Real Estate Minor makes program accessible campus-wide

Undergraduate student Brooke Chow attends the 2022 UNC Real Estate Conference.

The Spring 2022 semester provided the first opportunity for UNC undergraduate students to begin classes towards pursuing a minor in real estate. Fall 2021 was the first semester that an undergraduate UNC student could apply for the real estate minor, and while the coursework is aligned with Kenan-Flagler curriculum, it is open to all undergraduate students pursuing any major.

“The real estate minor was developed to allow non-business majors access to business classes in real estate that will allow them to launch their career in commercial real estate,” Lynn Tocci, Associate Director of the Wood Center, said. “Classes like Real Estate Finance, Real Estate Development, and Real Estate Capital Markets provide the industry specific skills and knowledge that students can connect to the skills and abilities learned through their major.”

One of the biggest benefits to the real estate minor is the way in which it can be integrated into different areas of study, disproving the common misconception that learning about real estate can only benefit business students. ­

Tocci observed that a public policy major looking to make a positive change in the world may be a natural fit to work in affordable housing. A history major who has learned to read critically, analyze precisely, and write effectively has all the skills, along with the real estate content, to be successful in all sectors of commercial real estate.

Wood Center Executive Director Jim Spaeth said he believes the minor will allow students in every school on campus to have access to the real estate program.

“Launching the real estate minor is a major step toward raising awareness of commercial real estate careers across the entire UNC-Chapel Hill campus,” he said. “Fundamentally, the minor makes our undergraduate real estate classes accessible to a much wider array of students, which aligns with the Wood Center’s stated goal of building a diverse community of real estate practitioners.”

“Allowing students to major in their passion and minor in real estate creates students with a unique diversity of thought that benefits the student and is attractive to potential commercial real estate employers,” echoed Tocci.

The real estate minor is comprised of the following classes:

• BUSI 408 Corporate Finance
• BUSI 585 Intro to Real Estate Studies
• BUSI 601 Real Estate Finance
• BUSI 603 Real Estate Development
• BUSI 604 Real Estate Capital Markets
• BUSI 605 Real Estate Capstone

Plus, one additional class from the list shown:

• PLAN 246 Cities of the Past, Present, & Future: Intro to Planning
• PLAN 247 Solving Urban Problems
• PLAN 317 Intro to Site Planning & Urban Design
• PLAN 375 Real Estate Development
• ECON 440 Analysis of Public Finance
• ECON 490 Special Topics (with approval and based on topic)

To qualify for the minor in real estate studies, students must complete the following prerequisites:

• ECON 101 Intro to Economics
• BUSI 102 Intro to Financial Accounting
• A calculus class – STOR 113, MATH 152, or MATH 231
• STOR 155 Intro to Data Models & Inference

Once these prerequisites have been completed, students apply to the real estate minor through UNC Kenan-Flagler’s application process, detailed here.

If you are an undergraduate student interested in pursuing a career in commercial real estate, the Wood Center for Real Estate Studies offers additional resources; including but not limited to career exploration and coaching discussions, EXCEL and ARGUS trainings, and mock interview prep for internships and full-time jobs. For more information, head to our website or contact Lynn Tocci at lynn_tocci@kenan-flagler.unc.edu.