Real Estate

What you'll do in college

Real estate majors learn how property gets financed, valued, developed, and traded. The major sits where finance meets the built environment, covering real estate finance and investment, valuation and appraisal, market and feasibility analysis, development, urban economics, and property law. Coursework is quantitative—discounted cash flow, cap rates, mortgage math, and pro forma modeling—paired with case studies of real deals.

Many programs run student-managed investment funds, development case competitions, and internships with brokerages, developers, REITs, and lenders, where you'll underwrite actual properties before you graduate.

What you'll do after college

Graduates work across commercial and residential real estate as acquisitions and development analysts, brokers, appraisers, mortgage and investment professionals, property and asset managers, and consultants at developers, brokerages, banks, REITs, and private-equity firms. Some move into urban planning or public-sector development; others strike out as entrepreneurial investors and developers.

The work is deal-driven and cyclical, rising and falling with interest rates and the broader economy—but the upside is high, with pay often weighted toward commissions, bonuses, and ownership stakes. It rewards both financial chops and the relationships that get deals done.

Famous graduates

• Stephen M. Ross — Founder of Related Companies and developer of Hudson Yards; owner of the Miami Dolphins; B.B.A. from the University of Michigan, whose business school bears his name
• Donald Bren — Chairman of the Irvine Company and one of America's wealthiest real estate developers; B.A. in business administration and economics from the University of Washington

Selectivity vs. earnings