Leaders Back USC Real Estate Degree

LOS ANGELES—BH Properties has donated $500,000 to the USC Price School of Public Policy to fund the school's new undergraduate real estate development degree program, GlobeSt.com has learned exclusively. In an earlier story, GlobeSt.com reported that USC has launched a new real estate development degree to allow the next generation of leaders to get a solid educational foundation before making their mark on the industry.  BH Properties' gift is the first to the budding program.

"The Bachelor of Science in Real Estate Development program provides students with a distinctively comprehensive approach to the real estate industry," Steve Gozini, president of BH Properties, tells GlobeSt.com. "The rigorous and relevant curriculum is exactly what future developers will need to thrive in this industry, and we are proud to invest in the next generation of real estate leaders."

BH Properties' gift will help the school recruit educational talent to the program and will provide professional development opportunities to students seeking real world experience. The program, which launched this fall with 80 students, will focus on all aspects of real estate development, including development, finance, and market analysis, as well as a city planning element of designing and governing cities.

Although only recently launched, the program has already gained popularity at the school. The program expects that it will be able to accommodate 250 students annually. Undergraduate real estate degrees are rare; however, USC also launched one of the first graduate degree programs for real estate development in 1986. We will wait to see if undergraduate programs become as popular. Until then, it is clear that the industry is supporting the decision.