B.S. Real Estate Property Management

The Weidner New Student Scholarship is a $5,000 one-year, non-renewable scholarship.  Twenty scholarship awards are available for new entering students pursuing a major in Real Estate Property Management. No additional scholarship application is required, you will be automatically eligible if you meet these criteria:

• Incoming first-year OR Transfer student
• Enrolled as a full-time, degree-seeking student for fall semester in the Real Estate Property Management program
• Cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher from the most recent school attended

Weidner Center Scholarship 
The Weidner Center provides 14 scholarships for students majoring in Real Estate Property Management. Eligibility requirements vary, but awards are available regardless of financial need. For consideration, you must submit a Stout University Foundation Scholarship application - with a single application, you'll be considered for every Foundation scholarship for which you qualify.

• (6x) $2,000 (Juniors/Seniors)
• (4x) $1,000 (Juniors/Seniors)
• (4x) $1,000 (First-year/Transfer Students)

The Wisconsin REALTORS® Foundation awards scholarships to sons or daughters of association members.

• (10x) $1,000 (Children of Association Members)

Apply for a WRA Scholarship

ICSC Foundation awards multiple scholarships to students in the U.S. and Canada. All scholarship recipients receive an industry mentor, a trip to RECon for U.S. recipients (or Canadian Conference for Canadian recipients) and complimentary ICSC student membership.

Apply for an ICSC Foundation Scholarship

CREW Network Foundation scholarship program awards scholarships to female full-time juniors, seniors or graduates with a minimum 3.0 GPA who are studying one or more qualified commercial real estate fields.

• (25x) $5,000 (Eligibile Juniors/Seniors/Graduates)

Apply for a CREW Scholarship

During your first few semesters, you'll enroll in a combination of general education courses and foundational courses for the major. Core education includes English composition, speech and a variety of self-selected courses in humanities and the arts. Economics, psychology and geography — including graphic information systems — will make up the social and behavioral science selections.

A natural science course covering the environment is also required. In addition to an introduction to the property management field, other foundation courses include marketing, business writing and human resource management. 

As You Progress

The property management program teaches you all the critical facets of the profession including building maintenance, accounting, marketing, leasing, market and investment analysis and real estate law. You'll also take courses in leadership, strategy and security, and risk management.

In the capstone course, you'll develop a property management plan, a critical document analyzing the highest and best uses of a particular property. Our course offerings help you achieve industry certification at a faster rate than most people entering the industry for the first time.

The curriculum draws widely from existing courses in business, management, construction, service management, retail and hospitality. It is anticipated that, as the program develops, elective concentrations will be developed. Future concentrations may include residential property, commercial property and hospitality property management.

Internships

A variety of internship positions in both residential and commercial property are available for you. It is an excellent way for both you and employers to learn about each other and assess the prospect for future career opportunities.

Student Organizations

IREM (Institute of Real Estate Management) is a student-run club that consists of students who have similar career interests in managing various types of property. This student professional organization plans numerous field trips throughout the school year to get a behind-the-scenes look at how various types of property are managed by the professionals in the industry.

Students in the Resort/Property Managers' Association have similar career interests in managing various types of property. This student-run professional organization plans numerous field trips throughout the school year to get you a behind-the-scenes look at how various types of property are managed by professionals in the industry.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics 2014–2024 forecast indicates that real estate job opportunities will be best for those with a college degree in real estate or business administration, and for those who obtain professional credentials.  Industry job growth is expected to continue at a strong pace in the next decade, with an estimated 50,000 new jobs on the horizon.

Real Estate Manager Job Descriptions

Property Manager
Property management is like being the owner of a small business, involving daily operations at the individual property level and includes marketing and promotion, tenant screening and selection, collecting rent, coordination of maintenance and repair functions, optimizing building efficiency and acting as liaison between owners, investors, vendors, the local community and tenants, all with a focus on both customer service and the bottom line.  Property Management involves a thorough understanding of assets in a real estate portfolio, and the responsibility to lease and manage the assets to maximize returns and insure the real estate's long-term value. There are many types of real estate that require Property Management expertise for day-to-day operations.

Multifamily Real Estate
Multifamily real estate is a residential building or group of buildings which houses multiple persons or families in separate units. Multifamily property sizes range from two units to more than five hundred.  Multifamily real estate serves to many different demographics and lifestyles, including apartments, townhomes, cooperatives, student housing, affordable housing, and luxury residential condominiums. In multifamily real estate, residents lease their unit and pay rent to a landlord who owns the property, or are a condominium resident who owns their unit and pays condominium association fees for maintaining the common areas of the building.

