We are passionate about sharing with our students the vital role they each have now and as future professionals in promoting a sustainable future for all. We believe that sustainability is not the domain of one discipline or profession. It is the responsibility of all disciplines, professions, organisations and individuals.
That is why on each of our courses within the Belfast School of Architecture and the Built Environment you will learn about the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the contribution you can make now, and as a graduate in the Built Environment.
Considering a career in the global real estate sector? Be inspired, come and study Real Estate at Ulster.
Are you interested in the sourcing, financial analysis, execution of property acquisitions and developments? What are the strategies and decision-making processes for real estate investment, finance and development? How can you successfully manage a real estate portfolio? How do you underwrite and undertake the due diligence of various investment and development opportunities? Do you wish to have more experience and emphasis in conducting land and property research?
The MSc Real Estate (Applied Research) is designed for those graduates with a non-property related degree who wish to cross over to the real estate discipline. The programme is for anyone with an interest in the workings of real estate markets and property businesses. Core areas include development and investment appraisal, sustainability, asset management, valuation, international real estate and market analysis. The unique qualities of this programme provide students with the capacity, skills and knowledge to provide analytical solutions within the property business environment. The programme also develops applied land and property research skills and an appreciation of how research enquiry is used creatively to provide the advancement of knowledge in the real estate discipline.
We know that choosing to study at university is a big decision, and you may not always be able to find the information you need online.
Please contact Ulster University with any queries or questions you might have about:
For any queries regarding getting help with your application, please select Admissions in the drop down below.
For queries related to course content, including modules and placements, please select Course specific information.
We look forward to hearing from you.
In this section
The MSc Real Estate (Applied Research) includes a specialism based research dissertation module that advances students ability to critically appraise a land and property related topic thereby developing a sense of expertise and strong affiliation within the built environment discipline.
The overarching aim of the programme is to facilitate the personal and intellectual development of students and to produce graduates with the knowledge and skills appropriate to the property discipline commensurate with the requirements of the associated professional bodies; the public and private sectors; and commercial and corporate interests. The programme is designed to provide opportunities for student choice.
The rationale is to provide an intensive postgraduate educational opportunity for ambitious and motivated graduates who wants to develop their career in Real Estate. The subject matter is presented with an international perspective to reflect the increasingly strong role of property in today’s global business economy and to be of relevance to a career incorporating multinational organisations operating particularly in the UK, Europe, North America and Asia.
The programme will provide for the integration of theory and practice in real estate valuation, investment, management and development appraisal methodologies, including the key areas of real estate asset pricing and risk analysis, relevant to the commercial real estate industry, banks and institutional investors.
Graduates from the programme will be able to demonstrate various subject related qualities including; knowledge and understanding of the various best practices and accepted procedures of the property industry; Skill to practice the appropriate methods and practical techniques commonly used by a property surveyor. In the current financial environment real estate professionals are facing complex situations and making difficult decisions. Graduates will be, therefore, expected to have developed intellectual qualities, including high level cognitive skills, enabling them to analyse, synthesise and objectively evaluate complex issues, construct and defend a balanced argument and creatively identify problems and possible solutions in a real estate context. Graduates will also apply knowledge and rational judgment to source, critically review and use research material to plan and execute a significant practice-based enquiry that accurately and succinctly reflects the key issues, applies the methods and critically supports the conclusions within a real estate context.
Modular Structure;
Urban Development and Regeneration
This module is designed to provide students with an understanding of the planning and property development process in context of sustainable urban regeneration, a contemporary and priority agenda in cities. The module provides students with knowledge of key issues related to mixed use developments and the deliverability of sustainability principles within an urban regeneration context. This module addresses the policy objectives related to sustainable communities and low carbon growth in cities.
Real Estate Investment Analysis
This module will equip students with the knowledge of the modern techniques applied to income flows, valuation and investment appraisal in the real estate industry, including the ability to apply cash flow techniques and display strong analytical skills to practical industry scenarios. Students should appreciate the various technical and analytical approaches involved in the appraisal and analysis of major capital investments from the basic investment strategy deployed through to the complex cash flow models and funding to critically evaluate the investment performance of property assets.
Real Estate Economics and Analysis
This module develops the knowledge base of the students through the enhancement of economic and analytical skills for real estate market analysis. The module provides students with an awareness of the process and application of economic analysis and the manner of problem solving and decision making through the incorporation of spatial and temporal dimensions. The theories and decision process is applied to an array of practical situations using geographic information, basic statistics skills in property market analysis to gain an in-depth understanding of real estate markets.
