Miami’s Accelerated MBA Program Paves The Way In Commercial Real Estate Education

Renowned for bustling tourism, innovative urban development, and warm climate, Miami is not only a hub for forward-thinking city planning but also ranks among the top cities for multinational companies. This bustling metropolis also boasts a prestigious MBA program in commercial real estate, setting the standard in the field.

The University of Miami Patti and Allan Herbert Business School debuted its Accelerated MBA in Real Estate program nearly a decade ago, ample time to crystalize an educational ethos that equally prioritizes real-world experience and classroom theory.   

Miami, with its vibrant and diverse character, stands as the perfect setting for such a program. As a hub of international trade, the city is constantly at the forefront of massive condo and retail developments, seemingly launching new projects every week. Moreover, its numerous pristine beaches offer a serene escape for students from the north, tired of their snow-covered surroundings.

Overseeing the Accelerated MBA in Real Estate program is Andrea Heuson, a professor of finance at Miami Herbert Business School. An expert on local, national, and international real estate markets, Heuson ensures that her students establish professional relationships capable of yielding major post-graduation dividends. 

“We are very selective because the students in the program start with a six-month paid internship,” Heuson said of Miam Herbert’s Accelerated MBA in Real Estate program. “All of the electives are focused on commercial real estate. The newest class has 13 students and it will take them 19 months to graduate.”

That year-and-a-half covers three internships, an unprecedented arrangement that enables Accelerated MBA in Real Estate students to cultivate links with commercial real estate’s most impactful movers and shakers. One of the program’s hallmarks is a New York City trip Heuson takes her students on every year, securing them face time at powerhouse real estate firms. The students spend a week in the Big Apple before returning to the welcoming environs of a South Florida metropolis where South Beach, Wynwood, the design district, four professional sports teams, and the Florida Keys are a short distance from the University of Miami’s palm-tree lined campus. 

“I definitely was impressed by the strength and depth of the UM alumni network,” Accelerated MBA in Real Estate student Jacob Palecki noted after traveling to New York. “I thought for them to take time to meet with students with very generous.”

Florida’s inviting economic environment, characterized by the absence of state income tax, intangible tax, and inheritance taxes, combined with the growing need for healthcare and life sciences properties driven by Miami’s expanding population, provides Accelerated MBA in Real Estate students with ample opportunities to connect with a diverse range of commercial real estate (CRE) professionals.

Not that they need to work at it, because Heuson has assembled an Accelerated MBA in Real Estate advisory board that’s comprised of many of Miami‘s most prominent CRE practitioners. One is board Chair Avra Jain, founder and CEO of the Vagabond Group, a development company that’s transformed Miami’s formerly downtrodden Upper East Side into a hip neighborhood noteworthy for its vibrant commerce. 

“Commercial real estate is an industry where women are really chronically underrepresented,” Andrea Heuson noted. “If you think about residential real estate, men are pretty chronically underrepresented there. 

“But here in Miami especially, we have a lot of really successful women,” Heuson said. “Some are in development, some are in brokerages, some are in capital markets. Many are alumni of the University of Miami and all of them want to be able to meet and mentor students.”