Concentrations
While the extensive core curriculum insures that Cornell graduates have a comprehensive understanding of real estate, the concentration requirement allows students to select or create an area of specialized expertise that distinguishes them in the industry. Real estate is an industry with many niches, and a Cornell concentration often communicates that a graduate brings leadership and immediate value-add in that area of expertise.
At the end of the first semester, in consultation with their advisors, students select a concentration that includes a minimum of four courses in that defined area of interest. Cornell offers ten concentrations in real estate (See List of Concentrations below), although students with interests not represented within one of the pre-defined concentrations are encouraged to design their own specialization in consultation with their advisor.
Some students concentrate in real estate investment, others choose development, some pursue socially responsible real estate, others property management. The opportunity to develop a specialty by supplementing core courses with electives of your choice is one of the hallmarks of Cornell’s program.
The extensive Cornell curriculum, embodied in the motto “any person… any study,” provides an extraordinary opportunity to select refined concentrations. A student interested in as narrow an interest as retail-entertainment mixed-use development, would find courses in retail management, commercial real estate development, amusement park development, and entertainment law to suit their unique focus. Interested in sustainable development? A course portfolio of seminar in sustainable development, building material conservation, sustainable hospitality development, green cities, and land use regulations would provide a engaging niche focus.
