There’s a reason it’s called “real” estate. Over the last thousand plus years perhaps the single most valuable entity has been land and property. As Mark Twain said, “buy land, they aren’t making any more of it.” And so the story goes, that the single most solid investment has met the information age. An age of degree programs, ready information, and science backing up most disciplines.
Today land and property management is more complicated than ever. Land and property are managed for countless objectives. House flipping, real estate investment platforms online, complex demographic shifts in cities and suburbs, and the management of land for ecological reasons are all growing trends.
If you get excited about the opportunity to manage something real — for money or a purpose — then a land or property management degree may be just the thing for you.
We’ve covered a wide range of degrees and career types here at DegreeQuery. And are pleased to be able to present a guide on a degree as unique and timely as land and property management. Below we’ve answered some of the most commonly asked questions online about the degree.
Table of Contents
- What Land and Property Management Degrees Are Available?
- Can I Gain a Land and Property Management Degree Online?
- How Do I Gain Admission to a Land and Property Management Degree Program?
- What Can I Do With a Degree in Land and Property Management?
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- What classes will I take for a degree in management?
- The 10 highest-paying management careers
- The Best Management Degree Programs
- The Best Colleges for Hospitality and Hotel Management
What Land and Property Management Degrees Are Available?
Land and property management degrees are available by that precise name at the bachelor’s and master’s levels. However, degrees related to land and property management are available at the associates and doctoral levels as well. We’ll work our way through land and property management and closely related degrees by degree level below.
At the associates level, a degree closely related to land and property management is available in an associates in hospitality management degree program. These degree programs typically require 60 credit hours for graduation and can be completed in as little as a year and a half.
As with other associates-level degrees, students are required to complete general education requirements. This cluster of courses is meant to ensure you are well rounded as a thinker and have been exposed to a range of topics during your associates-degree study. General education requirement courses may include some combination of the following:
- Religion, Philosophy, or Ethics
- A Social Science like Economics or Psychology
- English
- Intro to Computing/Data Literacy
- Mathematics
- A foreign language
- Physical education
- A Natural Science like chemistry, biology, or geology
After you’ve completed some of your general education requirements, students will begin their major courses. Individual courses may vary depending on the institution you are attending. But most associates in hospitality management degree programs include courses in the following:
- Business Foundations
- Marketing Foundations
- Hospitality Management Foundations
- Ethics in Hospitality Management
- Hospitality Management Technology
- Management in Hospitality Settings
While hospitality settings are just one type of property, and thus don’t cover the full range of subjects that a land and property management degree do, there is a good deal of overlap in the two degrees. Both are interdisciplinary business and management degrees that focus on some subset of property. And an associates in hospitality management can be used to transfer into a bachelor’s degree in land and property management.
At the bachelor’s level, bachelor of science in land and property management degrees are the most common degree in the field. These degrees are also commonly called bachelor of science in real estate degrees, though many business disciplines may offer real estate concentrations.
These degree programs begin with general education requirements similar to those listed in the associates degree section above. Typically these programs require 120 credit hours of study and take between 3 and 5 years for completion.
Major courses within a bachelors in land and property management degree often include the following:
- Real Estate Finance
- Real Estate Appraisal (Residential)
- Real Estate Investment Analysis
- Real Estate Management
- Real Estate Law
- Federal Taxes
- Problems in Federal Tax Accounting
- Urban and Regional Economics
- Estate Planning
- Small Business Management
- Personal Selling
- Sales Management
- Advertising Management
- Marketing Research
Optional certification programs are sometimes available. Most commonly certifications are offered in:
- Real Estate Appraisal Focus Area
- Real Estate Brokerage Focus Area
At the master’s level, students often begin to specialize in one area of land and property management. These specializations can come in the form of a range of degrees include:
- Master’s in Finance with a Real Estate Focus
- Master’s in Business Administration with a Real Estate Focus
- Master’s in Agribusiness with a Land Management Focus
- Master of Science in International Real Estate
- Among Others
As a master of science in international real estate is the option listed above that is most centered around land and property management, we’ll walk through what is involved with this program type below.
Courses within an international real estate degree often include some foundational business courses, some finance courses, and some real estate-specific courses. This type of degree often takes 1-2 years for completion, and is often offered online and in-person. Some of the most common course types offered in master’s in real estate include the following:
- Advanced Real Estate Valuation and Investments
- Real Estate Market Analysis
- Real Estate Finance
- Real Estate Practices, Markets, and Institutions
- Global Real Estate Capitol Markets
- Real Estate Law
- Financial Management in Corporations
- And Additional Electives
Finally, doctoral degrees in land and property management are most commonly offered through doctor of Business Administration (DBA) programs. These degree programs are professional doctorates that often do not require dissertations for completion. Rather they present master’s and above level coursework over a period of three to five years. Though dissertations are often not required in DBA programs, students are often required to complete an in-depth capstone or thesis project.
Can I Gain a Land and Property Management Degree Online?
Land and property management degrees are interdisciplinary degrees drawing heavily from a number of disciplines that have readily adopted online course delivery. These subdisciplines include business, management, and finance. So, in short — yes– land and property management degrees are often offered online.
