UNCC launches Masters of Science in Real Estate degree

UNC Charlotte  UNC Charlotte Latest from The Business Journals A research institution’s reachTop execs on key issues in the newsThe candidate(s) Follow this company has launched a Master of Science in Real Estate degree at its Belk College of Business. The program will begin in August.

The interdisciplinary degree was approved by the UNC System's board of governors on Friday, and recruiting for the first class has begun.

"In good times and bad, the commercial real estate industry is one of the key drivers of the economy," Steve Ott, dean of the Belk College of Business, says in a release. "There will always be a need for specially trained employees to manage the complexities of real estate finance, development and construction."

Ott is the founding director of the Center for Real Estate at UNC Charlotte. He became dean in January and has appointed Dustin Read as his successor. In addition to heading the Center for Real Estate, Read will serve as the faculty director for the new MSRE program.

The school hopes to recruit an inaugural class of 12 to 15 full-time and part-time students for the new degree and build to an enrollment of between 15 and 20 students each year. Students will take classes that include law and land-use policy, finance and investment, construction management and financial management.