Elective Courses
MSRED Electives (24 Units)
MSRED students must take 24 units from the list below. Courses must be taken for a letter grade to count towards the MSRED degree. (unless course is listed as P/D/F)
- 11.246/2.246: DesignX Accelerator (12 units) *
Students continue to work in their venture teams to advance innovative ideas, products, and services oriented to design, planning, and the human environment. Presented in a workshop format with supplementary lectures. Teams are matched with external mentors for additional support in business and product development. At the end of the term, teams pitch their ventures to an audience from across the school and MIT, investors, industry, and cities. Registration limited to students accepted to the MITdesignX accelerator in the fall. - 11.301: Introduction to Urban Design and Development (12 units) *
Examines the physical and social structure of cities and ways they can be changed. Includes significant thinkers in urban form, 20th-century American city design, urban design and society, global urban design, and design of neighborhoods and streets. Core lectures are supplemented by student papers examining the relationship of contemporary projects to history and theory, and factors of high quality global urban design and development. Guest speakers present cases involving current projects or research illustrating scope and methods of urban design theory and practice. Intended for those seeking an introduction to fundamental knowledge of theory and praxis in city design and development. - 11.305: Doing Good by Doing Well: Planning and Development Case Studies that Promote both the Public Good and Real Estate Value (3 units)
Seminar studies how the messy and complex forces of politics, planning and the real estate market have collectively shaped Boston’s urban fabric and skyline in the last two decades. Using some of the city’s most important real estate development proposals as case studies, students dissect and analyze Boston’s negotiated development review and permitting process to understand what it takes beyond a great development concept and a sound financial pro forma to earn community and political support. Throughout the term, students identify strategies for success and pitfalls for failure within this intricate approval process, as well as how these lessons can be generalized and applied to other cities and real estate markets. - 11.323: International Real Estate Transactions (6 units)
Focuses on analyzing a variety of unique international real estate investment and development transactions. Blends real estate investing and development decision-making with discussion-based learning from a multidisciplinary standpoint. Seeks to facilitate a richer understanding of domestic (US) real estate transaction concepts by contextualizing them in the general analytical framework underpinning international real estate investment decision-making. - 11.325: Technological Change & Innovation for Real Estate + Cities (6 units)
Seeks to examine the technological change and innovation that is disrupting the foundation of how we create the built environment. Through a series of educational workshops, students scout, catalog, and track technologies by looking at new real estate uses, products, processes, and organizational strategies at MIT labs and around the globe. Participants contribute to an interactive web tool, “The Tech Tracker,” which provides technology intelligence to students and real estate professionals to enhance their understanding of technological progress. No listeners. - 11.344/1.472: Innovative Project Delivery n the Public and Private Sectors (6 units)
Develops a strong strategic understanding of how best to deliver various types of projects in the built environment. Examines the compatibility of various project delivery methods, consisting of organizations, contracts, and award methods, with certain types of projects and owners. Six methods examined: traditional general contracting; construction management; multiple primes; design-build; turnkey; and build-operate-transfer. Includes lectures, case studies, guest speakers, and a team project to analyze a case example. - 11.345/1.462: Entrepreneurship in in the Built Environment (6 units)*
Introduction to entrepreneurship and how it shapes the world we live in. Through experiential learning in a workshop setting, students start to develop entrepreneurial mindset and skills. Through a series of workshops, students are introduced to the concept of Venture Design to create new venture proposals for the built environment as a method to understand the role of the entrepreneur in the fields of design, planning, real estate, and other related industries. - 11.351: Real Estate Ventures I: Negotiating Development-Phase Agreements (12 units)
Focuses on key business and legal issues within the principal agreements used to control, entitle, capitalize, and construct a mixed-use real estate development. Through the lens of the real estate developer and its counter-parties, students identify, discuss, and negotiate the most important business issues in right of entry, purchase and sale, development, and joint-venture agreements, as well as a construction contract and construction loan agreement. Students work closely with attorneys who specialize in the construction of such agreements and with students from area law schools and Columbia University and New York University. Enrollment limited to approximately 25; preference to MSRED students. No listeners. - 11.352: Real Estate Ventures II: Negotiating Leases, Financings, and Restructurings (12 units)
Focuses on key business and legal issues within the principal agreements used to lease, finance, and restructure a real estate venture. Through the lens of the real estate developer and its counter-parties, students identify, discuss and negotiate the most important business issues in office and retail leases, and permanent loan, mezzanine loan, inter-creditor, standstill/forbearance, and loan modification (workout) agreements. Students work closely with attorneys who specialize in the construction of such agreements and with students from area law schools and New York University and Columbia University. Single-asset real estate bankruptcy and the federal income tax consequences of debt restructuring are also addressed. Limited to 25; preference to MSRED students; No Listeners. - 11.355: International Housing Finance & Economics (9 units)
Presents a theory of comparative differences in international housing outcomes. Introduces institutional differences in ways housing expenditures are financed, and economic determinants of housing outcomes (construction costs, land values, housing quality, ownership rates). Analyzes flow of funds to and from the different national housing finance sectors. Develops an understanding of the greater financial and macroeconomic implications of mortgage credit sector, and how policies affect ways housing asset fluctuations impact national economies. Considers perspective of investors in international real estate markets and risks and rewards involved. Draws on lessons from international comparative approach, applies them to economic and finance policies at the local, state/provincial, and federal levels within country of choice. - 11.425: Real Estate Private Equity
Covers topics such as the formation of real estate private equity funds, investor profiles, capital raising, partnership and fee structures, return allocation mechanisms, waterfall calculations, taxation, and approaches to solving complex situations encountered by owners of private equity assets and investing in private asset-backed companies. Students investigate real estate private equity transactions with an emphasis on whether to pursue a specific transaction or not based on its investment risks and merits. Instruction provided on how to form well-reasoned arguments in support of qualitative and quantitative positions with respect to transaction situations to be evaluated in this course. No listeners. - 11.428: Proptech Ventures
Showcases the real estate technology, or PropTech, landscape, through the presentation of recent disruptions in the real estate industry. Through a better understanding of the sector, students begin to develop entrepreneurial ideas and skills necessary to produce the PropTech ventures of the future. Focuses on PropTech that improves the way we buy, rent, sell, manage, construct, and design real estate to help make better investment and development decisions. - 11.429/15.022: Real Estate Markets: Macroeconomics (6 units)
Applies the latest economic thinking and research to the task of analyzing aggregate real estate market time series, assessing risk, and developing forecasts. Presents the premise that because of capital durability and construction lags, real estate markets exhibit some degree of mean reversion and as such are at least partially predictable. Examines the extent and causes of market volatility across different markets and types of property. Long-term aggregate trends impacting the real estate sector, from demographics to technology, discussed. Limited to 30. - 15.401: Managerial Finance (9 units)**
Introduction to finance from the perspective of business people and finance professionals. Designed to build effective decision-making skills based on sound financial knowledge, focusing on areas such as day-to-day operational issues and management, launching a startup, or negotiating option bonuses. Provides a firm grounding in the modern financial analysis underlying any decision, through three core themes: determining the value of a project, deciding how to finance a project, and managing its risk. Students also hone their ability to negotiate skillfully and speak intelligently about finance. Meets with 15.417 when offered concurrently. Expectations and evaluation criteria differ for students taking graduate version; consult syllabus or instructor for specific details. Some sections are restricted to graduate students only without the permission of the instructor. See syllabus url for further details.
*(DUSP/ARCH COURSE)
**(SLOAN COURSE)
