MRED+D Admissions
We recommend you start the application process as soon as possible. As a prospective graduate student, you’ll submit your application through UC Berkeley’s Graduate Division. You’ll find detailed application instruction on their Application Requirements page. Below is Abbey MRED+D application criteria, information about financing your education, fellowship opportunities, and FAQs.
EVENTS
Virtual Abbey MRED+D Information Session
Fri, Sep 19, 10:30 AM | Register
Round one applicants will be notified of acceptance mid-December. Round two applicants will be notified of acceptance early March. Deposits will be due about one month after acceptance.
HOW TO APPLY
Applications for fall open in September. Once open, it is designed so that you can enter and update your information at any time before you submit your application. For the Intended Program of Study section, please select summer 2026 as the Admit Term. When searching for our program, you will select “Master of Real Estate Development + Design MRED+D” from the list of options.
Please note: Applicants may only apply to one degree program per admissions cycle. On the Supporting Materials page you may disregard both the “Sampling of Relevant Written Work” prompt and the “Publications and Presentations” prompt.
ABBEY MRED+D APPLICATION INFO
- GPA
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) or Resume
- Statement of Purpose + Personal History Statement
- Letters of Recommendation (2)
- Video Question
- English Language Proficiency Requirement
- Portfolio of Work (Optional)
- GMAT or GRE Exam (Optional)
Applicants from institutions on a 4.0 scale should provide two grade point averages (GPA): your cumulative undergraduate GPA as it appears on your transcript, as well as your “Advanced GPA,” or your GPA after two years of undergraduate study. You may disregard the “GPA for courses in the major field of study” section, and we do not need to see your Advanced GPA calculations.
Students from institutions that do not grade on a 4.0 scale only need to fill out the “Other Scale GPA” section and do not need to calculate their Advanced GPA.
Please upload your most current resume or curriculum vitae, and be sure to highlight experiences and organizations that are real estate–related. The admissions committee prefers to receive reverse chronological resumes of one to two pages in length.
Applicants are required to complete two essays. Although we do not have a required minimum or maximum word count, the suggested length of each is around one to two pages, single-spaced.
Statement of Purpose
The admissions committee is interested in learning how your professional or other experiences and achievements equip you and motivate you to enroll in our program. At a minimum, your Statement of Purpose should indicate, with clarity and focus, your reason for applying to the Abbey MRED+D program and how our program advances your professional and personal goals. We are especially interested in understanding both your experience in and your capacity to take full advantage of an intensive, fast-paced degree program.
Those with less than two years of full-time post-graduate work experience should address why they feel ready for the program at their current level of experience in the Statement of Purpose.
Personal History Statement
The Personal History Statement is your opportunity to help the admissions committee understand you as a person, beyond your academic and professional achievements. While you may repeat some experiences discussed in your Statement of Purpose, we encourage you to use this section to highlight aspects of your background that demonstrate your commitment to serving the community and advancing better places and communities through your Abbey MRED+D degree.
You may wish to reflect on how the program’s core pillars resonate with you and share the source of your passion for the built environment. This is also the appropriate place to provide context for any elements of your application that may need additional explanation, such as extenuating circumstances that affected your GPA or gaps in your work history.
The two required letters of recommendation provide the admissions committee with third party, qualitative accounts of your potential for success in our program. We require two letters of recommendation. However, you may submit up to three if you like. (The online application will prompt you for three letters of recommendation. If you are only submitting the required two, just enter your own name into the third space; you may use mredd@berkeley.edu as the email for this dummy letter.)
We strongly prefer that letters of recommendation come from a current direct supervisor, former direct supervisor, or other individuals with whom you have had significant professional interaction. Please select individuals who know you well and who will take the time to write thorough and thoughtful letters on your behalf. The title of those you select is not important. What does matter is how closely your letter writers have worked with you and whether they can attest to your value as an employee, your professional accomplishments, and your personal qualities. We have found the most helpful letters to be recent, relevant, and written specifically for this application. We discourage letters of recommendation from subordinates, family, or friends.
Applicants with less than two years of post-graduate professional experience are permitted to utilize former professors or academic advisors if two professional references are not available.
When completing the online application, you will enter the email address of your recommender and click the appropriate box to have the recommender upload their letter. You are responsible for ensuring that both required recommendations are submitted prior to the application deadline.
You will be asked in the application to upload a video where, in two minutes or less, you tell us what drives your interests in real estate development and design and what you see yourself doing after you graduate from the MRED+D program. Please spend about one minute addressing each part of the question. Please do not read your essays — speak naturally! The file may be no larger than 5GB, and the following file types are supported: .3g2, .3gp, .avi, .m2v, .m4v, .mkv, .mov, .mpeg, .mpg, .mp4, .mxf, .webm, .wmv.
