MSc Real Estate (with Commercial and International pathways)

The MSc Real Estate sets the analysis of property markets within the context of economics, finance and business.  The degree is a 12 month full time ’conversion’ programme which takes students with a wide range of first degrees and prepares them for a career in the real estate profession. It is a well established vocational degree with a strong reputation among employers. 

The programme has several key strengths: 

• The Real Estate Group is internationally recognised as world class for its research
• Degree is fully accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) allowing graduates to proceed to the RICS Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) following appropriate work experience 
• Degree has been running for over 20 years and has established a strong reputation among employers with many past graduates employed in senior positions in the profession.
• Employers like the combination of first degree coupled with a postgraduate Masters degree in the specialist area
• The Real Estate Group has strong links with the profession with practitioners regularly involved in workshops and field trips 
• Programme is based in the Business School and benefits from strong links with economics, finance and management disciplines.
• Combines academic rigour with practical relevance 
• Offers a particular focus and strength on commercial property valuation and investment and the study of international real estate markets
• Average cohort size of 15 to 25  students ensures an interactive, friendly learning environment
• International Real Estate module includes a week long European field trip
• Teaching staff are active researchers ensuring that the content is at the forefront of current thinking

All students’ study a core set of modules in Stage 1 and thereafter have the option to follow either a Commercial Real Estate pathway or an International Real Estate pathway. The final stage for the Commercial Real Estate pathway involves either a summer school with case study, or a dissertation. For students on the International Real Estate pathway the final stage involves participation in the Asian Studies Tour or on the completion of a dissertation while based overseas.

STAGE 1

REAL ESTATE ECONOMICS - Introduction to business economics. Property and the macroeconomy. Economic characteristics of property. Institutional and regulatory environment of property (including legal and planning controls). Property market analysis: use, investment and development. Sector analysis: offices, retail, industrial, housing.

PROPERTY LAW AND INSTITUTIONS - The legal environment of property. Basic business law. Legal basis of land tenure, land registration, property ownership, landlord and tenant relationships, obligations and restrictions. Planning law and policy. Professional institutions and regulation. Ethics and professional codes of conduct.

VALUATION & FINANCE - Introduction to bonds, equities and property as a form of investment. Mathematics of valuation and investment. Principles underlying basic valuation and investment formulae. Principal methods of valuation. Critical examination of conventional and alternative approaches to valuation.

REAL ESTATE RESEARCH - The contemporary property research agenda. Interpretation of property research. Commissioning and managing research. Ethical issues in research. Design and implementation of a research project: topic choice, methodology and method, bibliographical tools and literature review, qualitative and quantitative research techniques.

STAGE 2

ADVANCED VALUATION & DEVELOPMENT- Use of computer spreadsheets. RICS Appraisal and Valuation Standards. Development valuation, valuation of over-rented property, trade related valuations and goodwill, valuation of leases, calculations of worth, risk measurement. Basis of local property tax and key elements of the national taxation regime.

INTERNATIONAL REAL ESTATE - International property market analysis, focusing on Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific. Property market integration. Internationalisation of use, investment, development and property service provision. Institutional change in international property markets. European field trip and project to examine a specific property market in depth.

REAL ESTATE FINANCE - Relationship and interaction between property use and investment. Modern concepts of corporate real estate. Corporate real estate, business strategy corporate finance. Property as an investment class. Indirect property investment. International property investment. Techniques of property investment analysis.

+ ONE ELECTIVE from MBA/MSc courses approved by the Programme Co-ordinator

STAGE 3
If studying on COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE pathway either:

REAL ESTATE ASSET MANAGEMENT - To examine the principal ways in which real estate assets must be managed, first from the perspective of the real estate investor and, second, from the perspective of business organisations for whom property is an operational asset.

REAL ESTATE MARKET MODELLING - Modelling of property investment markets. Principles of portfolio construction. Practical portfolio construction. Techniques for portfolio management.

CRITICAL STUDIES PAPER- Formulation, design and implementation of a professional case study investigation on an approved topic in property practice. This would normally be in the fields of property investment, corporate real estate, valuation practice or international property.

OR
REAL ESTATE DISSERTATION- Formulation, design and implementation of an academic dissertation on an approved topic in property practice. This would normally be in the fields of property investment, corporate real estate, valuation practice or international property.

If studying on INTERNATIONAL REAL ESTATE pathway either:

ASIAN CITIES CASE STUDIES (4) – Travel to Asia and study property investment and development case studies in several major cities. Location of case studies varies each year, with previous cohorts of students visiting real estate developments in Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo, Singapore, Shanghai and Beijing.

OR

REAL ESTATE DISSERTATION - Formulation, design and implementation of an academic dissertation on an approved topic in property practice. This would normally be in the fields of property investment, corporate real estate, valuation practice or international property. Students to be based in an overseas academic institution.

Assessment

All modules are assessed by examination and/or coursework.

Teaching

The programme is delivered via a combination of lectures, seminars and small group tutorials.

Our graduates achieve notable success in the employment market, with many employed by the major surveying firms. There is a particularly strong alumni network in London, Glasgow and Edinburgh but job opportunities exist in local practices throughout the UK. For those students studying on the International Real Estate pathway, employment opportunities are wide ranging across the world.  An MSc Real Estate from the University of Aberdeen gives you a leading edge in securing a worthwhile career in the property industry.