An MBA Toolkit – A Real Estate Focus
The Program in Real Estate curriculum is similar to that of an MBA—with important differences in emphasis and application. Just as students pursuing a general MBA degree learn economics, the workings of capital markets, finance, management, marketing and other foundational business concepts, so do Cornell real estate students learn these MBA toolkit fundamentals. In the real estate program, however, these principles are taught through case studies and application within the real estate industry. For example, while a business school student might learn securitization in a general sense, a real estate student would focus on commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBSs) and real estate investment trusts (REITs). In the teaching of other topics, such as portfolio theory, asset-pricing models, option pricing, or mergers and acquisitions, business school theories and real estate theories are the same; it is the applications that differ. Real estate students at Cornell study managerial finance with business school professors at Cornell’s Johnson Graduate School of Management. They study real estate investments and finance with real estate specialists at Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration. Management and marketing is a core course but with a focus on management and marketing of office building and apartments. The Program immerses students in real estate as they learn the essential MBA business concepts, and while to date graduates have exclusively pursued careers in the real estate field they nonetheless have the transferable business skills to succeed in the non-real estate business setting.
Real estate requires special insights
"When I decided to come back to school to continue my education, I was planning on getting a Masters in Real Estate as well as an MBA. But once I arrived at Cornell and saw the curriculum of the Program in Real Estate and the freedom I had to take any class at Cornell, I realized that I could get everything I wanted out of an MBA from the Program in Real Estate."
Parham Khoshbakhtian (MPS/RE ’07)
Success in real estate goes beyond general MBA skills, though, and requires special insights from discipline-based knowledge and particular sets of intangibles. These include appreciation for location, design, structural integrity, understanding of trends in local markets, as well as the unique fundamentals of a specific property. It also includes the refined knowledge of real estate finance, deal structuring, valuation, taxation, property management, transactions, law, and development that are demanded in the real estate industry. Because Cornell’s graduate real estate program prepares you for all aspects of the field, it improves your key perceptions and insights, preparing you for leadership and long-term success in the industry. MBA students who intend to specialize in real estate typically complete the majority of their courses in general finance and management, then take a few elective courses in real estate. Unfortunately, greater exposure is required to appreciate and prepare for the complexity, variety, and unique character of real estate.
There are students that share a passion for real estate but still want the general MBA experience. They are likely candidates for the Dual MBA / MPS-Real Estate degree program.