Courses Taught

REST 894 – Capstone Experience (1)
Enrollment in the course requires concurrent enrollment in REST 880 and matriculation in the Master of Real Estate degree program. During the course, students will analyze an existing or proposed development project. In development teams, students will conduct a thorough analysis on the strengths and weaknesses of the project while considering other factors, such as financial viability, market demand, political requirements, social needs, and physical and environmental constraints. In addition, students may visit existing real estate projects and meet with principal participants in order to conduct an analysis and critique of the strength and weaknesses of the project and apply that knowledge to their final development analysis.

RM 303 – R Est Fundmntls (3)
Introduction to urban real estate; economic forces affecting property rights; real estate markets and finance; land-use analysis; government policies.

RM 497 – Special Topics (1)
Formal courses given infrequently to explore, in depth, a comparatively narrow subject which may be topical or of special interest.

REST 830 – INST & MKT ANALYS (1)
This course has three objectives: a) provide an overview of modern real estate analysis, b) overview of risk management, and c) develop a series of analytical techniques associated with real estate risk analysis. The course begins with an overview of issues in real estate and risk management. Focus then shifts to a series of legal issues, including property rights and regulations. The remainder of the course deals with the economic and financial evaluation of real estate.

REST 832 – Real Estate Negotiations (2)
This course covers principles, strategies and techniques on negotiation with multiple parties involved in commercial real estate transactions, along with fully understanding how to create financially viable agreements. The goal of the course is to give students the opportunity to learn and develop a win-win negotiation strategy, establish smart investment decisions, and implementing negotiations through real world scenarios to create smart investment decisions.

REST 840 – ANALYSIS TOOLS (1)
This course will provide a comprehensive overview of the leading real estate industry software used for financial and investment analysis. These software programs provide a platform for investment and valuation analysis of individual properties as well as portfolios. Students successfully completing this course will be prepared to sit for various industry certification exams. After successfully completing this course, students will be able to: - Accurately implement a discounted cash flow model - Perform real estate portfolio analysis - Perform real estate valuation analysis and conduct sensitivity analysis - Demonstrate understanding of the basic inputs to cash flow models. - Create standard industry investment and valuation reports - Conduct market analysis.

RM 330W – R EST RISK ANALYS (3)
Risk and value associated with real estate decision making, which includes purchasing, leasing renovation, financing, and investing. The purpose of this course is to demonstrate how value and risk is central to virtually all real estate decision making, including whether and how to lease, buy or mortgage a property acquisition; whether to renovate, refinance, demolish or expand a property; and when and how to divest a property. The goal is to finish the course with a value oriented framework based on a set of valuation and decision making tools that can be applied in a variety of real world situations and to understand industry indicators (external factors) that determine the level of risk associated with real estate ventures.

FIN 470 – R Est and Cap Mkts (3)
Analysis of publicly-traded real estate of both the equity, (REITs) and debt (MBSs) sides. The course also provides international perspectives.FIN 470 / RM 470 Real Estate and Capital Markets (3) The objectives of this course are to expose the student and explore the issues associated with the analysis of "public" ("Wall Street") real estate, including both equities (such as Real Estate Investment Trusts or REITs) and debt vehicles (such as Mortgage-Backed Securities or MBSs). In addition, the course will focus on the increasingly globalization of real estate capital markets as the real estate sector becomes integrated into the global financial system. The differences between private and public real estate analysis will also be explored, including the suitability of traditional asset pricing models for real estate analysis. Topics include the growing impact of institutional real estate forces on the real estate sector, the use of modern financial economics methods to real estate including the concept of market efficiency, modern portfolio theory applications, market measures of risk and return, the use of option-based models, and other advances. The rise of Wall Street's interest in real estate securities is an important institutional development and serves as the underlying background for the analysis of MBSs using fixed-income security techniques. As globalization has spread, the real estate sector has moved with these changes and prospects for a global real estate market are examined and evaluated. This course serves as a compliment to FIN 460, which emphasizes traditional financial analyses of individual real estate projects. In FIN 470, real estate securities are viewed as a natural extension towards the complete integration of real estate and capital markets. In this sense, these courses will enable traditional and modern analyses of the real estate sector for years to come.

RM 470 – R Est and Cap Mkts (3)
Analysis of publicly-traded real estate of both the equity, (REITs) and debt (MBSs) sides. The course also provides international perspectives.FIN 470 / RM 470 Real Estate and Capital Markets (3) The objectives of this course are to expose the student and explore the issues associated with the analysis of "public" ("Wall Street") real estate, including both equities (such as Real Estate Investment Trusts or REITs) and debt vehicles (such as Mortgage-Backed Securities or MBSs). In addition, the course will focus on the increasingly globalization of real estate capital markets as the real estate sector becomes integrated into the global financial system. The differences between private and public real estate analysis will also be explored, including the suitability of traditional asset pricing models for real estate analysis. Topics include the growing impact of institutional real estate forces on the real estate sector, the use of modern financial economics methods to real estate including the concept of market efficiency, modern portfolio theory applications, market measures of risk and return, the use of option-based models, and other advances. The rise of Wall Street's interest in real estate securities is an important institutional development and serves as the underlying background for the analysis of MBSs using fixed-income security techniques. As globalization has spread, the real estate sector has moved with these changes and prospects for a global real estate market are examined and evaluated. This course serves as a compliment to FIN 460, which emphasizes traditional financial analyses of individual real estate projects. In FIN 470, real estate securities are viewed as a natural extension towards the complete integration of real estate and capital markets. In this sense, these courses will enable traditional and modern analyses of the real estate sector for years to come.

RM 496 – Indep Studies (2)
Creative Projects, including research and design, which are supervised on an individual basis and which fall outside the scope of formal courses.

PSU 006 – Bus 1st-Yr Smr (1)
Facilitate student's adjustment to the high expectations, demanding workload, increased academic liberties, and other aspects of the transition to college life. PSU 006 First Year Seminar in Business Administration (1-3 credits) This course is designed to assist students in examining several areas of the college transition: awareness of self and others; career exploration; majors offered in the Smeal College; and current issues in business. The skills learned in this course will be presented as life-long skills, applicable in the university setting and the corporate environment. The nature of the course requires cooperation, participation, and interaction. This course facilitates learning through experience, lectures and class discussion.The course contains assignments dealing with: 1). Leadership 2). Ethics 3). Celebrating Diversity 4). Diversity in the Workplace 5). Community Service 6). Major and Career Exploration 7). Time Management and Goal Setting 8). Business Case Study

RM 494H – Research Project (Variable)
Supervised honor student research projects identified on an individual or small-group basis.

BA 804 – Ethical Leadership (2)
The objective of the ethical leadership course is to raise awareness of the key role played as a manager and leader in creating and maintaining responsible business conduct in work groups and organizations. The course is also intended to enhance the student's ability to deal with the complexities of ethical decision making in today's dynamic business environment by clarifying and applying personal values.

RM 399 – Foreign Studies (2)
A look into the real estate markets of the UK and comparing those with the real estate markets of the US. This course brought students to London for a week over spring break to explore the city of London and meet with an array of commercial real estate leaders within the industry to get a full understanding of the UK commercial real estate market.

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