REPE expereince? For example, landing a REIB, stay for 2 years then network and transition into REPE, is this a good option? Thanks.

 

Your top 4 are spot on, but UNC is probably #5... very reputable program and places highly in some major RE shops i.e. Greystar, Hines. Eastdil's DC is office has mainly UNC grads. I think Eastdil recruits at only a handful of spots for RE IB... UNC, UVA, Wharton.. but they only have 3-4 spots across their entire platform for internships.

My advice: check to see who formally recruits on campus. Do you see Tishman? Hines? Greystar? TCR? RE PE funds i.e. Carlyle, Fortress? RE recruiting is a pain: primarily networked based.

ALSO: if you do not have prior industry experience, you will be at an advantage if you have prior finance experience i.e. you did credit analysis, consulting, or Big 4 etc... if you did something else, i.e. marketing or a soft-skill job and are not female, you will be at a disadvantage. I mention 'female' because RE is still mostly male-dominated and there are efforts to increase diversity.

 

Solid feedback. Thank you for all the advice. I finished a 3 years Credit Analyst program within the CRE Group for one of the upper tier banks. Currently, I am a RE Analyst at a middle market private equity advisory and research firm. Technical skills, very comfortable of building a RE model from the ground up. Also, I am a guy. Any feedback and advice on my experience is much appreciated!

 

There are a number of MBA programmes offered in real estate by some universities:-

  • MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
  • UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
  • UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA - BERKELEY
  • CORNELL UNIVERSITY
  • NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
  • NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
  • UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
 

My quick two cents:

I was a career changer(military officer) so I needed something to set me apart from every other former military officer with ehhhhh grades in a social science. Plus I had no idea what I wanted to really do. If you're in REPE, and planning on staying, I would say go for the MBA as you don't necessarily need the network or specialized knowledge(I don't think) that you'd get from a straight MSRE program, but you may need the actual business and management knowledge later on down the line. It's a broader program that gives you a much more diverse experience. Hell I thought I was going to shoot for W$ or consulting when I finished, and look at me now haha. You never know what you'll learn.

That being said, maybe the network of a straight MSRE program would be better for you in your current role, maybe you don't care about management or growing as a leader, or maybe there isn't a program in your area.

What would honestly influence me the most is cost and location. So if you live in a city that has a part time MBA that's reasonably ranked, or an MSRE that's at least regionally appropriate for you, I'd give that a shot because you can keep working and still get the benefits. If there's neither in your area, well, there are a couple of top 20 MBAs with online programs now(Indiana, UNC, and I think Mellon) that may work for you, and I think Georgetown is the only actually reputable MSRE program that's fully online. Your other online option there is like FIU or something, and don't waste your time. I actually think that for our industry and assuming availability, a part time program in your area would be better because you can network within your cohort, still work on deals, and apply what you learn every day.

YMMV, hopefully that helped a little!

Forgot to mention, for planning purposes I'd start working on GMAT prep before I worried about anything else for an MBA, it can be a kick in the nuts and you may want to take it more than once. The other bonus for MSRE's is that many of them don't require it. Good luck!

 

I was in this position about a year and a half ago.

I was working at a hospitality company as an analyst. There I worked on everything from acquisitions, developments, and refinances. I did not want to get pigeonholed as the hospitality guy in my 20's, so I took the GMAT and got a good score. I wanted to go into banking, so a month before I was about to apply to B-school, I reached out to a few of my banking contacts.

Those that I reached out to all had RE MBA's and told me that it really depends on where you want to end up with. If you want to switch careers, it is extremely useful because it opens up a lot of doors during recruiting. If you want to expand your business network, go to business school and if you want to work in real estate, then get an RE concentrated MBA to meet other RE people. However, if you want to use an MBA to better your career (ie get the promotion), they all said do not get a RE MBA and instead get a good general/finance one.

I just wanted to do larger and different types of deals, so I was told it would be not be as useful for me. I really liked the loan side of the RE world, and a bank we did business with needed an analyst. They ended up hiring me, and to be honest with you, it was the best move I could have made at the time. I see far more, different, and larger types of deals.

 

It was totally worthless for advancing in real estate. That's a pithy answer but really all it did was provide some nice window dressing on my resume and give me credibility with other MBA's in real estate field, but otherwise definitely not at all worth it.

 

Def interesting to see all the different perspectives. I am located in Seattle so I most likely would want to move to attend one of the top RE MBA's such as a Wharton, NYU, Columbia, Berkley, USC, or Cornell.

Are any of these schools more well known for certain industries within real estate. I feel as if USC is geared more towards development. I also have heard the value of the MBA is the networking which maybe hard to replicate with the part-time aspect.

IronChef204 Are you past the point of ever going back to get your MBA?

HFFBALLfan123 Exactly how I feel I don't think I could of said it better. Have you started with any GMAT prep?

 
MIWP1989MI:

Def interesting to see all the different perspectives. I am located in Seattle so I most likely would want to move to attend one of the top RE MBA's such as a Wharton, NYU, Columbia, Berkley, USC, or Cornell.

