MS in Real Estate Development

Our online low residency program is offered for students who are looking for more flexibility with their schedule. Classes are offered live online with other students online and in the classroom, and are recorded for flexibility. All students also meet in person once during the semester. This program is ideal for students who live outside the Philadelphia area as the in-person locations will vary throughout the region and country. Students are responsible for their own travel for residency—limited travel scholarships are available.

The MSRED Residency is a two to four day period once a semester, where all MSRED students (on campus and online) come together and explore Philadelphia or other cities. The Residency will include the opportunity to network with industry professionals, tour real project sites and neighborhoods, and learn from guest speakers through lectures, conferences and seminars. Each Residency will differ to build upon the program coursework and provide in-person experiences to all students, which may be hard to achieve online and during evening classes.

Yes! We encourage all our students to join us for these unique, in person experiences. This is a great opportunity to expand your network and learn in a new environment. All students are responsible for their own travel for residency—limited travel scholarships are available.

No, you can live anywhere as long as you can join us once a semester in person. Students should be aware of time zone differences as all courses are offered 6pm to 9pm EST and all online students are HIGHLY encouraged to take advantage of the synchronous classroom format. Travel is not included in your tuition.

Each course in the MSRED program is simultaneously offered on-campus and online, and taught at the same time (synchronously). Online students will use Zoom to enter the on-campus classroom with the faculty and on-campus students to engage in active dialogue with faculty and fellow students. All MSRED courses are offered during evening hours to accommodate working professionals. We strongly encourage all online students to attend synchronously, although exceptions can be made. The MSRED Online Low Residency option is not an asynchronous program.

No. The tuition for on campus and online low residency options are the same as all students will be interacting live with faculty and have the similar resources available through online Learning Management Systems. All students also have full access to the University’s resources, including libraries and advising, through the University website. 

The MSRED program offer numerous courses which can be found on the Curriculum page.

The MSRED faculty are a diverse group of practitioners across the field of real estate. Read about our faculty on our Faculty page. 

All applicants must have an undergraduate degree in any discipline. No experience in Real Estate is necessary but is recommended. All students must complete the application for Graduate Admissions, provide academic transcripts, current resume, two letters of recommendation and a personal essay. The GRE is not required. 

Scholarships and assistantships are available to all new and eligible applicants including Graduate Assistantships, Teaching Assistantships, Research Assistantships, Deans’ Scholarships, and International Institutional Partnership Scholarships. Students interested in travel scholarships for the MSRED Residency should contact the MSRED program director. 

Admission to the MS in Real Estate Development Program is rolling and remains open into the summer preceding. Applications are expected by May 1 for a Fall start, and October 1 for a Spring start. For the online program, applications are due seven days prior to the start of each semester, typically around late August or early January.

Graduate assistantship applications must be submitted by January 1 for the following Fall and September 1 for the following Spring Semesters. Assistantships are not typically awarded to students who are already in the program. Occasionally, a research project will emerge and students are recruited as a graduate research assistant.

Scholarship opportunities are available and are advertised to all on-campus students. Financial aid includes available loans which students may or may not qualify for. In addition, campus jobs do become available, but they are also competitive and so students should not assume a job will be automatically available. View the process for applying for an assistantship.

Philadelphia is a great city to live in with a rich history as the birthplace of the United States of America. It has a diverse, well-educated population and is a short train ride away from Washington, DC and New York City. Students coming from a foreign country should research different living options and rental rates. There are several apartments available within a short walk or bicycle ride to campus.

The program is designed for working professionals: those that have some experience in real estate development who are looking to add some additional skills sets to their resume, and individuals who are looking to make a career switch into real estate. As such, all classes are offered in the evenings during the week, typically from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Additionally, several courses are offered online to allow students additional flexibility in meeting their academic needs.

The program will notify students of professional internship opportunities, both in the public and private sectors. Job opportunities within the real estate industry are typically forwarded to students on a monthly basis.

Thomas Jefferson University is a Middle States Accredited Institution.

No. We did not see a correlation between high GRE scores and success in our program.

The prospects are extremely good in Philadelphia for real estate development opportunities. Students will be prepared with the skill sets to work for private real estate firms, nonprofit community development corporations or government economic development agencies. Each of these sectors is represented at the Jefferson Career Day. Additionally, Philadelphia is an especially good market for residential developers interested in doing complete gut rehabilitation work. In the third quarter of 2017, Philadelphia metro area flippers earned an average $95,875 gross profit, according to Attom. That’s a 114 percent return on investment — the third highest in the nation. (Attom defines the Philadelphia metro area to include Philadelphia, Chester, Bucks, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties in Pennsylvania; Camden, Gloucester, Burlington, and Salem Counties in New Jersey; New Castle County in Delaware; and Cecil County in Maryland. A flip is defined as any residential property bought by an investor and sold to an unrelated person within one year.)