Real Estate

Semester One: Fall

• CRP 5370 - Real Estate Seminar Series (crosslisted) (0.5 Credits)
• CRP 5560 - Creating the Built Environment (crosslisted) (1.5 Credits)
• CRP 5561 - Innovation and Strategy in Commercial Real Estate Development (crosslisted) (1.5 Credits)
• HADM 6200 - Principles of Real Estate (crosslisted) (3 Credits)
• REAL 6640 - Management Communication (3 Credits)
• NCC 5560 - Managerial Finance (3 Credits)

Semester Two: Spring

• CRP 5320 - Real Estate Development Process I (crosslisted) (1.5 Credits)
• CRP 5321 - Real Estate Development Process II (crosslisted) (1.5 Credits)
• CRP 5370 - Real Estate Seminar Series (crosslisted) (0.5 Credits)
• CRP 5590 - Land Use Law (crosslisted) (4 Credits)
• REAL 6205 - Real Estate Financial Modeling (3 Credits)
• HADM 6280 - Real Estate Finance and Investments (3 Credits)

• Elective Credits - Maximum of 5 Credits

Semester Three: Fall

• CEE 5950 - Construction Planning and Operations (crosslisted) (3 Credits)
• CRP 5370 - Real Estate Seminar Series (crosslisted) (0.5 Credits)
• CRP 6565 - International Cases and Contracts (crosslisted) (2 Credits)
• CRP 6580 - Residential and Commercial Development (crosslisted) (4 Credits)
• REAL 6230 - Real Estate Statistical Modeling

• (1.5 Credits)

• HADM 6870 - Real Estate Law (3 Credits)

• Elective Credit - Maximum of 5 Credits

Semester Four: Spring

• Elective Credit - Minimum of 6.5 Credits

International Real Estate

Real estate opportunities exist around the world for those with a master’s degree and advanced knowledge of the industry; keen understanding of the international environment including management, communication, trade, financial, and legal strategies; and the willingness to work across borders.

Key areas of interest

• International finance
• International marketing
• Cross-cultural management
• International economics

Total credit hours: 12 minimum, chosen from the following list:

• CRP 5076  – International Planning and Development Workshop.
• NBA 5130  – International Finance Cases
• NBA 5540  – International Finance
• NBA 6380  – Finance and Sustainable Global Enterprise Colloquium
• AEM 6960  – Perspectives in International Development
• AEM 7670  – Topics in International Finance

Real Estate Consulting and Market Analysis

Consulting, advisory services, and real estate market analysis rely on quantitative and analytical skills. The services span a wide diversity of activities within real estate, ranging from brokerage services to acquisitions and valuation services to financial advising. The growth of advisory services, notably through large companies such as Jones Lang LaSalle, CBRE, and others, illustrates the trend toward outsourcing activities in the increasingly complex real estate industry. Advisory services provide a diversity of opportunity, and demand a commitment to working in a variety of contexts and the ability to collaborate simultaneously with a large number of groups.

Key areas of interest:

• Statistics
• Econometrics
• Database management
• Financial analysis
• Marketing
• Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
• Graphical and presentation skills

Total credits: 12 minimum, chosen from the following list:

• CRP 5080  – Introduction to GIS for Planners
• CRP 5555  – Environmental Impact Review
• CRP 6270  – Regional Economic Impact Analysis
• CRP 6560  – Real Estate Transactions and Deal Structuring
• NBA 5090  – Advanced Financial Statement Analysis
• NBA 5690  – Management Consulting Essentials
• NBA 5780 – Problem Solving Process for Consultants
• NBA 5940  – Mergers and Acquisitions – Accounting, Modeling and Evaluation of deals
• NBA 6060  – Evaluating Capital Investment Projects
• NBA 6200  – Marketing Research

Property, Asset, and Portfolio Management

Property managers, asset managers, and portfolio managers have the responsibility for maximizing the performance and value of both individual assets and the behavior of these assets in a portfolio. They are responsible for formulating and implementing long-range portfolio strategies from which individual asset management strategies devolve. While asset managers typically focus on single properties within the real estate portfolio, portfolio managers are responsible for the fund as a whole or the real estate fund within a larger mixed asset portfolio. Property managers narrow their focus to operation and management of specific assets.

