BA Real Estate Management and Finance

Our BA/MA (Hons) Real Estate Management and Finance programme is not about preparing you to be an estate agent. Although estate agents are the most commonly known occupation, they represent only a small part of the real estate profession. 

Real estate is everywhere – it is your home, it is your school, it is your shopping centre, it is where you go on holiday, and it is even the places we want to preserve for future generations. Real estate includes the land and any buildings or improvements built on it – thus the built environment. 

Think about who uses real estate, who owns real estate and who invests in real estate. All stakeholders involved use the knowledge of real estate professionals. In fact, the largest owners and users of real estate are governments. 

The Forbes Magazine 2019 Global Ranking identified Canadian company Brookfield Asset Management as the largest public real estate company with assets worth $256 billion, followed by American Tower which owns cell towers. Weyerhaeuser Corp, a timber company, was number six.  All these organisations need skilled and knowledgeable professional real estate staff to make strategic and operational decisions, such as when to buy, when to sell, whether they are getting enough income or whether expenses are too high, and how to negotiate rents and determine values. Banks, lenders and equity investors also are major investors in real estate and need the skillsets of real estate professionals. 

Why study Real Estate Management and Finance at Heriot-Watt University's Dubai Campus?

Heriot-Watt University, Dubai was the first and has the most respected real estate degree programme with the largest graduate network in the GCC. Our new undergraduate degree has been designed in response to employer demand and recognition that the property sector is now a central part of wider financial markets.

The sector locally in Dubai (UAE) is developing and very much conforming to global best practices. Recent additions to International Valuation Standards (IVS) and International Property Measurement Standards (IPMS) are two examples where our students would benefit from studying a relevant programme. Furthermore, discussions with major firms also highlight the need for graduates to have a holistic range of business and finance skills alongside the technical knowledge relevant to property (for instance financial modelling). To this end, particular emphasis is placed on ensuring that students are familiar with the latest concepts in mixed-asset portfolio analysis, risk management, financial and valuation modelling.

Heriot-Watt property programmes have been ranked as one of the leading programmes in the UK. Heriot-Watt takes an applied focus, going beyond textbook and theory to explore real-world issues and solutions. Our programme combines real estate with business analytics, management, and finance; and graduates have sought-after transferable skills in writing, research and critical evaluation.  Our graduates will have career opportunities in business and property professions and are eligible for a broad range of postgraduate programmes across both disciplines. Students take part in a professional project that matches them with local practitioners and employers.