Real Estate Valuation
This module introduces students to the challenges of valuing property for investment and development purposes. It provides students with a comprehensive overview of key valuation theory, practice and techniques both traditional and contemporary. It focuses specifically on the critical understanding of the different valuation techniques and their applications to statutory and non statutory valuation instructions. The module will also develop student understanding of the dynamics of the market and the legal environment within which real estate valuations and appraisals are conducted.
Real Estate Asset Management
This module aims to foster a deep understanding of the fundamental challenges and opportunities presented by investment and occupational property assets. It adopts an approach of proactive asset management and seeks to equip the students with skills to add value to real estate assets and fulfil their clients ESG and EDI responsibilities and to prepare the student for employment in management of the principal events in the life cycle of property assets.
International Real Estate Portfolio Analysis
The module provides students with the necessary knowledge of market dynamics in developed and emerging investment markets for property investment purposes. The module will enable students to develop a sound knowledge of workings of the global market in terms of the participants in the market, the type of asset in which they invest, and the rationale behind their investment strategy.
Professional Practice and Ethics
The professional body (RICS) places a considerable emphasis on the need for professionalism, professional conduct and legal awareness to be demonstrated by all members. This module provides the student with the knowledge and skills to enable them to self-appraise and become critically self-aware in developing their career path to become a professional real estate practitioner. Furthermore, this module develops the practical measurement skills of real estate students to ensure they can conduct, record and digitally represent floor plans. The module also provides students with practical insights into building pathology and defect detection as well as the wider regulatory framework within which a real estate practitioner resides.
Sustainable Real Estate
This module introduces students to the challenges facing the real estate sector in responding to the wider sustainability and ESG agendas. It focuses specifically on developing critical appraisal skills to enable students to make more informed decisions regarding assessing the sustainability of projects, buildings, investments, and operational and management activities. Overall, after studying this module students should feel more confident in giving clients more informed advice on a range of sustainability issues linked to real estate.
Applied Research (Land and Property)
The research dissertation module integrates and further develops the knowledge and skills acquired within the taught element of the programme. The module specifically allows the students to apply knowledge and skills acquired to undertake a research dissertation investigating a topic relevant to the real estate industry and of interest to the student. The land and property topic will vary, depending on the interests of the student and expertise of staff, but students will be required to demonstrate their knowledge in the chosen subject area as well as critical analysis and investigative skills in both written and oral format.
The MSc Real Estate (Applied Research) programme is only available on a full time mode and offers one point of entry in each academic year: September. The degree will normally be completed across two academic year.
Students take four 15-credit modules per semester and each module equates to a student effort of 150 hours, made up of direct contact hours (i.e. that delivered in the classroom) and the remainder as independent study time which would involve reading books, journals and researching for coursework etc. Students also undertake a 120-credit applied research dissertation module in semester 1 and 2 of the next academic year, which has limited direct teaching but has a staff supervisory process to support you.
On average the contact time per week for each module will be 4-5 hours (with a mix of lectures and tutorials). This varies in some modules but will not be more than 5 hours per week per module. Usually these contact hours are spread across a minimum of 3-4 days in the full time mode across 12 weeks per semester. There will also be a couple of practical sessions/site visits which are connected to a measurement exercise/assessment etc and this will be scheduled on the timetable and communicated at the beginning of the semester. Other than the scheduled contact time, there is an expectation that students are using the rest of the week for independent study/research.
The applied research dissertation takes place in the final two semesters of the course separately.
The Real Estate programme is delivered via a variety of lectures, seminars, computer tutorials, educational videos, practical exercises and study visits. Staff are encouraged to vary their teaching styles and facilitate small group teaching or break-out seminars as much as possible. Class sizes are kept small to ensure that students benefit from one-to-one support and tutorage. Modules are assessed through a mix/combination of coursework, examinations or practical exercises depending on the skills being assessed.
The content for each course is summarised on the relevant course page, along with an overview of the modules that make up the course.
Each course is approved by the University and meets the expectations of:
As part of your course induction, you will be provided with details of the organisation and management of the course, including attendance and assessment requirements - usually in the form of a timetable. For full-time courses, the precise timetable for each semester is not confirmed until close to the start date and may be subject to some change in the early weeks as all courses settle into their planned patterns. For part-time courses which require attendance on particular days and times, an expectation of the days and periods of attendance will be included in the letter of offer. A course handbook is also made available.
Courses comprise modules for which the notional effort involved is indicated by its credit rating. Each credit point represents 10 hours of student effort. Undergraduate courses typically contain 10, 20, or 40 credit modules (more usually 20) and postgraduate courses typically 15 or 30 credit modules.
