VCU's School of Business unveils real estate and urban land development graduate certificate

By Marcia Meredith

RICHMOND, Va. – Pre-requisite classes such as calculus, statistics and finance often deter time-deprived real-estate professionals from pursuing graduate courses that would enable them to increase their knowledge and enhance their skills.

For the first time this fall, Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Business is unveiling a Real Estate and Urban Land Development graduate certificate that excludes traditionally mandated pre-requisite courses. To save students time and foster professional networking, classes will be offered at night.

"The new graduate certificate program, one of the first of its kind in the country, gives real-estate professionals the chance to advance their careers while receiving recognition in the form of a certificate," said James Boykin, Ph.D., VCU’s Alfred L. Blake chair and professor of Real Estate. "In the past, students couldn’t take more than six credit hours as non-degree seeking student."

The certificate consists of 18 credit hours encompassing all areas of the real-estate business including courses in "Real Estate Development," Real Estate Investment Analysis," "Real Property Investment Law," "Commercial Mortgage Lending" and "Geographic Information Systems." Participants can choose from one elective from "Financial Management," "Entrepreneurship" or "Service Quality Management."

"Students can immediately enroll in the exact class they wish to take without spending time on pre-requisite courses which may be of lesser interest to them," Boykin said.

To enroll, applicants must hold a baccalaureate degree or its equivalent from an accredited college or university. Other admissions requirements include proficiency in using spreadsheet computer software; completion of the VCU course "Advanced Real Estate Appraisal" or its equivalent; and; a minimum of a 2.7 grade-point average at the undergraduate level. A minimum of five years business experience is preferred.

Upon completion, qualified students can extend the certificate to a graduate degree through a separate admissions process. Students can apply for admission to the Master of Business Administration with concentration in Real Estate and Urban Land Development or the Master of Science in Business with concentration in Real Estate Valuation.

For more information, contact Boykin at (804) 828-1721, email jhboykin@vcu.edu or visit www.realestate.bus.vcu.edu.