Mixed-Use Real Estate 
Mixed-use real estate is a development with one or more buildings combining office, retail, dining, entertainment and housing within walking distance of each other, eliminating dependence on cars for residents. Mixed-Use real estate is a hot trend in commercial development, originating from the New Urbanist movement and the drive for sustainability. Mixed use revives the feel of a downtown in a small America town, with a main street populated by offices and retail on the ground floors and housing units on upper floors. 

Office Real Estate 
The office real estate sector has a wide variety of tenants and building types. In the central business district of major metropolitan areas, office buildings are leased to high quality, often national and international businesses. Larger corporations will own their own buildings and occupy the entire space, but generally, office space is leased on long term leases to multiple tenants. 

Retail Real Estate 
Retail real estate can be a small, single tenant building, or a shopping mall. Property managers must have strong skills in leasing, financial analysis, and advisory services. Tenants range from grocery stores and home improvement centers,  to small electronics stores and dry cleaners. Small retailers lease space in a retail center to sell to the public and some major national retailers either buy their own building or develop a site themselves. 

Leisure and Entertainment Real Estate 
Leisure and entertainment real estate is a very niche segment with owners and operators specializing in properties such as golf courses, amusement parks, sports complexes or resorts, often with a hotel component that is either managed by the owner or a third party property manager. In addition to property management, opportunities can also include portfolio managers, acquisitions, dispositions, financing, and development. Any job in leisure and entertainment real estate will require a specialized knowledge of business and real estate operations of the very unique assets within this segment.

Senior Housing and Communities 
Senior Housing is a complex industry where property types are distinguished by the level of resident services provided.  Senior housing is comprised of Independent Living, Congregate Care, Assisted Living Facilities, as well as Nursing and Memory Care facilities.  Services provided can range from community activities only, to personal care, shared meals, assistance with daily activities and minimal medical services. Most properties lease rooms by the month and costs vary depending on which services the resident elects to receive. 
 

Property Investing & Related Fields

Property managers are frequently involved in more than managing operations for a building. There are a variety of concentrations in related real estate fields.  

Real Estate Brokerage, Sales and Leasing 
Real estate agents and brokers facilitate the sale or leasing of real estate. Brokers and agents usually specialize in retail, office, residential, industrial, or land, but their responsibilities are the same across any property type. Sales agents work underneath a managing broker. Brokers manage the firm, recruit new agents, determine the marketing budget for the office, the listings carried by the firm, and the activities of the sales agents. Sales agents often are independent contractors working for straight commission. Depending on the industry, brokers and agents' responsibilities can range from obtaining the property listing, marketing the property, showing the property, negotiating with buyers or sellers, helping to arrange financing for the client, preparing contracts, and organizing the closing.

Real Estate Development 
Real Estate Development is a dynamic business, requiring the knowledge and ability to execute nearly all of the development process. The role of the real estate developer is to envision the entire development from start to finish, and execute the processes to get the project built - site selection, market analysis, finance, construction, leasing, and sales. It is extremely beneficial to also have legal and transactional skills to handle the contracts and liability concerns present in development projects. Real estate developers have a two-fold economic development role in a community - they create jobs through the construction process and provide the physical space for businesses that provide jobs.

Entrepreneurial/Small Business Real Estate Investor 
Entrepreneurs with access to capital pursue ownership, transformation and/or operation of their own real estate properties, both individually and with partners. Numerous opportunities are available for a profitable career owning property for the long term.  Alternately, some investors choose to flip properties, buying affordable properties to remodel and resell at a profit.  A career in real estate can help you significantly improve your wealth by buying and owning real estate.

Corporate Real Estate 
Corporate Real estate is a profession focused on the operation of buildings that support the business that owns them. This career represents a company's interests in real estate matters, ranging from strategy, acquisitions, leasing, subleasing, property management, tax issues, and disposition. Responsible for maximizing building space and operating efficiency, a corporate real estate professional will be the liaison between brokers, buyers, and often assists the corporation in searching for new sites to acquire or lease.

Real Estate Asset and Portfolio Managers 
Asset and Portfolio managers are responsible for maximizing the performance and value of a company's portfolio of real estate assets. Managers are responsible for formulating and implementing long-range real estate asset management and/or fund management strategy.  Asset Managers typically focus on a single property type, such as office properties, within a company's real estate investment portfolio.

Advisory Committee Members

Institute of Real Estate Management Students Club