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Master of Science in Real Estate Development

Take Your Place in the Real Estate Development Industry

The NYU SPS Schack Institute’s MS in Real Estate Development (MSRED) delivers a flexible graduate degree program that immerses you in the heart of the real estate industry in New York City—and prepares you for development careers.

​This program prepares students for careers in urban development and international real estate through a multidisciplinary curriculum emphasizing finance. Graduates gain hands-on experience equipping them to understand trends in global capital markets, public policy, affordable housing, land use, and the built environment.

 

Take Your Place in the Real Estate Development Industry

Tuition*

$2,785 Per credit
$27,562 Per term (10-12 credits)

 

# of Credits

42 credits

Study Options

Onsite 
Fall | Spring | Summer
Full-time | Part-time

Minimum Duration

18 months

*See NYU Bursar site for more info.

8%

job growth 2024-2034

$90K

median salary

95%

working and/or in school

7,493

Global Schack Institute of Real Estate alumni

Group of students in hard hats on roof top overlooking city.

[1] Lightcast 2025
[2] Lightcast 2025
[3] NYU Life Beyond the Square: School of Professional Studies Graduate Class of 2024
[4] as of 1/2024

Why This Degree?

Learn from Expert Faculty

Our faculty work to build impactful relationships with you while giving you an edge in the industry with their industry experience at companies like Brookfield, Turner and Tishman Speyer, governmental agencies and their own firms.

Succeed from Day One

You’ll find a community of individuals within the university committed to your success. One-on-one faculty advising, a dedicated team of career counselors, and a wide breadth of university services all come together to ensure that you have the education tools to thrive on your journey to a Master's in Real Estate Development.

Enrich Your Network

Join a global network of industry-leading alumni, faculty, and students who become connections for a lifetime. At the REIT Symposium, The National Symposium of Women in Real Estate, and our career fairs you will find networking and career opportunities aligned with your interests.

Advance Your Career

With help from our dedicated career support resources, our graduates have taken their places in some of the most prominent firms around the globe.

Gain a Global Perspective

With a curriculum covering global industry trends you’ll gain an understanding of the challenges and opportunities in real estate development fields around the world. Join a Global Field Intensives (GFI) and travel abroad to learn about the cultural and economic forces shaping current real estate markets.

Rigorous Up-to-date Curriculum

Through constant curriculum innovation focusing on industry trends and an emphasis on essentials such as finance, land use and capital markets, you will build skills required by top employers.

What You’ll Study

Core Curriculum

Build a foundation in the financial and legal issues that shape the development process plus ways to analyze design and construction methods, use property valuation tools, and navigate regulatory conditions around site planning.

Concentrations
Students choose a path to specialize in.
  • Business of Development
  • Global Development
  • Impact Development
  • Sustainable Development
Electives

Build advanced skills with electives in growing market areas like affordable housing, international development finance, site planning, construction methods and technology, data analytics, property tech, and more. Students may complete internships for credit which may lead to full-time jobs.

Capstone Projects

Our capstone courses transition students from classroom to “boardroom.” Challenge yourself as you apply your work to a range of real-world scenarios.

Where You’ll Go

Your career might begin at the NYU SPS Schack Institute of Real Estate, but there’s no limit to where you’ll go.

Where Our Alumni Work
  • Arbor Realty Trust
  • Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group
  • AvalonBay Communities
  • Blackstone Group
  • BNY Mellon
  • Bozzuto
  • Brookfield Properties
  • CBRE
  • Colliers International
  • The Douglaston Companies
  • The Durst Organization
  • Extell Development
  • Jonathan Rose Companies
  • Kushner
  • MetLife Management
  • PGIM Real Estate
  • Related Group
  • Silverstein Properties
  • SL Green Realty
  • Time Equities
What Our Alumni Do
  • Asset and Portfolio Management
  • Acquisitions
  • Commercial Real Estate Lending
  • Financial Analysis
  • Investment Management
  • Market Analytics Director-NYC
  • Project Management
  • Property Management
  • Risk Management & Compliance
  • Commercial Underwriting