Are any of these schools more well known for certain industries within real estate. I feel as if USC is geared more towards development. I also have heard the value of the MBA is the networking which maybe hard to replicate with the part-time aspect.

@IronChef204 Are you past the point of ever going back to get your MBA?

@HFFBALLfan123 Exactly how I feel I don't think I could of said it better. Have you started with any GMAT prep?

I have the books but haven't started yet. Really tough because i don't feel the absolute need right now.

 

I was recently accepted (and will be attending) at top 10 program, a program that is not known as a a strong real estate program. My recommendation is this: apply (why not?). By applying you are not committing to anything. You are just opening the door to make a future decision. Then if you get in, you can make the final decision. But until you apply and get in, there is really no decision to be made. Does that make sense?

For me, I was really on the fence about enrolling in an MBA program until I started applying, meeting alums, visiting campuses, etc. By doing the legwork of applying, I solidified my decision to go (assuming I was accepted).

Here are my reasons (in no particular order) for getting an MBA:

1) Network: Recent and not-so-recent alums all told me that one of the most valuable aspects of their MBA was the alum network and the relationships they developed w/ their classmates. Many people will say that you can also get a strong network by continuing to work in real estate. However, your MBA network will be a much more diverse set of people from a range of countries, industries, and backgrounds.

2) Optionality: As of now, I want to remain in real estate post-MBA. However, I wanted the option to explore other careers within the finance world. The worst case scenario is I graduate from a top MBA program and go to work for a solid real estate company or a REIB group. I don't see too much risk in getting the MBA from a career standpoint.

3) Credibility: I am not looking for "prestige" or "golden tickets". If anything, it is to prove something to myself. I grew up in a low-income family, neither parent went to college, and went to an extreme non-target. Getting an MBA will add one more notch on my resume and give future investors (I want to raise my own fund one day) slightly more comfort of my background.

There are many other reasons but I'm starting to get lazy and want to go to bed. I'm happy to answer other questions.

 

I had been contemplating the same thing for about two years until I finally decided to pull the trigger. I'm still young in my career (26) and currently working for a REIT. I know that I want to stay in Real Estate however I am not sure as to whether or not I want to make the switch to I-Banking, PE or ultimately open up my own shop. I applied to a handful of programs (kept my search in the T15) and eventually decided to go with the part-time program at the University of Michigan. I chose to pursue a part-time program because I am not necessarily a career-switcher. I think if you know that you want to stay in real estate and can handle going to a top part-time program while working full-time, I would definitely explore that route. I don't start at Ross until May so I can't really give any further advice or insight.

 

I was very selective about where I applied. After much research, visits, etc. I narrowed my list of schools to 2. For me, I didn't want to get an MBA just to get an MBA. I wanted to make sure it was from a program that I was thrilled to be in and one that would provide me the best experience. Ultimately, only two fit the bill. To be honest, I was pretty split between which one I would attend if I were accepted to both. Luckily the decision was made easy when I was accepted to one and wait listed at the other.

I started my prep pretty early. I applied to the schools in September (round 1) but started my research/took the GMAT in Jan/Feb. Because I started early, I was able to narrow my list from 5 to 2. Feel free to PM me if you have more personal questions.

 

I personally believe the MBA experience is a positive one. I met a great network of folks, had a lot of fun, traveled and studied abroad, and was able add a credential to my resume. As mentioned in another post, I was a Naval Officer prior to graduate school, so it made sense for my transition to the private sector, and it aligned with my personal narrative.

That said, I went about it the wrong way. I applied to too few programs, was too myopic in my initial job search, and my timing as far as market conditions goes, was just awful. I incurred substantial debt to attend. This is not ideal. If you are in a major metro area, consider going at night (Chicago/Columbia). See if your firm will help you pay for the program. If you want to go full time, Absolutely go if it is a a top 3/5/7 program. However if it is a second tier program, I would be hesitant. It just doesn't have the cache it did 10/20/30 years ago...

Good luck!

 

Why is Tuck #6? I looked on their website and they offer only two elective courses in real estate. Seems awfully lean course offering for a school ranked #6 on this list.

I am genuinely curious. Can some elaborate?

 

Why is Tuck #6? I looked on their website and they offer only two elective courses in real estate. Seems awfully lean course offering for a school ranked #6 on this list.

I am genuinely curious. Can some elaborate?

 

I propose a following revision for the real estate specific rankings:

  1. Wharton
  2. Columbia
  3. tie Chicago - Booth / NYU - Stern
  4. Northwestern - Kellogg
  5. tie Cornell - Johnson (East Coast) / Berkeley - Haas (West Coast)
  6. tie Dartmouth - Tuck / HBS / MIT - Sloan
  7. tie UCLA - Anderson / UNC - Kenan-Flagler / UT-Austin - McCombs
  8. tie Michigan - Ross / Virginia - Darden
  9. tie Georgetown - McDonough / USC - Marshall
 

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