Cox Career Management Center

Real Estate Finance

Curriculum

The Real Estate Finance major combines the study of finance and real estate to develop special competency in real estate law, structuring real estate transactions, real estate valuation techniques, and an in-depth understanding of the mortgage markets.

General Education Curriculum

Students graduating from Southern Methodist University must successfully complete courses in written English, quantitative reasoning, information technology, and science and technology.  In addition, recognizing the rapidly changing sources of knowledge, students are asked to take courses in both disciplinary and interdisciplinary studies.  Finally, our students must choose a major field of study offered in one of the four undergraduate schools.

Total General Education Curriculum Hours: 41 hours

  1. Fundamentals
  2. Rhetoric (written English) - 6 hours
  3. Mathematical Sciences - 3 hours
  4. Information Technology - 3 hours
  5. Wellness - 2 hours
  6. Science and Technology - 6 hours

(Students must take two courses in Science and Technology; at least one must be in the field of biology, chemistry, geological sciences, physics, or ENCE 1331, and no more than one may be from the other Science and Technology category.)

  1. Perspectives - 15 hours
  2. Cultural Formations - 6 hours
  3. Human Diversity - 3 hours (co-curricular hours)

Business Core Courses

Each SMU BBA major consists of an eleven course business core and an additional major-specific component.

  1. Fundamentals of Accounting I (ACCT 2301)
  2. Fundamentals of Accounting II (ACCT 2302)
  3. Managerial Statistics (ITOM 2305 or STAT 2301, 2331, 4340 or 5340)
  4. Information Systems for Management (ITOM 2308)
  5. Business Communication and Leader Development (BLI 3302)
  6. Financial Management (FINA 3320)
  7. Operations Management (ITOM 3306)
  8. Legal Environment and Ethics (BL 3335)
  9. Management of Organizations (MNO 3370)
  10. Fundamentals of Marketing (MKTG 3340)
  11. Strategic Management in a Global Economy (STRA 5370) or Entrepreneurship - Starting a Business (CISB 5397)

Real Estate Core

  • Real Estate Fundamentals (RE 3381)
  • Real Estate Law (RE 4338)
  • Real Estate Finance (RE 4389)
  • Real Estate Markets and Valuation (RE 4382)

Two Business electives. The following courses are recommended:

  • Money and Capital Markets (FINA 3330)
  • Advanced Financial Management (FINA 4325)
  • Investment Analysis and Portfolio Management (FINA 4326)
  • Business Modeling with Spreadsheets (ACCT/ITOM 4307) 
  • Speculative Markets (FINA 4327)
  • Management of Financial Institutions (FINA 4328)
  • International Finance (FINA 4329)
  • Advanced Concepts in Financial Management (FINA 5331)
  • Practicum in Portfolio Management (FINA 5332)
  • Principles of Risk Magagement (RM 3360)

Career Paths

Job options in this field include real estate appraisal, property management, real estate advisory, investment banking, development and construction, commercial sales, entrepreneur, residential agent/broker.  For an overview of careers in this industry, view Careers in Real Estate at http://careers-in-finance.com/re.htm .

Employment Outlook

For information on the employment outlook in this industry, refer to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook at http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos120.htm

Resume-Building Activities

  • Participate in an internship.
  • Be mentored by a professional in the field.  Participate in the Business Associates Program.

Resources