Master in Real Estate

Master in Real Estate

Important Dates

January 5, 2026

Master in Real Estate application deadline

The Master in Real Estate is a 12-month degree that teaches individuals how to acquire or sharpen traditional skills and knowledge required of every real estate professional while simultaneously understanding how well-designed real estate can advance beneficial spatial, social, and environmental outcomes in cities and metropolitan areas worldwide. Through a multidisciplinary curriculum of in-residence required and elective courses and a concluding two-month off-campus practicum within a private or public real estate organization, students learn about finance, development, asset management, design, planning, law, social and environmental considerations, project and construction management, new technologies including AI, politics, public-private partnerships, entrepreneurship, negotiation, leadership, and other skills and subjects essential to the practice of present and future real estate.

The placement of the MRE degree within Harvard’s Graduate School of Design and its Department of Urban Planning and Design reflects the reality that real estate is a physical thing designed by many hands. MRE students significantly benefit from learning within one of the largest design schools in the world, with its 200 or so faculty members and over 1,000 graduate students and international presence. The Department of Urban Planning and Design is particularly well-suited to host the MRE degree program, with leading scholars and practitioners who teach courses about real estate and related subjects such as land use and environmental law, urban design and planning, housing, transportation, international development, healthy cities, and new towns, among many other subjects.

The GSD offers degree programs across a variety of design disciplines. Find out which program is right for you. COMPARE DEGREE PROGRAMS

Master of Architecture in Urban Design / Master of Landscape Architecture in Urban Design

Master of Architecture in Urban Design / Master of Landscape Architecture in Urban Design

MAUD/MLAUD students present at their Elements of Urban Design Core Studio final review to a panel of critics.

Important Dates

January 5, 2026

MAUD/MLAUD application deadline

As a post-professional studio based program, the Master of Architecture in Urban Design (MAUD) and the Master of Landscape Architecture in Urban Design (MLAUD) combines intense design instruction, extensive applied research, and knowledge of urban history and theory.

Taking advantage of the remarkable international makeup of the faculty and student body, the MAUD/MLAUD program establishes a common intellectual ground among architects who have a strong interest in engaging the practice and theory of contemporary urbanism.

Conceived as a two-year (four-semester) program, the MAUD/MLAUD core curriculum includes the Elements of Urban Design Studio and the Urban Design Contexts and Operations seminar in the fall, followed by an Urban Planning and Design Studio and the Cities by Design seminar in the spring. An otherwise flexible academic path in each of the four semesters allows students to engage in advanced studios and elective courses across all three GSD departments as well as other schools at Harvard and MIT. The curricular structure also encourages advanced research and the possibility to develop an individual elective thesis.

The GSD offers degree programs across a variety of design disciplines. Find out which program is right for you. COMPARE DEGREE PROGRAMS

Master in Urban Planning and Juris Doctor

Master in Urban Planning and Juris Doctor

Harvard Law School (HLS) and the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD) offer a joint degree program in law and urban planning. The HLS/GSD joint degree program supports and encourages students seeking an interdisciplinary education in urban planning and law, and prepares them for leadership positions at the intersection of these fields. The joint program permits students to pursue a Juris Doctor (JD) degree at HLS and a Master in Urban Planning (MUP) degree at the GSD and to complete both degrees in four years, rather than the five years that would be required if the degrees were pursued independently. Students in the joint program must complete all of the basic requirements for both the MUP and JD degrees, as further described below.

A committee made up of HLS Professor Molly Brady and GSD Professor Jerold Kayden (“Faculty Committee”) oversees the joint degree program. The Faculty Committee is responsible for making decisions regarding the structure and requirements of the program and for working with the students enrolled in the program.

The GSD offers degree programs across a variety of design disciplines. Find out which program is right for you. COMPARE DEGREE PROGRAMS

Master in Urban Planning and Master in Public Administration

Master in Urban Planning and Master in Public Administration

Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) and the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD) offer a joint degree program in public administration and urban planning.

The joint degree program permits students to pursue a Master in Public Administration (MPA) or Master in Public Administration in International Development (MPA/ID) degree at HKS and a Master in Urban Planning (MUP) degree at the GSD. Both degrees are completed in three years, rather than the four years that would be required if the two degrees were pursued independently. Students in a joint degree program must complete all of the requirements of both the MPA (or MPA/ID) and MUP degrees.

A committee made up of GSD Professor Ann Forsyth and GSD Professor Jerold S. Kayden (“Faculty Committee”) oversees the degree program. The Faculty Committee is responsible for making decisions regarding the structure and requirements of the program and for working with students.

The GSD offers degree programs across a variety of design disciplines. Find out which program is right for you. COMPARE DEGREE PROGRAMS

Master in Urban Planning and Master in Public Policy

Master in Urban Planning and Master in Public Policy

Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) and the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD) offer a joint degree program in public policy and urban planning.

The joint degree program permits students to pursue a Master in Public Policy (MPP) degree at HKS and a Master in Urban Planning (MUP) degree at the GSD and to complete both degrees in three years, rather than the four years that would be required if the two degrees were pursued independently. Students in the joint degree program must complete all of the basic requirements for both the MPP and MUP degrees.

A committee made up of GSD Professor Ann Forsyth and GSD Professor Jerold S. Kayden (“Faculty Committee”) oversees the degree program. The Faculty Committee is responsible for making decisions regarding the structure and requirements of the program and for working with students.

The GSD offers degree programs across a variety of design disciplines. Find out which program is right for you. COMPARE DEGREE PROGRAMS

Doctor of Philosophy

Doctor of Philosophy

A gallery wall with models displayed in front.

Important Dates

January 5, 2026

PhD application deadline

Students may study for a PhD degree in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Planning. An additional track in Architectural Technology is also available. This degree is administered jointly by the Harvard Graduate School of Design and the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Therefore, students benefit from a dual affiliation with both schools.

The program is mainly geared towards individuals who wish to enter academic teaching and research careers. Students are afforded a high degree of flexibility in their studies, however areas of work are broadly organized into the following areas: the Theory and History of Architecture, Architectural Technology, the Theory and History of Landscape Architecture, and the Evolution of Cities and Regions. 

 

Theory and History of Architecture: 

Students interested in this area typically study buildings, architectural texts, technologies, and their political, social, and cultural contexts through the early modern, modern, and contemporary eras. 

Architectural Technology: 

Doctoral research in architectural technology at the GSD aims to advance current  knowledge in green building, for example, and will typically involve issues related to engineering, computation, and digital simulations. 

Theory and History of Landscape Architecture

Students whose research focuses on the theory and history of landscape architecture typically investigate the  ways in which the  natural environment has been thought of, represented, and transformed, from the early modern to the contemporary period. 

Evolution of Cities and Regions:

Students may be interested in the subject of cities  from a formal standpoint and/or develop an additional emphasis on various social, economic, technological, infrastructural, and ecological dimensions of urban life.

program director

program administrator

40 Kirkland St.

Advanced Studies Program Office

Room 1-A/1-B

40 Kirkland Street
Cambridge, MA 02138

Master in Urban Planning

Master in Urban Planning

Flag installation in the Science Center Plaza

Important Dates

January 5, 2026

MUP application deadline

Accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board and open to students with an undergraduate degree, the two-year professional Master in Urban Planning (MUP) degree program engages with critical issues facing cities and regions in coming decades

The GSD offers degree programs across a variety of design disciplines. Find out which program is right for you. COMPARE DEGREE PROGRAMS