Degree in Real Estate Development

USC offers Master of Real Estate Development

Real estate developers are the impresarios of the built environment. They orchestrate the talents of many players and balance the needs and interests of the various constituents touched by a development project. It is their job to discover how we want to live and work – and to provide the settings accordingly.


In many ways, a real estate developer is a creator of the urban landscape, working within a complex system of governance to tackle the challenge of converting undeveloped or under-utilized resources into homes, employment centers, civic areas, and places of recreation and commerce. With the excitement of finding place-based solutions to the unique set of problems presented by a development project, there also are the risks, rewards, and responsibilities that come with making our built environments more habitable and prosperous.

With greater frequency, community groups, government agencies, other property owners, and even the media are becoming involved in the development process. The capital markets, political and regulatory context, and major players change so rapidly that it is difficult to remain informed, let alone competitive. To deal with the complexity of the field and its far-reaching effects, today's industry professionals require advanced training to prepare them to operate in increasingly technical and interrelated areas.

What makes the MRED program so unique?

SPPD's Master of Real Estate Development program prepares graduates for key positions in real estate development. The MRED program is carefully designed to bring together the three main elements of real estate development: design, finance, and policy. Students are exposed to the full range of development functions – market analysis, finance and deal structuring, site planning, and project management and operations – and to all product types – residential, commercial, retail, office and industrial. Whether in the context of urban redevelopment, historic preservation, or suburban growth, MRED students learn from the developer’s perspective the importance of relevant issues in real estate law, economics, finance, marketing, negotiation, architecture, urban history, planning, project management, and construction technology.

The MRED program offers a number of distinct features, including:
An Exceptional Faculty:

Full-time USC faculty are joined by developers, lawyers, architects, planners, and other prominent professionals who bring cutting-edge relevance to the classroom and bridge learning with practice.

Lusk Center for Real Estate:

USC's Lusk Center for Real Estate serves as the liaison between the academic program and the real estate industry. It provides MRED students with a forum for professional development and offers them unique opportunities to connect with the real estate development community.

Distinguished Tradition:

Created in 1986, USC's MRED degree is among the oldest, most respected, and one of few graduate degrees focused on real estate development in the country.

Southern California:

The Los Angeles metropolitan area and its surrounding counties provide a rich urban environment within which to study real estate development. In this world-class hub of real estate innovation and activity, MRED students study an exceptionally wide range of projects - learning equally from failures as well as successes.

International Focus:

Recognizing the increasingly global nature of real estate development, the School is dedicated to preparing professionals to be effective practitioners throughout the world through the international study tour. Study tour courses include a 10-day professional-level overseas visit, and have focused on Sydney, Hong Kong, and Dortmund/Berlin in recent years. Students meet with leading developers, government officials, prominent business people, and consultants actively involved in the development community of the international site, thereby enhancing their global perspective and network while gaining valuable practical experience in the field.