Key areas of interest:

• Asset management
• Facility management
• Negotiations
• Unit-level property finance
• Human resource management
• Leadership

Total credits: 12 minimum, chosen from the following list:

• HADM 6255  – Real Estate Development
• HADM 6271  – Investment in Real Estate Securities and Funds
• HADM 6470  – Consumer Behavior
• HADM 6520  – Hospitality Asset Management
• HADM 7510  – Properties Development and Planning
• HADM 6055 – Hospitality, Health and Design Industry Immersion Seminar
• NBA 5120  – Applied Portfolio Management
• NBA 6950  – Game Theory and Business Strategy
• AEM 6580   – The Economics and Psychology of Sustainable Business
• AEM 5280  – Valuation of Capital Investment
• AEM 6440  – Consumer Behavior
• CRP 6560  – Real Estate Transactions and Deal Structuring

Development and Sustainability

Developing real estate is among the most entrepreneurial and rewarding activities undertaken by real estate professionals. To be a successful developer, individuals and firms must be able to read market behavior to properly time completion of projects, manage financial risks, negotiate contracts, integrate new spaces into the existing environment, and follow land-use regulations. Most real estate developers are local businesses, but some very successful international firms such as Hines Property Group and Related create large and highly complex spaces.

Key areas of interest:

• Development process
• Finance
• Negotiations
• Physical asset planning
• Construction management
• Sustainable building

Total credits: 12 minimum, chosen from the following list:

• HADM 6255  – RE Development
• HADM 7510  – Properties Development and Planning
• CRP 5072  – Land Use, Environmental Planning and Urban Design Workshop.
• CRP 5076  – International Planning and Development Workshop.
• CRP 5080  – Introduction to GIS for Planners
• CRP 5555  – Environmental Impact Review
• CRP 5660  – Planning and Preservation Practice: Urban Field Trip
• CRP 5840  – Green Cities
• CRP 6430  – Affordable Housing Policy and Programs.
• CRP 6560  – RE Transactions and Deal Structuring.
• CRP 6630  – Historic Preservation Law
• CRP 6860  – Planning for Sustainable Transportation
• LA 7010  – Urban Design and Planning
• NTRES 6240  – Sustainable Water Resource Management in the Face of Climate Change
• HADM 6470  – Consumer Behavior
• HADM 6570  – Project Management for Hospitality RE Development
• CRP 5563  – RE Project Workshop.
• CRP 5861  – Graphic Communications

Real Estate Finance and Investments

Debt and equity capital flows are essential for a well-functioning real estate market. Banks, life companies, and other institutions underwrite real estate loans involving existing property transaction, renovations, and ground-up development. Equity investors from individuals to multi-billion dollar REITs go through meticulous due-diligence processes to ensure that money allocated to real estate produces returns greater than or commensurate with the risks.

Total credits: 12 minimum, chosen from the following list:

• HADM 6210  – Hospitality RE Finance
• HADM 6250  – Securitization and Structured Financial Products
• HADM 6271  – Investment in RE Securities and Funds
• NBA 5040  – Federal Income Taxation of Real Estate Ventures
• NBA 5540  – International Finance
• NBA 5060  – Financial Statement Analysis
• NBA 5120  – Applied Portfolio Management
• NBA 5130  – International Finance Cases
• NBA 5245  – Introduction to Macroeconomics
• NBA 5305  – Entrepreneurial Finance: Valuation and Term Sheet Design
• NBA 5370  – Intensive Private Equity Practicum
• NBA 5420  – Investment and Portfolio Management
• NBA 5531  – Federal Income Taxation
• NBA 5540  – International Finance
• NBA 5580  – Corporate Financial Policy
• NBA 5980  – Behavioral Finance
• NBA 6430  – Managerial Spreadsheet Modeling
• NBA 5590  – The Venture Capital Industry and Private Equity Markets
• NBA 6380  – Finance and Sustainable Global Enterprise Colloquium

Independent Concentrations

Recent independent concentrations have covered specialties including:

• Senior housing development
• International hospitality investment
• International corporate real estate
• Private real estate investment trust (REIT) consulting
• Health care office real estate
• Sustainable urban infill development financing

Required course(s) and elective courses needed to fulfill the requirements of an independent concentration come from discussions between the student, faculty advisor, and the director of graduate studies.

