20 Full-Tuition Scholarships—And A Real Assets Degree Built For Where Capital Is Going

Real estate is no longer just about buildings.

The fastest-growing segments of today’s built environment extend well beyond office towers and multifamily developments. Institutional capital is increasingly flowing into data centers, digital infrastructure, power, logistics networks, and transportation systems — sectors where real estate intersects with infrastructure finance, energy constraints, and public policy.

The market has expanded. Career pathways have expanded with it.

Yet many real estate and development master’s programs programs remain centered on a property-first model built around traditional asset classes.

The Master of Science in Global Real Assets (GRA) at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business — housed within a globally recognized business school — was designed explicitly for this broader reality, where real estate, infrastructure, and energy increasingly operate as a continuum.

And for incoming students, the program is backed by a significant philanthropic commitment: Twenty full-tuition scholarships will be awarded each year for the next three years.

From “Four Food Groups” to a Real Assets Ecosystem

For decades, commercial real estate was framed around four primary property types: office, retail, multifamily, and industrial.

Today, that framework feels incomplete.

Institutional portfolios now include seniors housing, single-family rental platforms, data centers, cell towers, logistics networks, and renewable energy assets. Investors increasingly evaluate these sectors alongside traditional real estate — not separately.

Data centers are the clearest illustration of this shift.

They are real estate assets, but also power-intensive infrastructure platforms. Their growth depends as much on electricity availability, permitting, and transmission capacity as on land and lease structures. Operationally, they function more like infrastructure businesses than passive buildings.

Just outside Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia’s “Data Center Alley” handles an estimated 70–80% of global internet traffic each day. These facilities sit at the intersection of property, power, and digital systems — requiring investors and operators to evaluate land, energy capacity, regulatory constraints, and technological infrastructure simultaneously.

That convergence underscores where capital is concentrating, why cross-asset expertise is increasingly essential, and where demand for talent is growing.

The Market Has Evolved. Real Estate Education Has Been Slower to Adapt.

Hiring growth has accelerated in sectors such as data centers, logistics infrastructure, renewable energy, digital networks, and transportation systems. As institutional allocations have expanded into these areas, employer demand has followed.

Many traditional real estate master’s programs continue to center their curricula on property-specific asset classes such as office, multifamily, retail, and industrial. While those skills remain foundational, they no longer reflect the full scope of opportunity across today’s real assets ecosystem.

Employers increasingly seek professionals who can operate across systems — understanding property fundamentals alongside power constraints, regulatory environments, capital structures, and long-duration operating risks.

That cross-asset fluency is becoming a differentiator.

Georgetown’s M.S. in Global Real Assets was built around that reality — preserving rigorous real estate training while expanding into infrastructure, digital assets, energy systems, and public-private investment frameworks.

A Curriculum Built for Where the Market Is Going

Launched during this period of capital market evolution, Georgetown’s GRA was designed from inception to reflect how real assets are underwritten today.

The program maintains a strong foundation in real estate finance — financial modeling, valuation, capital structuring, and underwriting remain central.

But it expands well beyond property.

Students also engage with:

Infrastructure finance

Digital infrastructure and data centers

Power markets and energy transition

Decarbonization and climate-related investment

Regulatory and permitting frameworks

The approach centers on real-world investment execution. Students analyze live transactions, build underwriting models, draft investment memoranda, and defend recommendations in formats designed to mirror institutional investment committees.

Importantly, the curriculum does not evolve in isolation.

Through the Steers Center for Global Real Assets, the curriculum benefits from ongoing input from engaged alumni and industry leaders. Advisory boards and task forces regularly evaluate market trends and curriculum direction, ensuring the program remains aligned with employer expectations.

The Washington, D.C. Advantage

Location matters in real assets.

Georgetown’s GRA program operates in Washington, D.C., placing students at the intersection of capital markets, infrastructure investment, and public policy. In sectors such as data centers, renewable energy, transportation, and public-private partnerships, regulatory frameworks often shape investment outcomes as much as market fundamentals.

That dynamic is visible just minutes from campus. Northern Virginia’s data center cluster illustrates how land use, energy capacity, permitting, and transmission infrastructure directly influence capital deployment in modern real assets investing. For students, that proximity translates into direct industry exposure through site visits and firsthand insight into how these constraints shape real-world investment decisions.

Beyond digital infrastructure, Washington offers access to federal agencies, multilateral institutions, regulators, and policy leaders who influence how capital flows into energy systems, infrastructure projects, and climate-related investments.

For students building careers where real estate increasingly overlaps with infrastructure and policy, that context is immediate and practical.

Backed by Philanthropy — and Designed for Long-Term Impact

A significant philanthropic commitment from Robert Steers, executive chairman of leading global asset manager Cohen & Steers, and his wife, Lauren, has accelerated the program’s development.

Their support includes:

Twenty full-tuition scholarships awarded each year for the next three years, and

Investment in faculty hiring and continued curriculum development.

The scholarships expand access to students preparing for careers across real estate, infrastructure, energy, and digital assets. The broader investment strengthens the academic platform itself — supporting faculty depth and long-term program evolution.

The signal is clear: this is not a lightly resourced initiative. It is a deliberate effort to build a leading academic platform in global real assets.

Career Support Designed for a Network-Driven Industry

The philosophy is straightforward: graduate education should prepare students to compete effectively in the job market. The program treats career development as a central responsibility — providing structured preparation and industry access — while recognizing that students ultimately earn opportunities through their own performance.

Career preparation is integrated directly into the program’s structure. Students benefit from:

Dedicated career support focused specifically on real assets pathways

Engagement from an active and highly involved alumni network

A partnership with a specialized real estate search firm providing industry-informed coaching and employer connectivity

This support is reinforced through the Steers Center for Global Real Assets, strengthening connections to practitioners and employers across real estate, infrastructure, energy, and digital assets.

In addition, students work with a dedicated career coach from the McDonough Career Center assigned exclusively to the program’s small cohort. Support includes structured job search guidance, ongoing workshops, interview preparation, and individualized guidance throughout the recruiting process.

The program also intentionally structures coursework to allow time for experiential learning, including part-time professional roles in Washington, D.C., one of the country’s most active real estate and infrastructure markets.

Considering Your Next Step in Real Estate?

For prospective students evaluating graduate programs, the key question is no longer simply which school teaches development or underwriting best.

It is which program is aligned with where capital markets are moving.

Georgetown’s M.S. in Global Real Assets was built around that shift — integrating real estate, infrastructure, digital systems, energy, and policy into a single applied investment framework.

As the definition of real estate continues to expand — into data centers, power systems, logistics infrastructure, and policy-driven capital flows — programs that prepare students narrowly may find themselves behind the curve.

Georgetown’s GRA was designed to help students prepare for where the market is going next.

The next application deadline for the incoming Fall 2026 class is March 25, 2026. The final application deadline is May 15, 2026.

Twenty full-tuition scholarships will be awarded each year for the next three years, expanding access to students preparing for careers across the global real assets spectrum.

Prospective students may request additional information to learn more about the curriculum, career pathways, and scholarship opportunities or submit an application:

Request More Information

Apply Now

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