Real Estate Investment and Finance MSc/Diploma

Real Estate Investment and Finance is designed to give you a broad knowledge and understanding of property within national and international investment markets and with the skills needed to research, analyse and advise on investment decisions accordingly. It provides those from varied professional and academic backgrounds with an entry into the real estate profession while also enhancing the knowledge and skills of those already employed in the field. Including complementary courses in other aspects of economics and the built environment, this programme gives students an intensive, diverse and well-rounded education.

Students come from the real estate industry, or look to study this programme following a first degree in real estate, property development, planning, geography, economics or finance. This programme offers you the opportunity to learn more about the intersection between property and finance, to develop appraisal skills and to become chartered.

With strong professional links and a focus on up-to-date industry-relevant content, our Real Estate programmes equip graduates with the knowledge and skills to quickly and effectively contribute to the success of their working environment.

Graduates of this programme are highly sought after in the real estate industry, and some of our graduates have gone on to work within companies such as Standard Life and Scottish Widows, and for major consultancies Jones Lang LaSalle, CBRE and Cushman & Wakefield.

We also have a proven track record in research, and a number of our graduates continue in research to complete PhD study.

This MSc programme is accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

Real estate is an inherently global industry, and our programme content reflects and responds to that. Students from all over the world study this programme both on campus (in Scotland and Dubai) and by Independent Distance Learning (IDL) and as a student of this programme you will be part of – and learn from – a community made up of a wide variety of backgrounds and cultures.

*An IDL programme - whether at PgDip or MSc level - can be completed in a minimum of 2 years. On average, our PgDip programmes studied via IDL are completed in 2-3 years, while MSc programmes are completed in 2.5-7 years. Most students intend to complete their studies via IDL within 2-3 years.

This programme benefits from the expertise of research-active and industry-minded staff. Along with teaching staff, a number of honorary professors from industry guest lecture on the programme and advise on student research projects. These include Douglas Smith, Chair of CBRE Scotland, David Hunter of Hunter Advisers and Edward Trevillion of Scottish Widows Investment Partnership.

This programme is delivered by Heriot Watt University’s Institute for Social Policy, Housing, Environment and Real Estate. As a Real Estate and Planning postgraduate student you will be part of the Institute’s Graduate School, connecting you with staff, research associates and fellow students engaged in cutting-edge research in areas such as affordability, housing markets and private renting; commercial property markets; urban economics; diversity and minority ethnic communities; homelessness and social exclusion; housing policy, management and governance and more.