Masters of Real Estate

A Real Estate Program for the Ambitious Student

As aspiring real estate developers, entrepreneurs, financiers, or managers, students interested in Homburg Academy have already decided to engage in the largest industry in the world. Their playground is worth hundreds of trillions of dollars, and it is global in scope. Wherever people need buildings -- houses, office buildings, shopping malls, universities, hospitals, sports stadiums, or public infrastructure -- there is opportunity.

The Homburg Academy is designed and built for a single purpose: to enable students, as bright, energetic, imaginative, and passionate people, to distinguish themselves in the greatest talent competition in the largest industry in the world.



The Well-Rounded Basis of Real Estate

The academy's core belief is that a well-rounded real estate professional needs to be armed with an interdisciplinary background, and an international perspective.

Mastering real estate requires a well-rounded education, and that means inter-disciplinary study is not just desirable, it is unavoidable. Effective leaders not only grasp the real estate business language, they are also able to speak to technical professionals in their own language. Success in the fast-paced world of real estate requires the knowledge to conceptualize a winning project, the ability to strategize business and finance options, and the capacity to translate technical advice from architects, builders, designers, engineers, lawyers, planners, and a host of others into action. Leading such a diverse group of technical experts to achieve their visions of the future means students need to be more than just business school graduates. That is why the academy's curriculum includes subjects as diverse as appraisal, banking, development and construction, finance, management, negotiation, and urban economics. The final Capstone courses present students, working in groups, with real-world case studies in real estate development, which enables students to learn the crucial skills to direct those insights into usable knowledge.

To bring such a vast breadth of subject expertise to the classroom, the academy's instructional team includes professors in top universities, company executives, and senior bankers in 8 countries. This enables students to learn from both expertise and from experience across the spectrum of disciplines, and to be mentored by those who are immersed in practice at the highest levels.



The International Perspectives on Real Estate

International perspectives are also unavoidable. Even real estate professionals who do not operate internationally are affected by the turmoil in international financial markets, requiring ever more skill and imagination in raising finance. Competition increasingly crosses borders. And as the pace of change in technology accelerates, knowledge and innovation moves quickly across borders to those who are most rapidly adaptive and agile. Homburg's programs are designed to enable students to understand international business, work with multi-cultural teams, and recognize innovative business practices from global perspectives.

A Myriad of Options for Effective Learning

All of this is delivered to students through cutting-edge online learning using the latest in video-conferencing technology. Small group interactive video classes are the cornerstone of Homburg's teaching and learning. The Academy believes that interactive tutorials enable students to learn through dialogue, discussion, and debate with the professor and with other students. Homburg's is a traditional 'seminar' modeled on the best of academic traditions, made available from the convenience of students' homes or offices. Learning materials, including pre-recorded video lectures, are also available 24 hours a day.

Optional semesters abroad for full-time students enhance the international experience with campus study at leading schools in North America, Europe, and the Middle East.

With 10 registration dates each year, the Homburg Academy enables students to begin their studies in practically any month of the year. Full-time master's programs run for 2 years from the participating student's starting date, while part-time students may take up to 6 years to complete a master's program without pressure on busy work and family commitments. Postgraduate diploma and postgraduate certificate study pathways are also available for students requiring a more compressed and focused program of study.

Homburg's programs equip property developers and managers with the knowledge, skill-set, and tools necessary to be successful leaders in the real estate industry. Whatever students' specific focuses or professions are now, advancement into the senior ranks requires a broad understanding. The view from the top, quite literally, means having an overview of real estate as a whole, and an international perspective. Interested students should speak with advisers today.



Homburg Academy: Launching students' real estate careers

The Homburg Academy is designed and built for a single purpose: to enable students to gain the knowledge and skills to achieve their visions of the future as real estate developers, managers, or finance specialists.

The academy's core belief is that a well-rounded real estate professional needs to be armed with an interdisciplinary background and an international perspective. Courses span subjects in the social sciences, human sciences, and technical disciplines, and are taught by professors in top universities, company executives, and senior bankers in 8 countries. Programs are designed to enable students to lead changes in the global environment by understanding international perspectives, working with multi-cultural teams, and recognizing innovation from a global perspective.

Cutting-edge online learning using the latest in video-conferencing technology brings small group interactive video classes to the home or office. Engaging interactive tutorials enable students to learn through dialogue, discussion, and debate with professors and students. Full-time students are encouraged to spend optional semesters abroad to enhance the international experience with campus study at leading schools in Brussels, Dubai, Halifax, and New Delhi. Some programs require residential campus stays for up to 2 terms at campuses in Canada or Europe.



Learning opportunities at Homburg Academy

The Homburg Academy's teaching is crafted for an online video-rich environment, and it is possible to pursue the Master in Real Estate, as well as the Executive Stream, and the certificate and diploma programs entirely online.

