Contact: Iain Butler

Email: iain.butler@rac.ac.uk

Telephone: 01285 652531 Ext: 2237

The short course in Real Estate is a joint venture between the Royal Agricultural College (RAC) and Cambridge International Land Institute (CILI).

The short course is approved by the RICS Board as meeting the requirements of the 450-hour study short course forming part of the APC requirement for those candidates seeking RICS membership through the Adaptation route. Candidates must have 10 or more years of practical experience in property.

Graduates of this award will then be in a position to complete the further APC requirements including meeting competency requirements for the following APC pathways:

• Valuation
• Commercial
• Environmental
• Housing management and development (Residential)
• Management consultancy
• Planning and development
• Property finance and investment
• Research
• Residential property practice
• Residential survey and valuation

Six Month Programme of Study

The short course is taught over a six month period, covering aspects of the graduates home real estate market with comparisons of international practice. It will comprise of three separate face-to-face sessions, each held over a two day period, and two exam sessions, each lasting one day. These may be run at weekends. The short course is available to candidates who are members of a professional body approved by the RICS or hold a non-accredited degree.

The short course will equip students with the skills and flexibility to apply the knowledge gained through a mixture of virtual/distance learning and directed learning and structured case study preparation, to enable them to evaluate and operate in their local market but also compare practice and procedure with selected international locations. In particular, the short course will provide:

• A high quality short course that is designed to give sound and relevant technical content, allowing graduates to evaluate and operate with confidence and effectiveness in the candidate’s local real estate market.
• An opportunity for students to development their academic knowledge and practical professional competence associated with the subjects within the short course
• A short course fulfilling the academic element of the APC requirement of the adaptation route to membership of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, and allowing students to progress onto the APC pathways outlined
• Transferable skills as an integral part of the short course.
• A varied, balanced, and relevant diet of modern and up to date teaching and assessment.
• A critical environment in which to understand the complex and dynamic forces at work, and to challenge established practice and contemporary issues in real estate markets.
• A short course which embraces both academic rigor and vocational problem solving skills.

Three Modules

The short course is designed around three modules which develop the following major subject strands namely:

• Real estate valuation, finance and investment.
• Business strategy relating to real estate asset management and marketing.
• Planning, real estate economics and environmental policy.
• Development and development appraisal.

These strands are supported by studies in:

• Law.
• Business and management.
• Economics.
• Research skills.
• Mathematics and statistics.

The first module is a distance learnt module delivered wholly online.

The two remaining modules have a specific case study problem solving emphasis. The curriculum is orientated around problem scenarios, which the students are expected to solve or manage. Students are expected to engage with the complex nature of the case studies presented to them, and are expected to decide what information they need to learn and what skills they need to gain in order to manage the situation effectively. They combine academic rigor with practical problem solving skills.

A two-day induction course will precede the Short Course with the objective of ensuring that the candidates are fully aware of the expectations of the module based /case study approach. Although the students will be directed in their studies, they will have an over-riding responsibility to gather the necessary information to complete the varied tasks of each module

• Module 1 – Real Estate as an Asset class – undertaken through virtual/distance learning package. This introduces the Institutions of Land Use and concentrates on the acquisition of basic skills and the demonstration of knowledge and understanding with regards the valuation, management and development of real estate;
• Module 2 - Case Study 1 – Real Estate Management develops the content of module 1 further, but with an analytical approach;
• Module 3 - Case Study 2 – Investment/Development Project, seeks to evaluate and critically apply this knowledge and understanding through a major investment/development project in the candidates home location allowing students to compare and contrast, analyse and develop an understanding of the land administration institutions involved within their own real estate market with some comparison of international practice.

Summary

On completion of the short course, students will have the ability to progress and develop their professional work in the real estate market, and be confident in their ability to critically evaluate how it operates, and clarify the role institutions play within that real estate market.