Real Estate Development (CERT)

Admission Requirements

Applicants must have a bachelor's degree (any major is acceptable), and provide a completed graduate admissions application, transcripts of all undergraduate/graduate course work and a personal statement.  Please provide names of two references in the personal statement.

Admission is competitive and generally requires a minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.00. All applicants for whom English is a second language must also submit official TOEFL scores of 79 or higher on the internet-based test, 213 or higher on the computer-based test. English proficiency can also be met by submitting official IELTS scores of at least 6.5 overall band score from the academic module exam or official Duolingo overall score of 105.  Students holding a bachelor's or advanced degree from an accredited institution in the United States may be exempt from this requirement.

Program Requirements

The program requires twelve (12) credit hours, and may be completed in one semester as a full-time student.  It may be completed in-person in up to four years as a part-time student. Courses may be waived by the Program Coordinator based on previous study; however, substitute course work will be required.

The following courses are required:

Required Courses:
PLAN 614Real Estate Market Analysis3
PLAN 631Real Estate Principles3
Electives (Choose 2 from the list below):6
Urban Economics
Land Use & Planning Law
Site Planning
Land Use Planning
Financial Management of Nonprofits
Minimum Total Hours12

Although the program does not require an internship, students who are also in the MUP program may wish to complete the required planning internship by working in a real estate development firm.

The Graduate Certificate in Real Estate Development program prepares students to meet the requirements for certification and/or licensure.  If you plan to pursue professional licensure or certification you should first determine your state’s criteria for examination and licensure to see how/if our program meets those requirements prior to enrollment. We recommend that you also contact your state’s licensing board directly to verify that the requirements have not changed recently and to answer any questions especially those regarding additional requirements beyond the degree. 

More information about certification or licensure is available at the following website:  https://louisville.edu/oapa/licensure-information (you may search by school or by the name of the program then click on 'View Details' to display the information).

For programs with an online option, more information about certification or licensure is available here: https://louisville.edu/online/About-Us?tab=disclosures.