Minimum Grade Point Standards:

• A cumulative grade point average of 2.75 must be maintained.
  • Any student with a Graduate Teaching Research Specialist (GTRS) appointment must maintain a minimum 3.25 GPA.  
  • Any student with a grant or fellowship appointment must maintain a minimum 3.25 GPA.
• No grade below a C will be counted toward the 62-credit hour minimum for the Baker Program in Real Estate Masters of Professional Studies degree.
• A passing grade below a C in a required course will still constitute completion of that course requirement, but the credit hours for that course will not count toward the 62 required credits for graduation. If a grade lower than a C is received in a required course, an additional course must be taken which reinforces the subject matter of the required course.  Such additional course(s) will be subject to advisor approval.
• No more than 6 credit hours of grades of C or C+ will be counted toward meeting the 62 credit hour requirement. Partial credit from a course could be used to meet this 6 hour credit maximum.  If a student has received a C in two 4-credit courses, for example, only 6 of these 8 credits can count toward the 62 credit hour requirement.

Academic Deficiency:

A GPA below 2.75 in any semester will cause the student to be subject to action by the academic standards committee of the real estate field.  Such action could be a warning, final warning, mandatory leave of absence, or a mandatory withdrawal from the Baker Program in Real Estate.  Action with respect to any student who fails to meet minimum GPA standards will be taken by the academic standards committee and communicated to the student in writing by the director of graduate studies.  A copy will be sent to the student’s advisor.  The student may be asked to meet with the Academic Standards Committee.  The following actions may be taken:

• Warning: Improvement in academic performance must be attained or possible further action will be necessary.
• Final Warning: Unless the minimum required cumulative GPA is achieved in the following semester, mandatory leave or mandatory withdrawal is probable.
• Mandatory Leave of Absence: A student under mandatory leave of absence may not return to the Baker Program in Real Estate for a specified period of time.
• Mandatory Withdrawal: A student who is required to withdraw is not eligible for readmission to the Baker Program in Real Estate.

Pass/Fail Grade Options:

All core MPS real estate courses must be taken for a letter grade, with the exception of CRP 5370 Real Estate Seminar Series, which must be taken pass/fail or satisfactory/unsatisfactory.  In addition, courses applied toward concentration and management and leadership elective requirements must be taken for a letter grade if that option exists.  Free electives may be taken pass/fail.  Subject to the above requirements, any courses taken in addition to the 62 credits needed for graduation may also be taken pass/fail.  No course audits are permitted.

Incomplete Grade:

A grade of Incomplete (INC) is given when a student is unable to finish the work for a course on time due to extenuating circumstances. In order to receive a grade of INC, the student must have substantial equity in the course (i.e., completed 50% of work to date and be currently passing). The final decision as to whether a grade of INC will be given rests with the instructor. If the work is completed within the designated time period agreed upon by the instructor and student, the INC will be changed to a regular grade on the student’s official transcript. If the work is not completed within the designated time period, the grade of INC will automatically be converted to an F. Once a student has completed their work in an “INC” course, a grade will replace the “INC”, with an “*” denoting that the grade was updated after the official end of the semester.  A student may not graduate with an INC on their transcript.

No Grade Recorded (NGR):

A grade of NGR is given when a professor has not assigned a final grade to the student.  If you receive an NGR, contact the professor to resolve the situation and get the grade posted.  A student may not graduate with an NGR.

Audits/V Grade:

A V grade means you have enrolled in a course to audit the course, not get a grade. Auditing courses are not permitted for Baker students. A student may not graduate with a V on their transcript.

Graduate Level Coursework:

All coursework for the Baker program must graduate-level courses, 5000-level and above, to fulfill your Baker graduate degree requirements. Please note that many SHA undergraduate courses are cross-listed with a graduate-level option, which you will need to enroll in.  You may take a course under 5000-level but it cannot be applied toward your 62 credits for your Baker degree.

