If you look around the institutional real estate industry, you will find executives with a diverse range of academic backgrounds; numerous people have business and finance degrees, but you also will find many with liberal arts degrees, and even some who majored in engineering, geography or physics. In the upper echelons of management at the industry’s larger firms, however, you will find an abundance of MBAs, in addition to some with real estate–focused graduate degrees. With the growing complexity and sophistication of the industry, this level of higher education and expertise has almost become a requirement.

In addition, the demand for employees with commercial real estate degrees, or a business degree with an emphasis on real estate, is growing. In response, many universities across the United States have developed real estate curriculum and established specialty programs to meet this demand, as well as the growing interest from students. Today, approximately 45 univer