The Rutgers Board of Governors has approved a new Bachelor of Science degree in Real Estate, officially announced in a press release on October 13. This degree will be available to students at Rutgers Business School’s campuses in Newark and New Brunswick.
The program is designed for those interested in property management and development. Students will learn about various aspects of real estate, including project development, funding, and management practices.
As demand for real estate expertise has increased, the degree will build upon existing courses offered by the Rutgers Center of Real Estate. Current students enrolled in relevant courses could potentially earn this new degree by May 2028.
Rutgers Business School, the flagship public business school in New Jersey, has been providing an undergraduate minor and concentration in real estate since 2015. The new major will leverage this foundation and give students the opportunity to connect with industry professionals and gain hands-on experience.
The business school also offers an MBA concentration in real estate through both its full-time and part-time programs. Qualified New Jersey residents can apply for full-tuition scholarships in the Full-Time MBA program.
Morris A. Davis, the Paul V. Profeta Chair of Real Estate and a professor of finance and economics at Rutgers Business School, highlighted the program’s appeal. “Many students learn after having a class or two in the real estate program at Rutgers — a world-class program, with instructors that are well-known, top academics, and top global professionals — that they wish to learn as much as possible and pursue commercial real estate acquisition, financing, or development as a career,” he said.
Davis also noted that the new major sends a strong message about the preparedness of Rutgers graduates, stating, “The real estate major signals to the very competitive marketplace that Rutgers students are trained, knowledgeable, and ready to work at the top real estate and real estate-adjacent firms in the state, the area, nationwide, and globally.”
Lei Lei, dean of Rutgers Business School, connected the degree to economic factors in New Jersey, emphasizing the state’s corporate landscape. “Because of New Jersey’s high density of corporate headquarters, massive industrial logistics hubs, and booming transit-oriented residential developments, offering a major in real estate at Rutgers will provide a strong talent pipeline to meet the needs of the state’s economy,” Lei said.
The Rutgers Center for Real Estate has awarded over 800 scholarships totaling more than $2.3 million to 373 students, supported by donors and corporate sponsors such as Dynamic Engineering Consultants, PC, EisnerAmper, Sills Cummis & Gross, and Walker & Dunlop.
Several recent graduates have successfully entered the real estate industry, including David Choi, who founded a Newark-based real estate private equity firm in 2019. The firm’s holdings are now valued at approximately $60 million.
