MSc Real Estate

Detailed degree guide

Understanding, Knowledge and Cognitive Skills

• A thorough understanding, application and evaluation of valuation, investment and appraisal techniques.
• An appreciation and working knowledge of occupier, investment and development sectors of commercial and residential markets.
• An awareness of legal and planning frameworks within UK in the context of the built environment.
• Providing a basic knowledge of economics and the interplay with the real estate industry and professions.
• A critical and in-depth understanding of the nature of property investment decisions, including complex current and future issues at the forefront of both academic research and professional practice.

Scholarship, Enquiry and Research (Research Informed Learning)

Critical appraisal, research and evaluation of economic, financial and property market trends

Approaches to Teaching and Learning

For HW Online students:

The Programme is taught only on a distance learning basis. Students are provided with access to electronically available learning packs and lecture overheads and are expected to supplement these with wider reading including journal articles available electronically via the library. Learning packs include a series of self assessment questions for students to complete. Tutor support is provided electronically or by telephone.

For all Students:

Student-led learning: Outside class, the onus is on students to take initiative and responsibility for themselves. There is considerable emphasis on reading and working on assessments. This can involve individuals on their own but many courses include group projects and reports. For professional practice, the emphasis on the individual as well as the team is crucial. Students come on the programme from a variety of disciplines, backgrounds and cultures. The part-time students are normally working in property-related jobs and sharing experience is specifically encouraged, both formally and
informally. 

VISION, a Virtual Learning Environment: Vision will be a feature for both DL and on campus students for all Courses as from September 2008. The Programme will be increasingly supported by interactive VLE. Feedback from part-time students has been particularly supportive of this approach, which is used in conjunction with the on-campus learning and teaching experience – not as a substitute for it. The VLE provides an opportunity for students to access materials and information and communicate with Course leaders and other students, for example for group work, using news and
discussion forums.

Assessment Policies

Given the focus on developing knowledge and skills relevant to professional practice, there are few exams in the Programme as a whole. Assessments include individual reports and essays, projects, Research Project 1 and Research Project 2, presentations and other oral presentations and field exercises. For example, Real Estate Asset Strategy is assessed by a group project requiring students to devise a portfolio solution to a series of corporate challenges. Research Projects 1 and 2 assesses higher-level research skills, critical thinking and writing capabilities. Group projects specifically develop team-working skills which are important in surveying practice.