University of St. Thomas

When asked what one word best describes the real estate studies major at St. Thomas, a faculty member replied, “rewarding.”

A real student asks:

 

Real estate has always interested me, so what skills are necessary to become a real estate agent? What other jobs can I seek with this major?

A real estate studies faculty member responds: To be a successful residential real estate agent, a person needn’t have a 4-year college degree, but must be very organized, patient and detail-oriented. The B.S. program in real estate studies at UST positions students to be successful commercial real estate experts in fields such as appraisal, property planning and commercial brokerage and leasing. Typical job titles are appraiser, real estate investment analyst, financial due diligence specialist, right of way agent, leasing agent, industrial broker and project manager.

What jobs are possible with a Real Estate Studies major?

What are recent graduates doing now?

Ben Applebaum ’04, joined WelshInvest as an analyst in early 2004, underwriting potential transactions. He quickly assumed a more active role in real estate acquisitions as an associate. In 2007, Applebaum was promoted to his current position as vice president of acquisitions. Since joining the company, he has completed more than $700 million in acquisitions and assisted in the structuring of three private equity funds and several joint venture transactions. He also sources, structures, negotiates and closes real estate investment transactions.

What opportunities are there to bolster my resume while I'm in the program?

Internships. Internships are crucial to learning, and we encourage students to start working on obtaining an internship by their junior year. Numerous internship opportunities are available for students in the fields of appraisal, assessing, investment analysis, financial due diligence, rights of way agreement management, commercial brokerage and leasing, property development and project management.

Study abroad. Although we do not have a formal study abroad program, we recently initiated a new J-Term sequence for international real estate education. In 2007 we offered a course titled History of Real Estate Development, which was held in Italy and studied the progression of real estate development and planning on the Italian peninsula from 700 B.C.E to the present. In 2008 we will offer a course in George Town, Cayman Islands which will study the Ministry of Planning and Development’s regional development plan. Subsequent years will most likely see an alternating pattern between Europe and the Caribbean, as well as China and India as their real estate markets expand. Because we live in a “flat” world with international money financing worldwide real estate investment and development, students would be wise to take advantage of learning about real estate processes outside the United States.

Faculty at work

Students in real estate courses beyond Real Estate Principles conduct in-depth real estate studies. Faculty members who work directly with local real estate experts guide students in these projects, giving them the opportunity to produce a work product similar to what they will produce in their jobs after graduating. For example, students prepare an actual appraisal report in the Appraisal course, a development project plan in the Real Estate Development course and a property management plan in the Property Management course.