Please see Graduate Division’s website for information regarding demonstration of English proficiency, as this is a university requirement rather than a program-specific one. Please note that IELTS and TOEFL scores should be sent to their office electronically. The Abbey MRED+D program prefers to see TOEFL scores in the 100+ range and IELTS scores in the 7+ range.
While this is not a requirement, we encourage applicants to submit images of work and/or past projects with your application. Acceptable documents include presentations, pro formas, publications, and design portfolios, among others. Please keep this to 10 to 12 pages in length; feel free to redact any confidential information.
GRE or GMAT scores are not required, but may help you demonstrate skills that are otherwise absent from your application. They may be particularly useful for applicants with less professional experience. If you wish to submit scores, they should be current. Please self-report your scores on the application and send the official results to UC Berkeley. For the GRE please use institutional code 4833. For GMAT scores please use institutional code N2V-M5-04.
FINANCING YOUR EDUCATION
We are committed to recruiting students of exceptional achievement and potential, and admission decisions are made without regard to financial circumstances.
COST OF ATTENDANCE
The total required program and campus fees for the Nancy and Douglas Abbey MRED+D for 2025–2026 is $90,043; fees for 2026–2027 are not yet confirmed. In addition, students can expect to pay for books, health insurance, housing, transportation, and other personal costs. Please visit the UC Berkeley Financial Aid & Scholarships website for estimated cost of attendance.
FELLOWSHIPS
Please note this list is not exhaustive, and applicants are encouraged to conduct their own research. International students should explore funding opportunities in their home countries.
ABBEY MRED+D ADMISSIONS FELLOWSHIPS
The Abbey MRED+D offers a limited number of competitive merit-based fellowships to both domestic and international students during the application process. Decisions are based on the overall strength of the required materials submitted with the general admissions application and no separate application is needed. You will be notified by email if you are awarded an admissions fellowship.
ARCUS SOCIAL JUSTICE CORPS FELLOWSHIP
The Arcus Social Justice Corps (ASJC) Fellowship offers an unmatched opportunity for graduate students seeking to make direct and transformational social change in the world through planning, research, and design. The fellowship offers free tuition and a basic needs stipend, plus community building and professional networking opportunities. Each year, many MRED+D students are also Arcus Fellows. U.S. citizens, permanent residents, DACA recipients, and those with refugee status are eligible to apply. Please note that the ASJC Fellowship requires a separate application.
OTHER FELLOWSHIPS, SCHOLARSHIPS, AND LOANS
Following is a partial list of external funding opportunities. This list is for informational purposes and does not imply any connection with, or endorsement by, the College of Environmental Design or the Abbey MRED+D.
- U.S. Department of Labor Scholarship Search Tool
- Appraisal Institute Education Trust Scholarship
- International Council of Shopping Centers Scholarship
- Appraisal Institute Education and Relief Foundation College Scholarships
- NAIOP and Prologis Inclusion in CRE Scholarship
- NAIOP Diversity Student Scholarship
- Urban Land Institute Student Scholarship Program
- Urban Land Institute Graduate Student Fellowships
- Urban Land Institute Development 360 Program
- CREW Network Foundation Scholarship
- California Association of Realtors Scholarship
- UC Berkeley’s List of Scholarship Databases
You may also wish to explore academic student employment, federal loans, veterans benefits, campus jobs, or part-time internships (see Careers page). International students should review the Berkeley International Office’s Financial Aid page. MRED+D has also negotiated a no-U.S. co-signer loan option with Prodigy Finance for international students; MPOWER is another loan option for international applicants.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
- CAN I APPLY FOR FALL OR SPRING ADMISSION?
- ARE THERE CONCURRENT DEGREE OR DUAL DEGREE PROGRAMS WITH THE ABBEY MRED+D?
- HOW MANY STUDENTS WILL BE ENROLLED?
- WHAT TYPE OF QUANTITATIVE BACKGROUND SHOULD ABBEY MRED+D APPLICANTS HAVE BEFORE STARTING THE PROGRAM?
- HOW MANY HOURS PER WEEK DO ABBEY MRED+D STUDENTS SPEND ON THE PROGRAM?
- CAN STUDENTS GIVE SPECIAL ATTENTION TO A SPECIFIC ASPECT OF REAL ESTATE?
- CAN I APPLY IF MY WORK EXPERIENCE IS NOT IN REAL ESTATE?
- DO I NEED A DEGREE IN A SPECIFIC FIELD TO APPLY?
- CAN I ATTEND THE ABBEY MRED+D PROGRAM PART-TIME? ONLINE?
- CAN I WORK FULL-TIME WHILE PURSUING THE ABBEY MRED+D?
- IS THERE A STRICT REQUIREMENT FOR THE AMOUNT OF WORK EXPERIENCE ONE MUST HAVE IN ORDER TO APPLY?
