Studies & Degrees in Real Estate
Real Estate Study Programs
Real estate as a subject deals with land and buildings as assets: how property is valued, financed, developed, bought and sold, leased and managed, and which laws apply to each step. The Fisher College of Business of The Ohio State University sums up its real estate specialisation as finance, investment and market analysis brought together to understand how properties are valued, developed, managed and exchanged.
A typical programme covers real estate principles, property law, finance, economics, appraisal (valuation) and professional practice. American River College in California, for example, builds its associate degree on exactly those courses, next to accounting, business law and marketing.
Qualifications and levels
Real estate can be studied at almost every level, and the right one depends on the job and the country.
- Licensing courses and certificates. In the United States every state requires real estate brokers and sales agents to be licensed. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, they typically need a high school diploma, a number of real estate courses and a licensing exam, and some states waive the pre-licensing courses for candidates who have taken college courses in real estate. Community colleges teach these courses: McLennan Community College in Texas offers a Real Estate Licensure Certificate of six courses approved by the Texas Real Estate Commission, and Alamance Community College prepares students for the North Carolina Real Estate Commission licensing exam. Ferris State University offers an undergraduate Real Estate Certificate.
- Associate degrees. American River College offers an A.A. in Real Estate and a shorter certificate; the degree is designed to qualify students for the California broker and salesperson licence examinations.
- Bachelor's degrees. In US universities real estate is usually a major or specialisation inside a business degree. The Real Estate B.B.A. of the University of North Texas takes an estimated four years and 120 credit hours.
- Master's degrees. Specialised master's programmes exist for graduates; Temple University's Fox School of Business, for instance, launched a Master of Science in Real Estate in 2021.
- France. The BTS Professions Immobilières is a two-year national diploma at level 5 (bac +2). SupExup, which teaches it in Montpellier, Béziers and Narbonne, states that it makes holders eligible for the French professional cards for property transactions and management (carte T and carte G).
- Spain. Real estate is mostly offered as master's programmes and professional courses. Official university master's degrees have 60, 90 or 120 ECTS credits; a Máster de Formación Permanente is a university's own continuing education qualification. Ask each school which of the two it awards and what recognition it has.
Where to study
SpainExchange lists 43 active schools for real estate. Thirty are in the United States, four in Spain and two in Australia; Italy, France, the United Kingdom, Canada, Argentina, Brazil and South Korea have one each. The US schools include The Ohio State University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Temple University, Florida Atlantic University, San Diego State University and the University of North Texas, together with community colleges such as American River College, McLennan Community College, Alamance Community College and Bergen Community College. In Spain the list includes the Instituto Superior de Derecho y Economía (ISDE) in Barcelona, the online business school INESEM and Formas Almería. Elsewhere it includes the University of British Columbia, Bocconi University in Milan, FAAP in São Paulo, Holmesglen in Australia and SupExup in France.
Property law, taxes and licences are national or even regional, so a programme prepares mainly for the market it is taught in. The language of instruction is normally the language of that country.
Careers
Graduates work as sales and leasing agents, brokers, appraisers, property managers, mortgage loan officers and analysts for banks and developers; the University of North Texas lists these roles for its graduates. In the United Kingdom the profession is organised around surveying: RICS, the professional body, counts more than 100 different types of surveyor in property, land, construction and infrastructure.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 530,600 real estate brokers and sales agents in 2025 and projects employment to grow 2 percent from 2025 to 2035. For property, real estate and community association managers it projects growth of 4 percent, and for property appraisers and assessors, who typically need a bachelor's degree, 3 percent over the same period.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a degree to become a real estate agent in the United States?
No. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, agents typically need a high school diploma, the required real estate courses and a state licence. Many agents and brokers nevertheless hold a bachelor's degree.
How long does a real estate degree take?
It depends on the level. The Real Estate B.B.A. of the University of North Texas takes about four years, and the French BTS Professions Immobilières takes two years.
Is a real estate licence valid in another country?
Licences are issued under local rules; in the United States each state issues its own. Check with the authority of the place where you plan to work before choosing a programme.
What will I study in a real estate programme?
Usually real estate principles, property law, finance, economics, valuation and professional practice, often alongside general business subjects such as accounting and marketing.