Choosing where to go to college can be a difficult and stressful situation. Coming out of high school, I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do, but I knew I wanted to study Real Estate and/or Finance. I am not sure if this made my college decision easier or more difficult. However, after visiting the University of Cincinnati, the choice was clear. The University sits just minutes from the center of Cincinnati and has unmatched proximity to the communities downtown and uptown’s business districts. The Real Estate Program at UC was unlike any other program I had seen. The faculty, staff, community, student, and alumni engagement were clearly unmatched, and it made my decision to attend the University of Cincinnati an easy one.

My expectations were exceedingly high as I stepped on campus as a freshman, and by the time I wrapped up my first year, the University of Cincinnati did not disappoint. The real estate center makes it easy to get involved from day one and allows you to build on that success over your time as an undergrad or graduate student. The faculty, staff, and other students were there to support me and help my transition into the real estate world be as smooth as possible.

The Real Estate Center is led by Carl Goertemoeller, a real estate executive with over 40 years of industry experience. The center is also supported by the Board of Executive Advisors in Real Estate (BEARE) and the Real Estate Executive Advisory Council (REEAC), which represent the top leaders in the real estate industry. The board’s primary objectives are to guide the direction of the Real Estate Center and expose students to industry leaders, as well as provide professional and academic opportunities.

– Nick Wessels, Class of 2018

Leaving high school, my only direction for choosing a university was if it had a relatively good business school. I applied to a lot of different universities and toured many different campuses, but ended up choosing the University of Cincinnati because of its great business school, its strong presence in the community, and its fantastic co-op program. I started my first year at UC having little to no idea what I wanted to major in. Luckily, my first-year schedule allowed me to try out classes in finance, accounting, marketing, economics, and many other majors offered at the business college. After taking a Real Estate Principles class and attending a UC Real Estate Roundtable, I knew that’s what I wanted to major in. The Real Estate Principles class was one of the first classes I had taken that had concepts that I was personally able to apply to the real world. I also met some friendly professionals in the real estate industry at the UC Real Estate Roundtable, helping me solidify my choice to major in Real Estate.

I soon joined the University of Cincinnati Real Estate Association (UCREA) and was quickly inundated with opportunities to meet industry professionals, tour companies and properties, and attend professional events. Unfortunately, right when I was starting to get more involved with the club, COVID hit, and all events were either canceled for a time or held online. UCREA still managed to provide value to me during the pandemic by holding virtual events and continuing to help students network and meet industry professionals online. After a year of being away from campus, I was able to return for my final senior semester. UCREA picked up right where it left off with a trip to Chicago, which was a useful and fun experience for me, as well as multiple tours of local properties in the Cincinnati area. Besides the actual core classes related to my major and internships, I would say that UCREA has provided some of the most valuable experiences for me during my time at UC.

The biggest reason I attended UC was because of its co-op program. I was able to participate in three co-ops, each over the summer in between regular semesters. My first co-op was not real estate-related, as I hadn’t narrowed down my path yet. I found the co-op through the UC business school’s career coach, who was a massive help in training for interviews as well as resume help. My next two internships were with Eagle Realty and Vanguard Financial. Connections I made from UCREA, the UC Real Estate Roundtable, and alumni of the UC real estate program helped me obtain these internships. The invaluable experience I gained from these internships and at UC helped me land my job at BlueMark Capital after graduation.

– Sam Schutte, Class of 2021

UC Real Estate Association

The University of Cincinnati Real Estate Association (“UCREA”) is an organization that enables real estate students to learn beyond the classroom by exposing them to real-life experiences. The mission of UCREA is to build better Real Estate students by allowing them to interact with professionals, engage with peers, and increase personal knowledge about various aspects of real estate.

One of the most unique aspects of UCREA is that it is open to all UC undergraduate and graduate students at no cost.

By joining UCREA, you are was exposed to hundreds of industry professionals and networking opportunities with Cincinnati’s leading real estate professionals. You also have the chance to tour local projects in the city on at least a monthly basis. UCREA also hosts speakers, happy hours and career fairs for members to take advantage of throughout the course of the year.

UC Monthly Roundtable Series

In 1983, the UC Real Estate Roundtable was created to establish and maintain links between the university and the business and real estate communities. The Roundtable series features guest speakers who present their ideas, thoughts and perspectives on topics that impact the real estate industry. The Roundtable Series occurs on a monthly basis and strives to:

• Encourage interaction between real estate professionals and UC students and faculty.
• Address issues and topics relevant to the real estate industry and leading professionals.
• Expose real estate professionals to industry research conducted at UC and elsewhere.

Roundtable membership is comprised of an average of more than 200 industry leaders each year. The roundtable program provides students and industry professionals with high-quality programming and networking opportunities. As a UC student, the series is 100% free thanks to the support of the Real Estate Center and industry leaders.

Co-Op & Internship Opportunities

One big reason to attend the University of Cincinnati is their Co-Op program, which allows you to take internship opportunities on a bi-semester basis over the course of your undergraduate degree. This program allows you to work full time, every other semester. Nick Wessels had the opportunity to work for Grandin Properties in Cincinnati, Phillips Edison & Company in both Cincinnati and Atlanta, Harrison Street Real Estate Capital in Chicago, and Eagle Realty Group in Cincinnati. In total, the Co-Op program allowed him to graduate with almost 2 years of industry experience and led to his placement at Eagle Realty Group.

The Real Estate Center and UC College of Business do everything in their power to place students into professional internship/co-op positions. Their support and assistance are unmatched, which is an unbelievable opportunity as a UC student wanting to study real estate.

International & Domestic Learning Opportunities

Over the course of your undergrad experience, you may be able to attend and visit some of the most extraordinary places and projects that exist in the real estate world. Below is a list of past example experiences that may resemble your opportunities as a real estate undergrad:

• • Real Estate Study Abroad: London, England
    • Traveled to London where we spend 4 days touring real estate projects and meeting with industry professionals. The site and company visits were followed by 3 days of academic classes and presentations and the University of Cambridge and Cass Business School. We met with the Land Economics Department at Cambridge and had the opportunity the listen to professors as well as Ph.D. students present on various real estate topics. We then spent the day at Cass Business School where we (UC students) presented case study material on areas of growth and opportunity in and around downtown London.

• Real Estate Domestic Trips
  • New York City where there were tours of a variety of projects including Hudson Yards and the World Trade developments
  • ICSC conference in Las Vegas 3 years in a row where real estate students represented UC and shadowed brokers on the floor of the Las Vegas Convention Center
  • Annual Chicago trip to visit with alumni and real estate companies
  • The program also offered trips to Nashville, Denver, Cleveland, and more
• UC Case Study Competitions
  • Each year, students are presented the opportunity to participate in a variety of case competitions, including those sponsored by ULI, NAIOP and others. Yearly, the University of Cincinnati partners with the Cincinnati chapter of the Urban Land Institute to sponsor a case study competition that  allows you to analyze a real development opportunity in the Cincinnati market and compete against your peers for a $5,000 prize at the end of the semester.

UC Scholarships