- WHO ARE THE FACULTY FOR THE ABBEY MRED+D PROGRAM?
- WILL THE ABBEY MRED+D PROGRAM SPONSOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENT VISAS ADMITTED TO THE PROGRAM?
- HOW DO I APPLY FOR DEPARTMENT ADMISSIONS FELLOWSHIPS?
The Abbey MRED+D program only starts in the summer, and all students must begin during the summer term. We do not admit students for the fall or spring semesters.
No concurrent degree programs have been developed for the Abbey MRED+D. UC Berkeley does not offer ad hoc joint degree programs and applicants may only apply to a single degree program per admissions cycle. If you are interested in multiple graduate programs, we recommend you enroll in them sequentially.
We expect to welcome a cohort of about 35-40 students for the next Abbey MRED+D class.
The Abbey MRED+D program features a rigorous quantitative curriculum. To ensure you are prepared for the first finance course in the summer, all incoming students are required to complete Excel and finance skills training as a prerequisite prior to arrival.
The Abbey MRED+D program is an on-campus program. Students can expect to dedicate significant time to the program during the 10-week summer term with a rigorous load of coursework — this includes 18 hours per week of class time plus 36 hours of outside class work for full-time students. During the fall and spring terms, full-time students can expect to spend a minimum of 12-16 hours of in-class time per week and 36-54 hours per week of work outside the classroom.
In the spring semester, while completing Studio, students should anticipate more hours in class since studio courses involve extensive in-studio work. The Abbey MRED+D usually does not run classes one day per week, typically Fridays, which enables full-time students to take on part-time internships.
Part-time students take half the coursework each semester and are in class two days per week instead of four. Classes typically begin at 2 p.m., allowing students to complete a half-day at work on class days.
Absolutely. Because students will come from varied educational backgrounds and have a range or work experience, students can opt to focus their electives on finance, law, and other technical aspects of real estate transactions, for example, or concentrate on more in-depth training in aspects of design, housing, or urban development. In addition to the core curriculum, students in the Abbey MRED+D program are able to choose from among the rich offerings of the academic disciplines and professional programs on the Berkeley campus as electives.
Students who wish to do a deep dive into a specific area may pursue a Concentration (see About page).
Students in the Abbey MRED+D program come from diverse backgrounds with a range of different levels of experience in the real estate field and in related industries such as architecture, construction, commercial real estate finance, law, city planning, and commercial real estate brokerage. Some students have no formal education in real estate, but have pivoted into a real estate-related field professionally. Successful applicants demonstrate a passion for and exposure to real estate, whether through their studies, work experience, a family business, or internships and external projects. If your real estate experience is informal, please address what skills from your previous work are applicable to real estate and have informed your decision to make a career pivot in your essays.
No. We welcome applicants from a variety of prior undergraduate and graduate fields of study.
The Abbey MRED+D does offer a two-year part-time program, with two class days per week instead of four. Classes begin at 2 p.m., so part-time students may complete a half-day of work on class days. We do not offer an online option; both the full-time and part-time programs are on-campus and in-person.
The Abbey MRED+D part-time program is designed to facilitate working full-time or near-full time — part-time students take half the coursework each semester, stretching the program over two years, and classes meet from 2 p.m. onward, enabling a half-day of work on the two class days per week. Please see the Courses page for more information.
Working full-time while pursuing the full-time Abbey MRED+D program is not feasible, as a typical term will involve between 48 and 64 hours of work per week. Many students do pursue part-time work or internships while completing the degree (fall and spring only). We recommend about 10-16 hours of work per week for those exercising this option, and we can provide course credit for internships.
The Abbey MRED+D curriculum is designed to build upon your work experience. As such, we look closely at your career progression when making admissions decision. We also consider the combination of education, training, and work experience together. We typically look for a minimum of two years post-undergraduate experience. Exceptional candidates with fewer than two years of full-time, post-graduate work experience may apply, provided they explain in their essay why now is the right time to pursue their degree.
Abbey MRED+D Faculty are primarily industry professionals, including some of the most widely recognized real estate and urban development professionals in the San Francisco Bay Area. See our People page for a full listing.
Yes, for full-time students only (part-time study does not qualify for visa sponsorship). If an offer of admission to the full-time program is extended, then UC Berkeley will assist you in obtaining a student visa. We are also a STEM-designated program–students attending on an F-1 visa qualify for a two-year extension of the typical one year of Optional Practical Training awarded to graduates, for a total of three years of post-program work authorization.
There is no separate application for our competitive, merit-based fellowships. Applicants need only indicate their interest in being considered within the application. Fellowships are awarded at the program’s discretion, based on a holistic evaluation of qualifications and other criteria, and are typically offered at the time of admission.