Credit Limit:

All Baker students are limited to 18.5 credits of coursework (“credit cap”) each semester.  Your credit cap is increased based upon your cumulative GPA in the program. After each semester in the program, you may request an increase in your credit cap based upon your cumulative GPA (grade point average):  

Fall Semester: 1st Semester in Baker Program:

• Students are limited to 18.5 credits of enrolled coursework, including S/U courses and excluding PE courses, so that they may establish academic priorities, and find a balance between studies, networking, career search and personal time.
• Pre-enrollment for new students is typically in July.  Students will pre-enrollment themselves in 14 credits of required core courses and may take up to 4.5 credits of elective course work their first semester.
• In order to complete your Baker degree in four semesters, you will need to complete an average of 15.5 credits of coursework in each of your four semesters that may be counted towards your degree requirements.
• Students who have not completed the MBA Math course by the beginning of the first semester or any other required prerequisites may be limited to enrollment of 14 credits of core courses during the first semester.  In these cases, the Registrar’s office will administratively drop students from any elective course enrollment.

Spring Semester:  2nd Semester in the Baker Program:

• Because pre-enrollment occurs before your Fall GPA is known, you will be limited to 18.5 credits during pre-enrollment (13.5 credits of required core courses and 5 credits of electives).
• When the fall semester is complete and your GPA is known, you may review the chart above to determine if you qualify to add more credits based upon our cumulative GPA.
• If you qualify to add more credits, you will do so during the Add/Drop period which typically begins one week prior to the start of the spring semester.  Instructions for increasing your credit cap can be found at the end of this document.

Fall and Spring Semesters:  3rd and 4th Semesters in the Baker Program:

• Students who have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or above from their first fall semester may pre-enroll for their second fall semester in excess of 18.5 credits based upon their GPA.  Pre-enrollment for the fall typically occurs in April.
  • For your 3rd semester, fall, you have 14 credits of core courses and 4.5 credits of electives.
  • For your 4th and final semester, spring, you have 18.5 of elective credits
• Your credit cap may be adjusted up or down based upon your cumulative GPA after each semester.
• If you qualify to add more credits, you will do so during the Add/Drop period which typically begins one week prior to the start of each semester.  Instructions for increasing your credit cap can be found below.

To enroll in more than 18.5 credits: 
Students who wish to exercise their option to enroll in more than 18.5 credits for a semester must:

E-mail the department requesting an increase to your credit cap.  E-mails must be sent at least TWO BUSINESS DAYS PRIOR to the start of pre-enrollment or Add/Drop, whichever applies, based on the GPA chart above.  The registrar will adjust your credit cap based upon the chart.

To Request an Exception to the GPA Chart Credit Limit:

• Note that very few exceptions will be granted. The rule is that if you want to be able to increase the maximum credit enrollment permitted, you must get your cumulative GPA within the requirements. The cutoffs have been carefully determined to allow extra credits to a reasonable number of students.
• You may complete a General Petition, found on your Baker Resources Class of 2023 Canvas site under “Forms and Petitions”, to exceed the credit limit in the GPA chart above if they do not meet the requirements
• (example:  your GPA is 3.4 but you want to take 20 credits).
• Petitions must be received at least TWO WEEKS prior to the start of pre-enrollment or Add/Drop.
• Petitions will only be considered when new and compelling rationale has been given (i.e., how the courses which necessitated the credit cap increase are needed for the student’s specialization, extenuating circumstances that prevented the student for doing their best in a particular course, etc.).

Repeating Courses and Transfer Credit:

Baker Program students may not repeat courses (take the same course more than once) unless it is academically necessary.  The exception is CRP 5370 Distinguished Speaker Series which you must take for your first 3 semesters for 0.5 credits each.

Once admitted, you cannot transfer graduate course credit from another program or institution, or from an undergraduate degree, and apply it to your Baker degree.

Residency Requirement:

Students must complete four semesters in residence at Cornell University, enrolling in a minimum of 12 credits each semester (keeping in mind the Baker Program requirement of 62 credits needed over four semesters). As with most graduate-level degrees, it is not possible to transfer residency from other universities.  Students enrolled in the MRP/MPSRE dual degree have a residency requirement of three semesters with the Baker Program.