The real estate landscape is evolving faster than ever. Capital markets, sustainability goals, and technology are redefining how cities grow and how organizations invest. To succeed in this environment, professionals must understand how to structure complex deals, model investment risk, and guide commercial real estate projects that shape communities.
This is where a Master of Science in Real Estate (MSRE) can strategically impact your trajectory in commercial real estate. Far beyond traditional industry entry points, an MSRE prepares graduates to analyze, finance and lead in an increasingly global and data-driven field.
Many professionals begin their real estate journey through brokerage, property management or financial analysis. These paths provide valuable hands-on experience in the operational and transactional side of real estate, a foundation that builds essential skills in negotiation, client service and deal execution. However, advancing into leadership roles often requires additional expertise to complement those strengths.
In today’s competitive and interconnected market organizations seek individuals who can see the full picture: how real estate connects to capital markets, infrastructure, sustainability, policy and supply and demand dynamics. A graduate education builds this broader perspective and opens doors to leadership.
The MSRE expands what it means to be a real estate professional. Students learn real estate finance to manage projects that transform neighborhoods and investment portfolios. The program bridges finance, law, development and economics, helping students move from tactical execution to shaping strategic vision.
Graduates emerge as trusted advisors and decision-makers, professionals who not only understand value creation but can influence it.
While licensing coursework may introduce simple comparable sales, MSRE students master discounted cash flow analysis, pro forma modeling risk-adjusted return evaluation. These tools are vital for analyzing multifamily, mixed-use and commercial investments where small variations can shift millions in value.
From entitlements to land-use law, large-scale projects demand fluency in complex regulatory frameworks. MSRE graduates learn how to secure approvals, negotiate with municipalities and structure agreements that align legal compliance with development goals.
By connecting demographic trends, capital flows policy changes, MSRE students learn to anticipate market cycles rather than react to them. This strategic view supports more informed investment and development decisions across asset classes.
Major developments and acquisitions require joint ventures, layered financing and public–private partnerships. Through case studies and simulations, students practice balancing investor, lender and community interests to close transformative deals.
With the rise of PropTech and ESG metrics, data fluency is nonnegotiable. MSRE graduates interpret geospatial data, sustainability indicators market analytics to drive evidence-based investment and design strategies.
Together, these competencies enable professionals to elevate from participants to leaders in the built environment, individuals who shape how cities and economies evolve.
USD’s MSRE opens career opportunities in real estate development:
Each of these roles requires a strategic mindset and technical mastery, qualities cultivated through graduate-level education. The industry is undergoing a structural shift. Real estate is now a professionalized global asset class, attracting institutional investors who expect financial and analytical rigor on par with corporate finance.
At the same time, new forces are reshaping how success is measured:
The industry is undergoing a structural shift. Real estate is now a professionalized global asset class, attracting institutional investors who expect financial and analytical rigor on par with corporate finance.
At the same time, new forces are reshaping how success is measured:
Professionals who understand these dynamics—and can translate them into actionable strategy—are those most equipped to lead the future of the industry.
The Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate (BMC) serves as the heart of USD’s real estate ecosystem. Its mission is to help recruit, educate, and mentor real estate students with the goal of facilitating their career pursuits in a socially responsible manner, with a global perspective and in collaboration with the real estate industry.
The Center accomplishes this mission through the support of outstanding faculty and professional staff, dedicated career services, scholarship offerings, active industry involvement and outreach, and cutting-edge research. These resources provide MSRE students with access to the regional and national real estate community, creating opportunities to learn directly from industry leaders.
Through the Burnham-Moores Center, students develop not only professional expertise but a sense of purpose, grounded in ethical leadership, collaboration, and a commitment to community impact.
The University of San Diego’s Master of Science in Real Estate program is built for complexity. Blending academic rigor with experiential learning and dedicated career development support through the Burnham-Moores Center, the MSRE program prepares students to analyze deals, structure capital, and manage development from vision to completion.
Through hands-on courses, live projects, and site tours, students gain insight into the full real estate lifecycle. Faculty are experienced professionals from finance, law, economics, and development, bringing real-world relevance to every classroom discussion.
Equally transformative is the program’s network. Students connect with regional and national leaders through USD’s industry partnerships, mentorship programs, and alumni network. These relationships often translate into internships, full-time roles, and lifelong professional connections.
Rooted in the university’s mission of ethical leadership and global citizenship, the MSRE program develops not just industry experts, but responsible stewards of the built environment.
The real estate journey begins with foundational knowledge and with the tools of an MSRE degree, can lead to visionary leadership. As the industry grows more data-driven, capital-intensive, and globally connected, professionals who understand how to model, finance, and lead projects at scale will define the future.
The University of San Diego’s Master of Science in Real Estate provides the framework, skills, and network to do just that. It’s more than a credential—it’s a commitment to shaping communities, advancing sustainability, and leading with purpose.
Ready to elevate your career? View a sample schedule and schedule an appointment to learn more!