Multi-disciplinary Real Estate Education: A Comparison of a US and European approach

Real Estate education in the US at the graduate level has has a 'bumpy' time in US academic institutions. Up until the year 2000 or so, most real estate was taught, if at all, in business schools as a finance/valuation proposition. There was little or no bow to the Graaskamp model of multi- and inter-disciplinary curriculum in recognition of the diverse disciplines that impact real estate and hence the need for a curriculum to match.In 2006 when the University of Maryland established it's Master of Real Estate Development [MRED] program it embraced the multi-disciplinary approach, and was the 7th program in the US based outside of a Business School, offering a more extensive (and broader based) education for real estate professionals. There are now more than 20 such programs in the US as well as multiple programs across Europe. Each program is quite unique and can be compared for differences in curriculum, pedagogy, delivery method (executive, on line, face to face), student background preparation, emphasis on professional skills development, as well as type of faculty (research, clinical, professional) and desired outcomes/positions for students.This paper compares two programs with similar objectives but very different delivery methods -- one in the US (Maryland) the other in Bucharest, Romania. The Maryland program is now 9 years old and has evolved with a parallel emphasis on financial competency as well as professional skills development. The Advanced Studies in Urbanism and Real Estate Development (ASURED) established in 2014 is affiliated with the 'Ion Mincu' University of Architecture and Urban Planning and is accredited by RICS. This paper will address what are the common, as well as dissimilar, elements of each program and provide a further basis for consideration of educational standard setting in real estate education, both in US and Europe.