This sounds like an exceptional program that is surely going to benefit Utah and the region in the years to come. The real estate industry is fundamentally important to our economy, and this new program is sure to bring a new level of sophistication and opportunity to the industry. Once again the U is progressive!

I didn't realize that "private" and "commercial" real estate developments were mutually exclusive market sectors or categories. Moreover, why does real estate development have to be a "Master's Degree" program? Why can't this edcuation orientation be had in an undergrad "Bachelor's of Science" program? After all, in all the years real estate development has been going on successfully, the work has been being handled by lay-persons, builders, architects, engineers, real estate brokers, agents and investors. Consultants are sometimes used as well. Nevertheless, why suddenly does the same work have to be “graduate school certificate” competitive? Who gains in that equation? Two extra years of advance college reading cannot supplant what one gains from years of direct hands on experience. After your MBA, you may still be green if you have never actually done it. And if you have done it, then you don’t need an MBA.

Can't go wrong with more education.

Jon: Right, you can’t go wrong with more education however, you miss my point. The curriculum for the MBA certificate could be given by the U of U in a BS degree. As such, it would be more accessible ans wide-spread in its obtaining and use, with an even greater degree of market effectiveness. That one must first pay in time and money to receive a BS and then an MBA for this curriculum is superfluous and amounts to an academic marketing scheme.

The MBA certificate will ultimately aid Human Resources by providing a cliché to rely on when hiring; without significantly increasing the hire qualitatively. It will also artificially serve to detract from competent job applicants who do not hold the MBA certificate, but who have years of hands-on development expertise.

Institutionalizing and certificating this area of work can give way to a superficial sense of expert skill. Moreover, the technical work required that only Architects, Engineers and Surveyors can do cannot be had from a specialized MBA certificate. It just seems to be a certificate that circuitously creates a barrier to employment for others who don't hold it.