Real Estate Development

Types of Degrees Real Estate Development Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many real estate development graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	207
Graduate Certificate	16

What Real Estate Development Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to real estate dev and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Real Estate Dev Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in real estate dev should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

Skills for Real Estate Dev Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to real estate dev:

• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Abilities for Real Estate Dev Majors

As a real estate dev major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Can You Do With a Real Estate Development Major?

People with a real estate dev degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Appraisers, Real Estate	14.4%	$54,980
Assessors	14.4%	$54,980
Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Managers	10.3%	$58,340
Real Estate Brokers	4.9%	$58,210
Real Estate Sales Agents	5.8%	$48,690
Social Sciences Professors	9.8%	$71,600
Urban and Regional Planners	12.8%	$73,050

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Real Estate Development?

This major tends to be male dominated. About 74% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of real estate dev majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	14
Black or African American	27
Hispanic or Latino	19
White	110
International Students	28
Other Races/Ethnicities	9

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Real Estate Dev. About 13.5% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• China
• Canada
• India
• South Korea
• Mexico

How Much Do Real Estate Development Majors Make?

Master’s Degree Starting Salary

According to 2019-2020 data from the U.S. Department of Education, students who graduated with a master’s degree in real estate dev have a median salary of $69,305 during the early years of their career. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $54,836 (25th percentile) and $90,239 (75th percentile).

It’s important to note that just because the people reporting these salaries have a degree in real estate dev, it does not mean that they are working in a job related to their degree.

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $61,870 to $78,940 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to real estate dev. This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Real Estate Development

Some degrees associated with real estate dev may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for real estate dev careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	1.9%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	16.4%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	6.3%
Some College Courses	11.8%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	10.5%
Bachelor’s Degree	25.6%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	2.0%
Master’s Degree	21.3%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	2.7%
Doctoral Degree	1.4%

Online Real Estate Development Programs

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 19 schools offered some type of real estate development program. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	0	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	0	0
Bachelor’s Degree	3	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	16	0
Post-Master’s	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Real Estate Development Worth It?

The median salary for a real estate dev grad is $71,730 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 80% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $636,600 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Real Estate Development

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to real estate dev.

Major	Number of Grads
Architectural Sciences & Technology	3,366
Urban & Regional Planning	1,613
General Architecture	1,096
Landscape Architecture	285
Interior Architecture	169
Environmental Design	114
Architectural History	45
Architecture (Other)	33

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New York under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.