The Best Online Real Estate MBA Degree Programs

mba real estate online

The Masters of Business Administration (MBA) is a versatile and dynamic degree. MBA programs cover the practical and theoretical concepts of general business management functions and systems. Although many programs deliver a centralized focus on curriculum specific to the MBA, a large number of MBA programs also offer areas of concentration or specialized degree tracks such Accounting, Finance, or Marketing. Following recent developments in the housing market, however, the Real Estate industry has become a popular focus for some of our country’s best MBA programs.

Featured Programs

An MBA in Real Estate prepares students to understand more about business in general than the average real estate agent. This is not to say, however, that real estate agents have limited knowledge. Real estate agents simply focus on the responsibilities requisite of their profession while MBA Real Estate students are required to master knowledge and skillsets in diverse areas such as real estate marketing strategies/techniques, corporate real estate law and regulations, and business leadership. Mastery of these advanced topics then in turn prepares students for highly competitive positions and for the leadership required in the upper reaches of the real estate industry.

MBA Real Estate programs require students to master the management, development, and financing of real estate in the context of residential, commercial, and state/federal markets. Thus coursework covers a wideange of topics such as Financial Analysis, Finance and Securitization, Real Estate Development, and Investment Strategy. Mastery of these topics empowers students to take on positions at the top of the industry in Real Estate Investment Trusts, Investment Banks, and Consulting Companies. With real-world experience, many MBA Real Estate students go on to start their own businesses or create their own real estate firms. So for current professionals in real estate or students looking to reach the next level, and MBA in Real Estate can open doors to amazing opportunities and success. To best accommodate the busy professional and the working student, we have compiled in this article the 3 Best Online MBA in Real Estate programs. To narrow it down to these three we scoured the best of the best, including 150 business school programs accredited by The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)–the world’s largest business education network. AACSB programs are in the top 20% of business schools worldwide, making the AACSB accreditation one of the most prestigious in business education.

Methodology:

  • Affordability (1/3): Combined analysis of overall tuition of the program, financial aid or scholarship assistance programs, and estimated cost per credit hour for out-of-state students.
  • Flexibility (1/3): The number of flexibility-enhancing elements specific to the degree program including teaching philosophy concentrations, degree specialties, prior learning or life experience crediting options, accelerated or self-paced courses, personalized student advisement/guidance, and competency-based credit options.
  • Academic Prestige (1/3): The academic prestige of the parent institution operationally defined through the analyses of the rankings/reviews of prominent education review entities such as US News & World Report and The Princeton Review.

1.) Florida State University, College of Business

fsu_mba

Florida State University (FSU) is one of the country’s largest universities to implement a large-scale development of online degree offerings at the associate, undergraduate, and graduate level. FSU’s College of Business, for instance, is one the nation’s youngest business schools and yet it has consistently ranked as one of the most efficient and most valuable online business schools in the nation, which fueled its growth into becoming one of the country’s largest business schools as well. The success of the College of Business combined with the enormous resources of FSU has lead to its developing some of our country’s top MBA programs. These programs implement a rigorous career-oriented focus where students cultivate their professional skillsets both inside and outside of coursework with unique options such corporate trips, competitions and industry-specific career fairs, and collaboration with the industry’s top professional organizations.

The FSU College of Business offers a fully online, part-time MBA with Real Estate Specialization. The part-time format is designed to accommodate the working professional, so that they can attend this challenging program without placing their careers on hold. While admission into the program is competitive, admitted students can take pride in knowing the program is ranked among the Top 10 at public institutions. FSU’s Real Estate Program is also home to the Center for Real Estate Education & Research, making it an international hub for industry-leading presentations, national conferences, and research symposiums–all of which are invaluable assets for the budding MBA Real Estate professional. Thus FSU’s Real Estate MBA Program is an easy choice for the #1 spot. The program’s in-state tuition savings are also highly impressive, making it just too good to ignore for current or prospective Florida residents.

  • Homepage
  • Total Tuition Cost Out-of-State / In-state: $46,725 / $20,206
  • Flexibility enhancing features: Part-time curriculum format; Home to The Center for Real Estate Education & Research; Professional internships/collaboration/research opportunities available.

2.) University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Business Administration – Liautaud Graduate School

illinois_chicago_logo

The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) consistently ranks as one the country’s top research institutions. In recent years, the University has moved some of its most prestigious and popular degree programs into the online learning arena. Most notable among these is the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Business’s online MBA programs offered through its renowned Liautaud Graduate School. These programs grant students enormous flexibility and freedom of choice through full-time accelerated programs, ‘The Weekend MBA’ option where students only meet on Saturdays, and ‘The Flexible MBA Program’ where students set their own pace and can finish in as little as 18 months. Despite the fast-paced curriculum and student-oriented learning formats, Liautaud Graduate School delivers one of the country’s best business schools as evidenced by its consistent ranking in the Top 25% nationwide.

Liautaud Graduate School’s online MBA in Real Estate maintains the same level of challenge and rigorous standards that distinguish its program nationwide. Students in the Real Estate program will cover courses such as Real Estate Finance, Urban Real Estate and Land Economics, Urban Economics, and Real EState Investments. The program emphasizes urban real estate markets, using metropolitan Chicago as a working laboratory for observation, testing, and professional networking. In this regard UIC’s Real Estate MBA Program is one-of-a-kind, and provides online students with the perfect research subject. This strength also directly counteracts the common shortcoming of online degree programs where students may lack real world interaction, networking, etc. Though the program comes with a higher price-tag, students can rest assured that the tuition is a smart investment in one of our country’s best real estate programs.

  • Homepage
  • Total Tuition Cost Out-of-State/ In-state: $70,028 / $46,032
  • Flexibility enhancing features: Full-time, part-time, and accelerated learning options; “The Flexible MBA Program” with self-paced progression; Professional, academic, and research opportunities associated with the city of Chicago.

3.) Longwood University, College of Business and Economics

longwood_university_logo

Longwood University employs a strong commitment to student-success outcomes and professional development. Degree programs are characterized by smaller class sizes, 16:1 student-faculty ratios, 82% full-time faculty, and 100% participation in internships or faculty-directed research studies. Longwood University College of Business and Economics incorporates these strengths into its MBA programs, harnessing the philosophy of traditional liberal arts education with hands-on, marketable experience and the enhanced flexibility of online learning. This strategy has led to national recognition with U.S. News & World Report ranking it as one the nation’s best online MBA programs.

The College of Business and Economics ensures that students may obtain their online Real Estate MBA amidst even the busiest of schedules. Thus part-time and full-time learning formats offer students the opportunity to accelerate or slow down course-pacing. Students complete the part-time format through taking one course every seven weeks to arrive at a completion time of 2 years. Full-time students complete one course every seven weeks in the summer and two courses every seven weeks during fall and spring and finish their degrees in just 15 months, making it one of the fastest degree programs on this list. The Real Estate degree prepares students to be leaders in the industry, taking on top-tier positions in areas such as commercial and corporate real estate, development investment management, and residential development financing. If students have pre-existing career goals the program strengthens and facilitates the expertise required to reach those goals through self-chosen research topics, projects, and professional networking assignments.

  • Homepage
  • Total Tuition Cost Out-of-State/ In-state: $40,536 / $20,196
  • Flexibility enhancing features: Part-time and full-time learning formats; 2 year to 15 month degree completion time [fastest in the country]; Real world assignments, professional networking, and hands-on research projects.

Carrie Morris
Author

Warren Dahl
Editor-in-Chief