The normal study load expectation for an undergraduate full-time course of study in the standard academic year is 120 credit points. This amounts to around 36-42 hours of expected teaching and learning per week, inclusive of attendance requirements for lectures, seminars, tutorials, practical work, fieldwork or other scheduled classes, private study, and assessment. Teaching and learning activities will be in-person and/or online depending on the nature of the course. Part-time study load is the same as full-time pro-rata, with each credit point representing 10 hours of student effort.
Postgraduate Master’s courses typically comprise 180 credits, taken in three semesters when studied full-time. A Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert) comprises 60 credits and can usually be completed on a part-time basis in one year. A 120-credit Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) can usually be completed on a part-time basis in two years.
Class contact times vary by course and type of module. Typically, for a module predominantly delivered through lectures you can expect at least 3 contact hours per week (lectures/seminars/tutorials). Laboratory classes often require a greater intensity of attendance in blocks. Some modules may combine lecture and laboratory. The precise model will depend on the course you apply for and may be subject to change from year to year for quality or enhancement reasons. Prospective students will be consulted about any significant changes.
Assessment methods vary and are defined explicitly in each module. Assessment can be a combination of examination and coursework but may also be only one of these methods. Assessment is designed to assess your achievement of the module’s stated learning outcomes. You can expect to receive timely feedback on all coursework assessments. This feedback may be issued individually and/or issued to the group and you will be encouraged to act on this feedback for your own development.
Coursework can take many forms, for example: essay, report, seminar paper, test, presentation, dissertation, design, artefacts, portfolio, journal, group work. The precise form and combination of assessment will depend on the course you apply for and the module. Details will be made available in advance through induction, the course handbook, the module specification, the assessment timetable and the assessment brief. The details are subject to change from year to year for quality or enhancement reasons. You will be consulted about any significant changes.
Normally, a module will have 4 learning outcomes, and no more than 2 items of assessment. An item of assessment can comprise more than one task. The notional workload and the equivalence across types of assessment is standardised. The module pass mark for undergraduate courses is 40%. The module pass mark for postgraduate courses is 50%.
The class of Honours awarded in Bachelor’s degrees is usually determined by calculation of an aggregate mark based on performance across the modules at Levels 5 and 6, (which correspond to the second and third year of full-time attendance).
Level 6 modules contribute 70% of the aggregate mark and Level 5 contributes 30% to the calculation of the class of the award. Classification of integrated Master’s degrees with Honours include a Level 7 component. The calculation in this case is: 50% Level 7, 30% Level 6, 20% Level 5. At least half the Level 5 modules must be studied at the University for Level 5 to be included in the calculation of the class.
All other qualifications have an overall grade determined by results in modules from the final level of study.
In Masters degrees of more than 200 credit points the final 120 points usually determine the overall grading.
Figures from the academic year 2022-2023.
Ulster is one of most established UK educators of the real estate discipline, with over 40 years’ experience in developing successful property graduates. Recognised nationally for outstanding teaching, research, engagement with employers and student satisfaction, we will prepare you for a successful career in real estate.
The University employs over 1,000 suitably qualified and experienced academic staff - 60% have PhDs in their subject field and many have professional body recognition.
Courses are taught by staff who are Professors (19%), Readers, Senior Lecturers (22%) or Lecturers (57%).
We require most academic staff to be qualified to teach in higher education: 82% hold either Postgraduate Certificates in Higher Education Practice or higher. Most academic and learning support staff (85%) are recognised as fellows of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) by Advance HE - the university sector professional body for teaching and learning. Many academic and technical staff hold other professional body designations related to their subject or scholarly practice.
The profiles of many academic staff can be found on the University’s departmental websites and give a detailed insight into the range of staffing and expertise. The precise staffing for a course will depend on the department(s) involved and the availability and management of staff. This is subject to change annually and is confirmed in the timetable issued at the start of the course.
Occasionally, teaching may be supplemented by suitably qualified part-time staff (usually qualified researchers) and specialist guest lecturers. In these cases, all staff are inducted, mostly through our staff development programme ‘First Steps to Teaching’. In some cases, usually for provision in one of our out-centres, Recognised University Teachers are involved, supported by the University in suitable professional development for teaching.
Figures from the academic year 2022-2023.
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We recognise a range of qualifications for admission to our courses. In addition to the specific entry conditions for this course you must also meet the University’s General Entrance Requirements.
(a) Applicants must have gained
a second class honours degree or better from a university of the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland, or from a recognised national awarding body, or from an institution of another country which has been recognised as being of an equivalent standard;
or
an equivalent standard (normally 50%) in a Graduate Diploma, Graduate Certificate, Postgraduate Certificate or Postgraduate Diploma or an approved alternative qualification;
and
(b) provide evidence of competence in written and spoken English (GCSE grade C or equivalent).
