MSc Real Estate

Location

Royal Agricultural University Campus

Duration

1 year (full time) or 2+ years (part time)

Academic Year

Commences 30 September 2024

The real estate profession underpins a dynamic economy, and has significant sustainability and energy security implications.

Course overview

Whether you wish to pursue a career in commercial, residential, or industrial property, you will develop your technical and professional skills, networks, and confidence. You will benefit from site visits and expert speakers.

Subjects you will cover include acquisitions, sales, commercial lettings, development and management of property interests and investments, town and country planning, and building construction.

This rigorous and challenging programme equips students with the intellectual mind-set, vocationally orientated knowledge and professional competencies to evaluate markets, property investments and development projects. If you have professional real estate career aspirations it prepares you to enter practice.

Fully accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), this course is an established route to a professional career in mixed practice real estate of other sectors, depending on your career aspirations. Part-time students already in relevant work may apply for APC registration upon enrolment.

If you are interested in finding out more about the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), they have produced this short video highlighting their recent work.

Course content

The MSc is studied full-time over 12 months or part-time over two years. To facilitate part-time delivery, where practical, most lectures are concentrated on two intensive full days. However, students are also expected to undertake site visits and engage in other learning activities.

Students study nine modules including Research. Students study four modules in the first (autumn) semester followed by four modules in the second (spring) semester. Research is taught throughout the year so students can submit their dissertation in September.

For the dissertation, students can specialise in International, Residential, Rural, Development, Finance, Heritage or other areas as agreed by the module leader and potential supervisor. Research guidance includes lectures and a research day, involving practical classes on, for example, NVivo, SPSS etc. Students engage in a blended range of lectures, live scenario case studies, site visits (including a trip to London), group assessments and technical interactive workshops. Teaching and learning takes place in small groups and is enriched by site visits, industry speakers and a wide range of current electronic materials, including CoStar, BCIS, EGi, Argus* and RICS Red Book. You will also use Excel and statistical programs.

Working in real estate calls for good teamwork, and students develop this essential skill via interactive discussions, collaborative projects and industry exposure. Modules are assessed through case studies, research paper seminars, group presentations, online exercises, valuation computations, written reports, oral examinations and other tasks.

*Professional Argus accreditation is facilitated via Argus Enterprise and Developer University Student Certification Packages

The in-person teaching sessions are timetabled on Wednesdays and Thursdays each week for the full year (both semesters) which allows you to fulfil other commitments you may have, such as work, family and interests.  For part-time students the sessions are timetabled on one day per week only.

The modules available for this course are shown below. They may change for your year of study as we regularly review our module offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Modules

  • 4245 Construction and Project Management: Critically analyse contemporary construction technologies and building services for domestic construction (housing) and commercial construction in relation to structures, sustainable development, and high environmental performance (new build)
  • 4246 Professional Practice: Develop a working knowledge of the law relating to agency and professional practice
  • 4248 Investment and Development Appraisal: Develop financial literacy through discussion on accounting processes
  • 4249 Asset Management: Understand the strategic management of corporate real estate assets and how property strategy is often the enabler for change to reach corporate goals
  • 4740 Property and Law in Context: Understand the application of the law to real estate scenarios and situations
  • 4741 Valuation: Identify and execute the appropriate method of valuation to meet a range of client requirements
  • 4742 Planning and Development: Determine and evaluate property and land management institutional frameworks, mechanisms and constraints as they relate to planning theory, law and process relating to the UK
  • 4743 Advanced Valuation: Accurately measure property to IPMS standards
  • 4414 Dissertation: Undertake an independent research project with guidance from a supervisor

Disclaimer information

The University has established various rules and regulations that you must agree to and follow if you accept an offer to study with us. View our full disclaimer notice.

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Careers and graduate destinations

Real estate professionals are in great demand and the University has achieved high levels of success in placing graduates in major urban and rural real estate companies and advisory practices. Key areas include:​
  • Valuation and surveying
  • Property investment and asset management
  • Corporate real estate/facilities management
  • Residential and commercial agency
  • Town and country planning
  • Development
  • Property management

"It's a really broad course. We've covered everything including construction, project management, investment, valuations, planning, pretty much every aspect of the property industry."

Heath Jackson, Student

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Entry requirements

An Undergraduate Honours Degree (2:2 or above) from a UK university or overseas equivalent, or a professional qualification and/or experience considered to be equivalent to the above. For information on international qualifications, please, see our country specific pages. For countries not listed please contact admissions@rau.ac.uk.

We welcome applications from applicants with non-standard qualifications who are able to demonstrate knowledge, experience (in real estate practice) and skills developed in the workplace or elsewhere and which are relevant to the programme of study. Applicants will need to use their personal statement to provide further details supported by a CV. All non-standard applications will be considered by the Programme Manager on a case-by-case basis and applicants can expect that an interview may be required as part of the admissions process.

If English is not your first language, you will need to reach the requirements outlined in our English language requirements for the level of study. For postgraduate taught programmes this is IELTS Academic min. overall 6.5 with no element below 5.5(or equivalent). English language tests usually have a validity of two years from the date the test is taken.

Offers will typically be made in line with the academic requirements set out above. Offers can be conditional or unconditional. An unconditional offer will be made to applicants who have already met the conditions and provided evidence that conditions have been met. Where academic or language requirements have not yet been fulfilled, applicants will receive a conditional offer stating the requirements that must be met. 

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Fees

Tuition fees cover the cost of a student’s academic studies. This usually includes teaching costs, registration and examination fees (not repeat or trailing module fees, or dissertation extensions).

2024-25 Applicants

For the academic year 2024-25 the tuition fees for this course are:  

  UK Overseas/EU
Full-time £10,950 per year £18,050 per year
Part-time Fees are calculated on a pro-rata basis depending on the number of modules taken. Please refer to Tuition Fees webpage Fees are calculated on a pro-rata basis depending on the number of modules taken. Please refer to Tuition Fees webpage

Tuition fees may be subject to an inflationary increase each year as set out in our Access and Participation Plan 2019/20.

For full details, please visit the fees and funding webpage.

Please note:  International students can study on a part-time basis only if they are in the UK with a different type of visa (other than Student Visa/Tier 4 General) that allows them to undertake part-time study and their visa does not expire prior to the end date of the proposed course of study.

Scholarships

The University offers a range of generous fee waivers and bursaries. To find out more about the scholarships, awards and bursaries available, please visit the scholarships webpage.

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