While online degrees are great for a wide range of students, they aren’t the optimal choice for everyone. If you have never taken courses online, be sure to examine some of the pros and cons of online course delivery before jumping into a program. Here at DegreeQuery, we’ve talked with a wide range of students and heard some of the most common pros and cons of online education.
Pros of Online Education
- Many report its great for working adults
- Often more flexible than in-person programs
- No reason to move or quit your job to study
- Often have lower fees than in-person degree programs
- You get the same degree as in-person students
Cons of Online Education
- Harder to become acquainted with classmates and professors
- Lack of school-led networking events
- Harder to access in-person support services
- Less of a college “feel”
- Many report the need to be more self motivated in online degree
While there’s no one “right” answer about whether online or in-person degrees are better, students who haven’t studied online should be sure to ask some questions before the program starts and perhaps attend a “trial” class online before enrolling in a program delivery method foreign to them.
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- The 10 highest-paying management careers
- The Best Management Degree Programs
- The Best Colleges for Hospitality and Hotel Management
How Do I Gain Admission to a Land and Property Management Degree Program?
Land and property management degrees hold admission standards similar to other degrees at most levels. At the associates-level, land and property management-related degrees often have open admissions policies. This means that students who have graduated from high school (or who hold a GED) and who meet a minimum GPA requirement can gain automatic admission to a program. Programs that do not offer open admissions at the associates level often have entrance requirements similar to bachelor’s degrees.
Bachelor’s-level land and property management degrees typically require students to have graduated from high school, to have taken a standardized entrance exam like the ACT or SAT, and to have completed a standard admissions packet (often including essays). Additionally, some programs may weigh work experience and references for non-traditional students.
At the master’s level, entrance requirements depend on the degree type being pursued. For students pursuing a real estate or property management concentration in a master’s in business administration degree, a GMAT exam score will likely be required. For master’s in finance or real estate, a GRE exam score will likely be required. A wide range of master’s-level professional degrees will also take years of work experience in the field in which you are studying into account when offering admissions.
At the doctoral level, land and property management can be studied as part of a doctor of business administration program. These professional doctorate programs have different requirements than many research doctorates. Oftentimes students are required to have several years of work experience or a master’s degree in a related field.
Financial aid is an admissions components common to all degree levels above. And it should be noted that many professional degrees like land and property management are eligible for employer reimbursement of tuition costs. If you think this may be the case at your location of work, be sure to inquire!
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What Can I Do With a Degree in Land and Property Management?
Land and property management takes many forms,from house flipping businesses, to large ranches, skyscrapers and malls. As one may expect, your “day to day” may be drastically different depending on which one of these settings you work in. Additionally, there are a wide range of job titles that may pertain to a single type of property or land management.
Here at DegreeQuery, we’ve gathered information about the fields that those graduating with land and property management degrees enter into the most. And we’re going to present some of the most common job titles for graduates in land and property management programs below.
First off, is the job title of property manager. This is a generic job title that may differ to quite an extent depending on the type of property being managed. Generally speaking, property managers are in charge of maintenance, logistics, as well as the leasing out of part or all of the property (depending on the role that a property plays in a larger business). Additionally, some large properties may host events, provide services (as in the case of a golf club or resort), or be in the process of being sold (as in the case of a recently renovated property or a new construction).
Property managers need to be well versed in a variety of business and management disciplines including taxation, marketing, project management, logistics, human resources, ethics, and property-specific knowledge. Bachelor’s or master’s degrees in property and land management can help to prepare future property managers for this demanding role.
The average salary of property manager positions depends on the location and the scale of duties. With that said, a national average for the role is currently $97,719.
A second role for which a bachelor’s or master’s in land and property management can prepare you for is that of real estate broker. Real estate brokers provide support during the process of negotiating and selling of property. Common tasks may include the writing and proofreading of contracts, informing clients of ethical and legal matters. Real estate brokers may work at large financial institutions, on a freelance basis, or at a real estate brokerage.
While earnings for real estate brokers vary based on experience and location, the average salary for this role nationwide is $78,940.
On the land management side of the equation, large ranges, farms, or natural areas may employ land managers. The exact duties of this role vary depending on what type of organization they are working at. Though common tasks may include the valuation of natural resources, planning and management of natural resource extraction, farming, ranching, or eco-tourism endeavors. This role can be very marketing heavy, or very logistics and management heavy. While salaries vary a good bit for this role, the average salary nationwide is presently $107,502.
Finally, real estate agents can benefit from the strong business, legal, and management perspective of land and property management degrees. While a degree in the field is not required to become a real estate agent, real estate agents growing their own business or dealing in specialty real estate types may have the most to gain from formal academic training in the area.
Some of the highlights of a land and property management degree for real estate agent role include learning about financing options for large real estate projects, learning about real estate law, and learning new sales and marketing techniques.
While many real estate agents primarily work on commission — and so it’s hard to pinpoint an accurate “salary” — a ballpark figure for this role nationwide is $42,500. With that said, the top 25% of real estate earners earn substantially more at over $150,000 a year.
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- The Best Colleges for Hospitality and Hotel Management