06/25/18

AMES, Iowa — The Iowa State University College of Design and Ivy College of Business have established a new master’s program in real estate development approved by the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, at its June 6 meeting in Cedar Falls.

The Master of Real Estate Development (MRED) is an interdisciplinary, professional degree offered in a blended format of online courses and brief campus residencies, ideal for the full-time working professional. Faculty from both colleges worked closely with Iowa State alumni and senior management at architecture, financial services and real estate investment and development firms to develop the curriculum and delivery method.

“The collaboration between the College of Design and the Ivy College of Business provides a greater breadth of expertise and opportunities for studying real estate with options in areas like historic preservation and sustainable community development,” said Francis Owusu, chair of the Department of Community and Regional Planning in the College of Design.

The Iowa State program, which can be completed in 21 months, is especially suited for professionals with work experience in a real estate-related field. Participants will receive graduate training in real estate market analysis, business finance, fundamentals of the built environment and urban planning with an emphasis on current trends and innovations. The program will engage with industry to facilitate a novel curriculum and invite broad perspectives through guest lectures.

Students will complete a capstone project and will develop a working relationship with Iowa State faculty as well as alumni in the real estate development and investment industries.

Application information will be available this fall. The program will launch in fall 2019.

Housing and real estate

Daniel Kuhlmann is a new faculty member hired to help lead the MRED program. He will join the College of Design in August as an assistant professor of community and regional planning with responsibilities in ISU Extension and Outreach and the Ivy College of Business.

Kuhlmann has significant experience in housing and real estate, especially in the context of the Midwest. His research interests include housing, public finance, land use and demography.

Kuhlmann served as a business systems consultant for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage in Minneapolis from 2010-2012. He previously had been a researcher for CB Richard Ellis in Bloomington, Minnesota, and an associate consultant with RCLCO in Los Angeles. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in international relations from Carleton College (2008) and a Master of Arts in city and regional planning from Cornell University (2014). He is completing his PhD in city and regional planning from Cornell this summer.

Contacts

Francis Owusu, Community and Regional Planning, (515) 294-7769, fowusu@iastate.edu
Tracy Turner, Finance, (515) 294-7196, turner@iastate.edu
Heather Sauer, Design Communications, (515) 294-9298, hsauer@iastate.edu

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