Real Estate: Finance majors
Advising one-pager · BBA in Finance, 2026-27 catalog · Gatton College, September 2026
Download the printable PDF Updated 2026-09-17
What it is
Real estate finance professionals lend on, invest in, value, and develop property. This three-course sequence through the Gatton Center for Real Estate prepares students for careers such as commercial lending and finance, real estate investment and REITs, development, and valuation. Two of the courses fill the Finance major’s FIN 400-level requirement and the third fills a free elective, so the roadmap adds no hours to the degree.
The courses
| Course | How it counts | Offered | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| FIN 360 Principles of Real Estate | free elective | Fall, spring | Any time; no prerequisite |
| FIN 464 ✓ Real Estate Finance | FIN 400-level slot | Fall, spring | After FIN 410 |
| FIN 490 (Real Estate Development) ✓ | FIN 400-level slot | Spring only | After FIN 405 and FIN 410, with FIN 464 first or alongside |
FIN 490 is the department’s special-topics number, so students register for the section subtitled Real Estate Development.
The posted four-year plan, with the real estate courses on top
| Year | Fall | Spring |
|---|---|---|
| Freshman | CIS 110, MA 109, UK Core ×3 | CIS 111, MA 123, UK Core ×3 |
| Sophomore | ECO 201, ACC 200, MKT 300, STA 296, elective | ECO 202, ACC 201, MGT 301, MA 162, AN 105, FIN 360 |
| Junior | ACC 301, FIN 300, ECO 391, CIS 300, elective | FIN 405, FIN 410, elective ×3 |
| Senior | FIN 400-level, FIN 464 ✓, MGT 340, choose-one, elective | FIN 490 (Real Estate Development) ✓
, AN 300, elective ×3 |
Roadmap course Counts for roadmap and major ✓ Major requirement UK Core, electives Italic = recommended One term only
The roadmap takes one elective and two of the three FIN 400-level slots, leaving a FIN 400-level slot and the choose-one open. FIN 360 can move to any junior-year elective if a student finds the field later.
Three things to know
- 1.
- It costs nothing extra. One elective and two courses the major already requires at the 400 level.
- 2.
- FIN 360 can start early. It has no prerequisite, so a sophomore can take it and find out whether the field fits.
- 3.
- FIN 490 (Real Estate Development) runs only in spring. Plan it for senior spring, after FIN 405 and FIN 410, with FIN 464 in the fall before.
Get involved through the Center for Real Estate
- Real Estate Club (open to all) and Rho Epsilon Iota for students who want to go deeper.
- Alumni and industry access, mentorship, and site visits; commercial real estate workshops and applied projects.
- Internships, and case and pitch competitions.
- FIN 464 also maps to Alternative Investments in the CFA® curriculum, so it serves a student weighing real estate and investment management.
Terms. FIN 400-level slot: one of the three upper-level finance courses the major requires. Choose-one: the major’s single choice among ACC 302, ACC 475, FIN 359, or
another FIN 400-level course. Free elective: any course the student chooses that counts toward graduation hours.
Contact: Shaun Sanders, Director, Gatton Center for Real Estate, shaun.sanders@uky.edu (FIN 360, FIN 464, FIN 490 (Real Estate Development))
Plan from the 2026-27 Finance sample curriculum; prerequisites from the catalog. The catalog year a student entered under governs; confirm in the degree
audit.
A general guide, not official advising. Compiled from publicly posted UK catalog and curriculum pages; requirements change and no warranty is given. Confirm your plan with your academic advisor and your myUK GPS degree audit.
Which sheet? Wealth management or financial planning: CFP. Investment research or portfolio management: CFA. Investment banking or private equity: Investment Banking. Real estate lending, investment, or development: Real Estate. Students can combine them. All sheets: willgerken.com/roadmaps