Pepperdine MSRE: Any Info
Hey everyone- I’m currently an undergrad student in a Southern California and also work full time in residential brokerage (as an agent, will get my broker’s license in a few months) full time. Long story short: I want to move into commercial development and am weighing out my options.
Pepperdine has an MSRE program but I can’t find a lot of information as far as success stories go, especially not on WSO. Their program does not require work experience which is why I’m drawn to it. USC requires minimum 2 years and I’d like to stay in Southern California for personal reasons (mostly because of investment properties). Any advice is appreciated!
Not to take anything away from Pepperdine, because I don't know enough about the program, but you might be best served, for multiple reasons, by working for two years and then looking into USC's program.
I think I said in that AMA that around 1-2 years is prime work experience heading into the degree. I had almost 3, which was too much IMO, but straight from undergrad to grad school without any experience is also a recipe for disappointment. You'll be very overeducated and under experienced heading into the job hunt.
The alumni network and age/prestige of the program in CA is what I based my response on primarily.
I am current student at Pepperdine's MSRE program, the program is new (we are the first class). If you're truly interested, I would apply, I had very little commercial experience and a good amount of residential experience. USC DOMINATES the SoCAL marketplace when it comes to real estate (as you can read anywhere). That being said, I was also interested in the USC MRED program for a while, but 2 things held me back. 1) I didnt think I had enough commercial experience, 2) I wasn't sure Real Estate development was my for sure path. From what I have gathered, getting the MRED doesn't pigeonhole you in just development, but it is the core focus of the program where the MSRE is more focused on investments/finance and a broader spectrum of commercial real estate. Funny most of our guest speakers are USC mRED alum, also since the program is new there is a LOT of hands-on interaction between students and staff. I can't speak about any another program, which i know are great!, all I can say is, at the Pepperdine program, there are some high-level faculty and they truly do what they can to help you succeed.