The academic curriculum of Suffolk University recently debuted a new minor in real estate. The minor was officially approved last semester as a collaboration between Professor Richard Taylor, Sawyer Business School (SBS) Dean William O’Neill and the Future Investors in Real Estate (F.I.R.E.) club.

In order to become a licensed real estate agent in Massachusetts, one must complete 24 hours of class followed by the passing of a written test.

Although all it takes to become a licensed agent is to ultimately complete the 24 hours of class time and pass the written test, taking up the minor benefits students in the long run.

“This minor covers real estate in more detail and in a larger spectrum,” said Tom Kwiatkowksi, a F.I.R.E. president. “Being an agent is only one aspect of the real estate industry. This new minor is exciting for us because we’ve been working on it for a while; it’s exciting to see that what we’ve been working on officially becoming approved.”

As of now, there are currently three courses offered for the completion of a real estate minor: real estate finance, real estate development and public policy. However, in the future, the F.I.R.E. group hopes to expand it further.

“We are hoping to expand more and more, and we are currently working towards having these real estate courses count towards the 24 hours that are required towards taking the test to become officially licensed; that way students are able to take these courses and waive hours as well,” said Kwiatkowski.

So far the new minor has been said to be a success, and looks promising for the real estate hopefuls and aspiring agents at Suffolk. Some of the most commonly associated majors with the real estate minor include finance, accounting, global business, and entrepreneurship. Students have also had opportunities to intern at real estate firms, REIT’s, property management firms, Investment Banking, Commercial, residential or industrial real estate acquisition firms or brokerages.

“The real estate minor provides a focus to many of the complimentary majors in the business school and caters to the interests of a substantial group of students,” said Odie Fahkouri, founder of F.I.R.E. “Everyone, at some point in their life, has to make a real estate decision, personally or professionally- and this minor will help students make those future decisions with confidence.”

For more information about the real estate minor or getting involved with the F.I.R.E. club, contact [email protected].