The Clemson Master of Real Estate Development Program (MRED) educates future professionals from diverse disciplinary perspectives in order for students to understand the complexities of the real estate development process and be poised to take leadership positions in the industry. Clemson’s MRED program provides students with the education and skills needed to produce vibrant, quality projects that respect environmental and economic sustainability, social consciousness, design excellence and financial feasibility within the risk-reward framework.
Located in the heart of the Southeast, our downtown Greenville, South Carolina location serves as an excellent student laboratory, emphasizing thorough knowledge of mixed-use, infill, and master-planned communities. Clemson’s MRED program provides the solid foundation that can prepare you to take your career to the next level.
The MRED Program is a full-time, 56 credit professional degree program jointly offered by the University’s Department of City Planning and Real Estate Development (CPRED) in the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities and the School of Accountancy and Finance in the College of Business. The program can be completed in either 18-months for Entry Level Early Career Students or 12-months for Experienced Development Professionals. Providing an interdisciplinary approach, the program incorporates six disciplines:
The program focuses on the “master builder” concept, the methodology that promotes an entire vision for a community through sustainable design, creative financing methods, place-making and healthy communities. The program aims to help you become a visionary who is able to serve as craftsperson and designer of neighborhoods and community developments. You will recognize the role of the developer in guiding the different aspects of creating the built environment—political, economic, physical, environmental, legal and sociological.
We want you to be a great “place maker,” not just a builder of projects.
This program will consider applicants for conditional letters of admission (CLA’s) pending successful completion of an approved English as a Second Language (ESL) program. More information can be found on the Conditional Language Admission page.
More information can be found in this graduate handbook.
The Clemson MRED program closely follows the principles of the Urban Land Institute, which believes that development is a public-private partnership and that quality development requires integrating the perspectives of community, environment and economics. We believe knowledge cannot be bound by a classroom or individual area of concentration. Clemson MRED students use current development projects in the surrounding Southeastern states as well as major US cities as a living, breathing classroom for the ultimate immersion learning experience.
MRED classes emphasize the financial pro forma and the bottom line. Real estate is a capital-driven industry and developers must have a firm understanding of the workings of the capital markets, financial instruments and other financial parameters of valuation, including tax implications. Gap financing tools and techniques for public-private partnerships, including various tax credit and incentive programs, are thoroughly analyzed. Quality design and sustainability must be incorporated with realistic market and financial feasibility analysis to attract adequate sources of equity and debt financing.
This interdisciplinary approach ensures that our graduates become visionaries, who guide the multiple perspectives that converge during the development and building process. The Clemson MRED student is an innovator who will dramatically shape the future of the industry.
We invite you to learn more by visiting our downtown Greenville ONE facilities for an interview and personal tour. Please contact our Program Coordinator to set up a visit.
We are located in the Greenville ONE Building at 1 North Main Street, the premier new mixed-use 400,000 sf. complex in the heart of downtown Greenville, South Carolina. We have joined other Business graduate programs (MBA, accountancy, management, marketing, and finance) in the ONE Building, occupying 70,000 square feet on four floors, including a 4,000 sf. rooftop garden overlooking Main Street for social events and student enjoyment. The mixed use, state-of-the-art building has a green roof as well as ground level upscale retail/food and adjacent new hotel and civic plaza, with plentiful parking. We have state of the art classrooms, offices, study and breakout areas, and our own library/conference room. Greenville ONE is the tallest building in South Carolina with the LEED Gold Construction certification. Greenville-Spartanburg (GSP) is a dynamic metro area of 1.4 million people located between the two major markets of Atlanta and Charlotte.
Clemson MRED students come from a wide range of disciplines such as architecture, business, finance, engineering, urban affairs/planning, landscape architecture, construction science, economics, geography, environmental science, social sciences, accounting and marketing. Starting in 2004, the program has attracted 205 students from 38 states and 7 countries (Brazil, China, India, Iran, Saudi Arabia and S. Korea) from 88 collegiate institutions; 174 alumni are employed in 26 states (44 MSAs) and Asia.
We have a strict selection process that requires students to demonstrate exceptional track records in undergraduate study, work experience and leadership endeavors. To maintain the personal scale of the program, entering classes are kept to fewer than 20 students per year. You are not an unknown number in our program!
Student ages have ranged from 20 to 50 when admitted. 28% have design/construction undergrad degrees, 48% from business/finance, and 24% from planning/government/social science. All have some level of prior real estate experience.
Our students bring varied backgrounds and experiences with them when they embark on their MRED career. We believe that diversity enhances each graduating class and only serves to guarantee a rich and varied group of individuals primed to excel in the real estate development industry.
Tuition costs for the MRED program are different from the Graduate School fee structure; they are structured to ensure the financial commitment for the program’s national reputation and growth. No tuition waivers or reductions are provided.
