What Fall Classes Tell Us About Real Estate

At the NYU School of Professional Studies Schack Institute of Real Estate master’s program, there are 40 more new students than last fall (a 7% increase), divisional dean Rosemary Scanlon told us yesterday. She expects a total of 630 enrolled in the Master of Science in Construction Management, Master of Science in Real Estate (finance and investment), and five-year-old Master of Real Estate Development programs. That last one is hot (166 students) now that the economy has kicked into gear, demand for housing of all types is intense, and megadevelopments like the WTC and Far West Side are moving forward.

Rosemary also tells us globalism is influencing Schack—located in Tishman Speyer’s 11 W 42nd St opposite Bryant Park (we snapped the building this morning). 43% of applicants were from abroad, a trend that sparked in ’07 then died with the downturn. Most are from China, India, and Latin America, though more corners of Europe are also producing students who want to learn about real estate in the heart of it all. Many would like to work in New York, considering the capital flowing this direction.

Here's a class in action. The biggest change is the opportunity for students to take more electives, such as newly added Urban Economic Development and New Technology for the Construction Industry. Rosemary says they can opt for seven-week intensive courses (typical classes are 14 weeks), allowing for as many as four electives rather than the standard two. The option is Schack’s response to students seeking a broader education, which in part owes to the rise of mixed-use development.