Haas Ph.D. Program
Overview
Real estate study at the doctoral level is coordinated with either finance or accounting. Students should indicate their co-major field when applying. The usual course sequence for real estate will require students to fulfill all the requirements of their co-major fields as well as the Real Estate doctoral course and research seminar. Students co-majoring in either accounting or finance are expected to obtain training in micro- and macro-economic theory, econometrics and statistics, basic finance, and basic accounting as well as urban economics, local public finance, and real estate finance. Students should bear in mind that they will carry additional course loads to accommodate the somewhat greater range of materials required for understanding and applying research to real estate problems and issues.
Students attend frequent seminars to gain exposure to ongoing research. Guest speakers are featured from other universities throughout the world. The finance group sponsors the Berkeley Program in Finance, which holds two conferences a year on current topics for finance academics and practitioners. The accounting group links students with the real world through an annual financial reporting conference, organized by our Center for Financial Reporting & Management. These provide a forum for doctoral students to assess the relevance of academic research in their fields of business practice.
Other opportunities for students to improve their research skills come from working with faculty on joint projects or as research assistants. It is common for third- and fourth-year students to serve as teaching assistants and, occasionally, instructors for undergraduate accounting classes.
