Development of an Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Program in Real Estate: Breaking Down University Silos

Real estate professionals must understand how to manage a business in a cyclical environment to add value to their firms and ensure client confidence. In this paper, we present process, university silo challenges, projections, and early results on the formation of an interdisciplinary program in real estate that educates students from project conceptualization through asset management. Creating a program that includes unique contributions from six colleges challenges the existing silo mentality of university administrations. We hope the topics we discuss will help other universities develop innovative academic programs in real estate and will stimulate critical discussion of undergraduate academic preparation for a career in real estate.