Some programs are taught in collaboration with university partners and these require residential campus stays for up to two terms at campuses in Canada or Europe. Partners' campuses include important cities in Canada (Halifax) and Europe (Brussels, and Gdansk), world centres for innovative real estate (Dubai), and fast-growing emerging markets (New Delhi).

Students may also attend Summer Institutes at the Academy in Zurich, and at the Homburg Institute Canada. The Summer Institutes provide students with an array of opportunities in personal student mentoring, networking with industry practitioners in both academic and practical settings, and travel and education, all through its diverse teaching methods.



Research and Advancement

Homburg is committed to excellence in the advancement of science and knowledge in the field of real estate. As a part of this commitment, Homburg Education and the prestigious Oxford University Press Canada, have joined together to develop a real estate book series.

The Homburg-Oxford University Press/Advances in Real Estate book series covers the new agenda in real estate by encouraging a multi-disciplinary and international approach to current and emerging issues in the built environment. The series welcomes original titles on a variety of topics, including appraisal and valuation, architecture and design, banking and financial services, building technology and construction, business management in real estate, engineering, project management, law and regulation, real estate development, spatial planning, surveying, and urban economics.



Expert Faculty

The Homburg Academy's commitment to international education, inter-disciplinary study, and high standards of excellence draws experts to its team from a range of fields. This internationally-based group of experts forms the faculty at the Homburg Academy. These individuals are established professors as well as established practitioners who create a working balance that provides students with sound academic grounding and direct professional relevance.

Specialty Programs and Degree Opportunities

The Executive Master of Real Estate and the Master of Real Estate programs enable students to study entirely online, in rich and interactive video-conferencing environments, with faculty members and students from around the world. Shorter, more focused programs may also be taken entirely online, including the Post-Graduate Diploma in Real Estate program and the Post-Graduate Certificate in Real Estate program.

In collaboration with the AACSB accredited Sobey School of Business at Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Canada, students spend a semester attending courses from the Sobey Master of Business Administration, and take the rest of their programs with the Homburg Academy online. This 'hybrid' or 'blended learning' pathway enables students to earn degrees in real estate with specializations, including the Master of Real Estate and Finance, the Master of Real Estate and International Business, and the Master of Real Estate and Marketing.

In collaboration with Boston University's campus in Brussels, Belgium, students can spend 2 semesters attending courses in Project Management on the campus in Brussels, and can then take the rest of their programs with the Homburg Academy online. This learning pathway enables students to earn Master of Real Estate and Project Management degrees. For those students desiring professional designations, these Project Management courses are deemed as preparatory for the examination of the Project Management Institute.

In collaboration with the Gdansk Technical University in Gdansk, Poland, students spend up to 2 semesters attending courses in planning on the campus in Poland, and take the rest of their programs with the Homburg Academy online. This learning pathway enables students to earn Master of Real Estate and Planning degrees.



Consortia Speakers

Homburg's Summer Institute combines class lectures, guest lectures, conference-style presentations by real estate professionals, interactive group work, case studies, workshops, simulations, and professional seminars.

Student Life

Homburg seeks to combine the best of traditional personal contact among teachers and learners and the structured and supportive environment of caring professionals, delivered anywhere in the world through the' best technology available today.

Students are also encouraged to use the video conferencing system at their own leisure to interact with one another. The academy promotes student use of the systems to support student learning and achievement. Independent study groups are encouraged for peer-to-peer learning - for instance, to prepare for the seminar meeting with the professor, or to work on group projects or case studies -- and students are given unlimited access to the video-conferencing systems for this purpose.

While training is provided to each student in the use of the learning management system, there is always someone who is more expert in the use of the systems. To ensure that such expertise is on hand during the live video-conferences, a member of the technical support is always on hand during classes to ensure that systems run smoothly, and that the technology responds to the needs of faculty and students alike.



Tuition, Scholarships, and Financial Aid

The Homburg Academy reviews its tuition fees on an annual basis in June each year for application the following year beginning on 1 January. Notification of any changes to the fee will be posted on the Academy website following the decision of Council.

The tuition fee is $3,000 per 20 credit course.

There is no differential fee for students based on nationality. All students, regardless of nationality or residence, pay the same tuition fees.

The academy does not levy separate charges or incidental fees. There is no application fee for first time applicants, and there are no separate registration or examination fees.

Each year in June, the academy may create scholarships and bursaries that are available to applicants on competitive bases. Notification of the number and value of these scholarships and bursaries will be posted on the Academy website immediately following the decision of Council.

For the year 2012-2013, Council has created six Homburg Bursaries in the amount of $6,000 each.



Student Research

Homburg encourages research in real estate by younger students. The value of the Homburg Student Essay/Thesis Prize is $1,000. This prize is open to all students, full-time or part-time, enrolled in real estate programs at recognized universities. The institute invites nominations by academic directors of programs, or thesis promoters. Each institution is limited to one nomination per academic program.