The above data is sourced from Lightcast

Spring 2026

Deadlines

Round

Deadline

Decision Release

Priority

August 1, 2025

October 15, 2025

Regular

October 1, 2025

November 15, 2025

Final

November 15, 2025

December 20, 2025

Priority

Deadline

Decision Release

August 1, 2025

October 15, 2025

Regular

Deadline

Decision Release

October 1, 2025

November 15, 2025

Final

Deadline

Decision Release

November 15, 2025

December 20, 2025

Summer 2026

Deadlines

Round

Deadline

Decision Release

Priority

October 1, 2025

December 15, 2025

Regular

January 15, 2026

March 1, 2026

Final

March 15, 2026

April 15, 2026

Priority

Deadline

Decision Release

October 1, 2025

December 15, 2025

Regular

Deadline

Decision Release

January 15, 2026

March 1, 2026

Final

Deadline

Decision Release

March 15, 2026

April 15, 2026

Fall 2026

Deadlines

Round

Deadline

Decision Release

Priority 1

November 1, 2025

December 15, 2025

Priority 2

January 15, 2026

April 1, 2026

Regular

May 1, 2026

June 15, 2026

Final

July 1, 2026

July 15, 2026

Priority 1

Deadline

Decision Release

November 1, 2025

December 15, 2025

Priority 2

Deadline

Decision Release

January 15, 2026

April 1, 2026

Regular

Deadline

Decision Release

May 1, 2026

June 15, 2026

Final

Deadline

Decision Release

July 1, 2026

July 15, 2026

Real World Experiences

Your journey might begin in the classroom, but we ensure that you can learn through experience—rolling up your sleeves and taking your studies to the real world.
A large group of people stands on a helipad with blue and white markings, overlooking a cityscape with cloudy skies.
Global Field Intensives in Brazil

Brazil, known for its vibrant culture, stunning landscapes, and growing urban centers, presents unique landscapes for real estate investment and case studies. Students explore different sectors learning about Brazil’s residential and commercial properties, population growth, infrastructure projects, and economic development.

Learn more About Global Field Intensives
Schack Real Estate student engages in a Q&A during the Annual Capital Markets Conference
Capital Markets Conference

Illustrious industry leaders gather with NYU SPS students and alumni to discuss trends and forecasts for global capital flows, institutional and private equity investment and emerging sources of market disruption.

Panoramic view of New York City skyline under a clear blue sky, featuring a mix of historic and modern skyscrapers, evoking a sense of urban vibrancy.
Urban Lab

The NYU Urban Lab of the Shack Institute of Real Estate hosts events shedding light on affordable housing, public/private development partnerships, inclusive development and more.

Learn more About Urban Lab

Frequently Asked Questions

While an MBA is desirable for some, earning an MS in Real Estate Development from the Schack Institute of Real Estate gives you the edge that you will need to break into a range of fields within real estate development from acquisitions to asset management and operations to repositioning. Industry leaders prefer a specialized degree in real estate over a general MBA.

Earning a master's degree in real estate development at the NYU SPS Schack Institute of Real Estate program provides academic coursework that encompasses the spectrum of skills needed by new-entrants to real estate, as well as to those more advanced in their careers.

This master's degree program provides you with incredible resources and the ability to network with some of the largest real estate development and investment firms in the world. Our MSRED students have the opportunity to learn from and interact with  real estate professionals in the classroom, as well as networking opportunities at our numerous annual industry events such as the Conference on Capital Markets, the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) Symposium, and the National Symposium of Women in Real Estate.

Commercial real estate is experiencing significant secular shifts that are spurring innovation in how we plan, use, finance, develop and manage the built environment. These changes bring opportunity. The commercial real estate market alone supported 15 million jobs and contributed $2.5 trillion to the US GDP in 2023. Whether in boom times or downturns, understanding real estate fundamentals creates opportunities.

Real estate development can be a challenging–and financially rewarding–career path. A career in real estate development encompasses a range of subjects and provides opportunities to support community development and investors, improve performance, promote sustainable buildings, and tackle societal interests such as housing affordability and availability, climate change, and demographic shifts. 

 

Schack Institute of Real Estate alumni take their places in the center of leading firms in all sectors of the industry, in New York City and around the globe.  Employers include the major real estate development and investment companies, global banks, private real estate partnerships and government organizations. They join a fast-growing, rapidly changing industry, with a network of relationships, prepared to tackle challenges and thrive in their careers. 

The MS in Real Estate at the Schack Institute explores real estate finance, investment, and asset management including building your skills in data analytics, legal principles, economics, the latest technology tools and analysis of real estate markets. The MS in Real Estate Development focuses more on the real estate development process, how to finance development, understand legal, land use and regulatory frameworks, manage design and construction, and implement public private partnerships.

Through endowed funds and generous gifts to the department, the School of Professional Studies and industry partners provide a range of financial aid packages and scholarships for Schack graduate level students to explore.

In addition to the regular application requirements, international student applicants need to take the TOEFL/IELTS and complete an international transcript evaluation.

Many real estate industry developers earn higher education degrees as part- or full-time students in fields as varied as business, finance, landscape architecture, and law. Course work in the MS in Real Estate Development program approaches global real estate through a developer-specific lens that teaches best practices and provides a comprehensive overview and thorough exploration of the entire real estate development process.