In exceptional circumstances, as an alternative to (a) (i) or (a) (ii) and/or (b), where an individual has substantial and significant experiential learning, a portfolio of written evidence demonstrating the meeting of graduate qualities (including subject-specific outcomes, as determined by the Course Committee) may be considered as an alternative entrance route. Evidence used to demonstrate graduate qualities may not be used for exemption against modules within the programme.
English language requirements for international applicants
The minimum requirement for this course is Academic IELTS 6.0 with no band score less than 5.5. Trinity ISE: Pass at level III also meets this requirement for Tier 4 visa purposes.
Ulster recognises a number of other English language tests and comparable IELTS equivalent scores.
With regard to transferring to and from the course and claiming exemption for completed modules, the University has developed a formal procedure, which allows recognition through the award of credit for previous modules that have been successfully completed. Therefore, modules passed in respect of other qualifications awarded by the University or by another university or other educational institution, or evidence from the accreditation of prior experiential learning, may be accepted as exempting candidates from part of the programme provided that they shall register as students of the University for modules amounting to at least the final 50% of the credit value of the award at the highest level.
In this section
Real estate professionals have a key role to play in advising multi-national companies, major financial institutions, property companies, banks, governments and other public sector organisations around the world. This may be transactional business advice on the purchase, sale, leasing and acquisition of commercial real estate or it may be professional advisory services including management of real estate portfolios to maximise the value of real estate as an asset class. Real estate players are able to creatively apply technical, legal and economic knowledge to deliver on a stakeholder’s property objectives and meet current business needs and future strategy.
Our MSc graduates enter a wide variety of employment including development and investment firms, banks and financial institutions, consultancy, agency, asset management, real estate research, education, housing management and the public sector.
The course also offers the opportunity to deepen student knowledge and developing research skills in the area of land and property with the support of the research expertise in the School. Graduates from the course also have opportunity to embark on further research at the Ph.D. level.
Accreditations reflect the excellence of our teaching, research, and knowledge exchange and ensure our programmes realise the highest expectations. By studying at Ulster University you’ll gain insight and be at the forefront of current industry practices, while our many accredited degree programmes open doors to the world’s top professional organisations, making you more attractive to future employers and giving you a competitive edge in the job market.
Accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) for the purpose of graduate membership.
Students domiciled in Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and UK students can apply to Student Finance NI for a Tuition Fee loan of up to £6,500 (subject to eligibility).
Visit Tuition Fees pages for more details on the price of this course.
These awards are sponsored by the real estate industry and are designed to provide recognition to the students for their hard work and commitment to their studies. An annual prize ceremony takes place to showcase and celebrate student achievements attended by prize winners, their families, industry sponsors and student peer groups. The current prize sponsors include CBRE, Cushman and Wakefield, E.Surv, Knight Frank, Lambert Smith Hampton, McAleer and Rushe, Osborne King, Savills, Simon Brien and TDK.
See if you can access financial or other forms of support, including mentorship to excel in your studies.
It is important to remember that costs associated with accommodation, travel (including car parking charges) and normal living will need to be covered in addition to tuition fees.
Where a course has additional mandatory expenses (in addition to tuition fees) we make every effort to highlight them above. We aim to provide students with the learning materials needed to support their studies. Our libraries are a valuable resource with an extensive collection of books and journals, as well as first-class facilities and IT equipment. Computer suites and free Wi-Fi are also available on each of the campuses.
There are additional fees for graduation ceremonies, examination resits and library fines.
Students choosing a period of paid work placement or study abroad as a part of their course should be aware that there may be additional travel and living costs, as well as tuition fees.
See the tuition fees on our student guide for most up to date costs.
We know that choosing to study at university is a big decision, and you may not always be able to find the information you need online.
Please contact Ulster University with any queries or questions you might have about:
For any queries regarding getting help with your application, please select Admissions in the drop down below.
For queries related to course content, including modules and placements, please select Course specific information.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Ulster continues to develop and support sustainability initiatives with our staff, students, and external partners across various aspects of teaching, research, professional services operations, and governance.
At Ulster every person, course, research project, and professional service area on every campus either does or can contribute in some way towards the global sustainability and climate change agenda.
We are guided by both our University Strategy People, Place and Partnerships: Delivering Sustainable Futures for All and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Our work in this area is already being recognised globally. Most recently by the 2024 Times Higher Education Impact rating where we were recognised as Joint 5th Globally for Outreach Activities and Joint Top 20 Globally for Sustainable Development Goal 17: Partnership for the Goals.
Visit our Sustainability at Ulster destination to learn more about how the University strategy and the activities of Ulster University support each of the Sustainable Development Goals.
