Realtor University

REALTOR® University is the only accredited online institution focused exclusively on Real Estate. All coursework is offered online and students can earn a Master’s Degree in Real Estate or a Graduate Certificate in Real Estate Association Management. The mission of REALTOR® University is to foster lifelong student learning through high-quality, entrepreneurial and career-oriented distance education real estate programs. REALTOR® University enhances the professionalism of the real estate industry through practice-oriented educational offerings.

REALTOR® University received accreditation on March 1, 2016^[1] by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC), a private, non-profit organization which is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).

To be admitted to REALTOR® University’s Graduate school or Graduate Certificate program, applicants must have earned a baccalaureate degree from an appropriately accredited institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, Council of Higher Education Accreditation, or international equivalent. Students can expect to complete a minimum of 12 courses and a maximum of up to 21 courses depending on previous academic background. Students can apply to the program at any time and 8-week sessions are held 6 times throughout the year.

The graduate program includes a business and real estate core curriculum with concentrations in Residential Sales, Marketing and Management; Commercial Real Estate Investment and Analysis; Real Estate Asset and Property Management; Real Estate Appraisal and Valuation Services; and Real Estate Association Management.

The Journal of the Center for Real Estate Studies

The Journal of the Center for Real Estate Studies is published three times each year by the Richard J. Rosenthal Center for Real Estate Studies and presents Center-sponsored research as well as articles written by and for practitioners on topics and issues of importance to today’s real estate industry.

Recent issues of the Journal have included articles on: Generational Homeownership Trends, Residential Mobility, Forecasting Future Housing Demand, Time-on-the-Market as an Indicator of Market Conditions, Wind Farms and Housing Values, Quantitative Easing and Housing Markets, International Commercial Investment in the US, the Japanese Housing Market.

REALTOR® University Library

The REALTOR® University Library is the premier library for real estate research. From affordable housing to zoning, the University’s library contains books on nearly every aspect of real estate. The collection is located in the REALTOR® building in Chicago, IL, directly next to the REALTOR® University administrative offices. Also located in the REALTOR® building is the main library, which resides within Information Services—the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (NAR) single point of contact for the association’s members, staff, institute affiliates, government agencies, academic communities, and consumers. Established in the 1920s, it is the largest library dedicated to real estate practitioners and real estate associations. This library contains collections of historic real estate books, journals, reports, documents, digital resources, and artifacts – much of which is not available through any other library.

History

The idea for transforming REALTOR® University^[2] into a degree granting institution emanated from a 2008 National Association of REALTORS® Advisory Group on Professionalism in the industry. The group was charged with recommending ways to improve real estate practice and to ensure the REALTOR® mark is perceived as an assurance of experience and professional service. Out of this group was formed a blue ribbon advisory group, whose goal was to address higher education in real estate. This group developed the initial plan for the offering of academic degrees.

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