about the certificate

The quality of urban development is an issue of growing public concern. Debates over land use regulation, sustainable development, sprawl, and community design occupy virtually every city council and every state legislature in this nation. The decline and abandonment of central cities occur simultaneously with extensive new building construction and the destruction of natural habitat at the fringe of metropolitan areas.

Real estate development is the interdisciplinary industry that creates built environments, but few planners, lawyers, business leaders, and designers seeking to influence urban development understand real estate development well, and they are therefore less effective than they might otherwise be in improving the way development occurs. In addition, real estate developers are often trained in a single field, such as business, law, or urban planning. Developers would be more effective in creating places that contribute to a positive quality of life and preservation of the natural environment if they had an education that spanned several professional fields.

The Certificate in Real Estate Development will offer graduate students in many fields at the University of Michigan the opportunity to supplement their major areas of study with specific knowledge about the making of good urban settlements. Although several degree programs at the University offer courses that provide some background in real estate development (including urban planning, business, law, landscape architecture, natural resource policy, architecture, and urban design), no single program covers the range of knowledge and skills needed.

The aim of the Certificate Program is to give students enrolled in many graduate degree programs guidance in how to bring about development that has a positive effect on the built environment. The Certificate students will graduate with the knowledge to shape the built environment in ways that enhance the quality of life and conserve the natural environment. They will be professionals better equipped to become the community-builders of the future.

Curriculum of the certificate program

Real estate development is an interdisciplinary field, and courses for the Certificate come from Business, Law, Urban and Regional Planning, Natural Resources and Environment, Landscape Architecture, Architecture, Urban Design, and Engineering.

Graduate students enrolled in or offered admission to any UM program are eligible to apply. Enrollment will be limited to 25 students per class year. Certificate students must complete a total of 17 credit hours.

Course requirements

Students are encouraged but not required to have completed a course in microeconomics before beginning the Certificate. Students will complete the following requirements (see courses page for specific course offerings):

NEW: A 7.5 credit real estate-oriented MAP project is eligible for double-counting two of the required 3 credit courses.

1. An introductory real estate development overview course
   The aim of these courses is to give students an overview of the process of real estate development from conception to completion before they enter courses that deal with detailed aspects of development.
2. At least three credits in real estate finance and investment
   These courses provide understanding of how real estate is financed and why investors are interested in real estate. Students will learn about the role of real estate finance in capital markets and about the structure of financing for real estate projects.
3. At least three credits in real estate and land use law
   These courses provide background in the legal structure that encourages, discourages, and controls different types of real estate development. These courses provide the background for understanding why jurisdictions regulate development and how regulation can enhance the quality of development.
4. At least three credits in real estate in the urban development context
   These courses encourage students to consider what constitutes desirable development that enhances the quality of life.
5. At least three credits in design and implementation
   These courses aim to give students background in complex areas of design and implementation of real estate development projects.
6. An integrative seminar
   This two-credit, course will address special topics in real estate with the goal of giving students an opportunity to study specific issues in a seminar setting and to share ideas among all those in the Certificate Program.

Please review the Real Estate Certificate Requirement Checklist (22kb pdf). This should be filed with Stacey Shimones, 2150 Art + Architecture.

An integrative, applied, "capstone" real estate project course is highly recommended but not required

Certificate students enrolled in programs that require a final, integrative project for a master's degree (such as such as the M.S. and M.L.A. in the School of Natural Resources and the Environment and the M.U.P. in Urban and Regional Planning) should seek to design their projects around real estate development.

Counting credits from a single course toward both the certificate and another degree

Students in a master’s program may double count no more than one-sixth of their master’s credits but not to exceed one half of the Certificate program provided they are courses from the approved Certificate curriculum.

For example:
• M.U.P. 48 x 1/6 = 8 credits can be double counted
• M.U.D. 39 x 1/6 = 6 credits can be double counted

Please review double counting rules and guidelines (15kb pdf).

Residency rule

Rackham has a nine-credit residency rule for the certificate. This means students must register for at least 9 certificate credits under Rackham registration and may not count these 9 credits toward their other program.

Formally structured dual degrees: M.U.P./M.Arch, M.U.P./M.B.A. and M.U.P./J.D.

Formal dual degree students will be able to double-count credits for the Real Estate Certificate Program. That means that these students can add the Certificate for an additional 9 credits, rather than 17, double counting 8 credits

It is important that you consult with your advisors on dual enrollment. For further information on dual degrees please go to the following link http://www.tcaup.umich.edu/urp/dualdegrees.html.

Student-initiated dual degrees: M.U.P./M.S.W., M.U.P./M.S. (Resource Policy & Behavior or Resource Ecology & Management), M.U.P./M.L.A., M.U.P./M.P.P., M.U.P./M.P.H., and M.U.P./M.U.D.

Students in a student-initiated dual degree program may petition Rackham for approval to double count credits for the Real Estate Certificate Program. Please contact Rackham to talk with an OARD specialist.

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