USC Lusk Center for Real Estate Says More Women Attracted to Graduate Program in Real Estate Development

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Employers Seek Good Communicators with Strong Finance and Business Skills

Looking forward to an average first-year salary and bonus of $110,000, more
female students are studying for a Master of Real Estate Development (MRED)
degree from the University of Southern California, according to the
University’s Lusk Center for Real Estate (www.usc.edu/lusk).

“A third of the incoming MRED class is comprised of women, an all-time high
that reflects the growing diversity in real estate across the board,” said
Sonia Savoulian, the Lusk Center’s director of Alumni and Student Services.
“We have found that women graduates frequently become entrepreneurs because
they want flexibility when raising their families,” she added.

The 63 graduate students enrolled in the current real estate development
program hail from 11 states and two foreign countries, attracted by the
opportunity to be exposed to leading bankers, investors, developers,
lawyers, architects and accountants who conduct guest lectures and provide
on-site visits to their projects across Southern California, according to
Raphael Bostic, Ph.D., director of the MRED program.

“We are one of the few programs in the country with a solid core of Ph.D.
faculty assisted by visiting instructors who are involved in some of the
major real estate developments in the nation,” he added. The students’
course of study includes real estate law and entitlements, finance, market
analysis, site planning, project management and design.

Savoulian said MRED graduates have benefited from the program’s increased
facilitation of networking with industry titans, which has boosted the
program’s job placement record – 80 percent of the previous MRED class had
jobs before they graduated this past May

Stan Ross, chairman of the Lusk Center board of directors, found that
employers he talks to are increasingly searching for students with strong
communications and “people” skills who can navigate the complex and
sometimes contentious zoning and approval processes. “The good judgment
skills displayed by our students are in demand by employers who expect
their future leaders to make tough management decisions,” Ross added.

Recent graduates of the program are working for several real estate
development firms including Lennar Corporation, Standard Pacific Homes,
Centex Homes and KB Home.