Innovation never stops at USC’s College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management.

Beginning this fall, students in three HRSM programs will have the option to add a new concentration in real estate development, offered in partnership with the Darla Moore School of Business.

“Our new Real Estate Development concentrations position HRSM at the forefront of an industry that profoundly shapes communities and economies across our fields,” said HRSM Dean Michael Sagas. “Through our partnership with the Darla Moore School of Business and a shared faculty appointment, we are providing students with an integrated, cross-disciplinary pathway to lead in the design, development and stewardship of the built environments of sports, hospitality and entertainment.”

Students majoring in hospitality management, sport and entertainment management or tourism management, including incoming first-year and transfers, may choose to add the concentration at any time.

The concentration requires four courses (a total of 12 credit hours) and a minimum grade of C is required in those courses. 

USC becomes one of a select few universities to offer a real estate concentration to hospitality management students, and only the second to offer it to those majoring in sport and entertainment management.

“Real estate is a huge industry. Commercial development, hotels, office, retail, industrial, multifamily, real estate investment trusts, brokerage, asset management, appraisal. It’s a whole world of careers, and this concentration can be the front door to most of them,” says Michael-Paul “Jack Kelly” James, who will be joining the HRSM and Darla Moore School faculty as a real estate instructor. 

The new concentration is the latest step in the enhanced collaboration between HRSM and the Darla Moore School. The two co-hosted the inaugural USC Real Estate Conference in April. The real estate development concentration was already in the works, but that conference served as a springboard for its launch.

“What I didn't expect was how many students were in the room: undergrads and grad students from across USC, a good number who were just curious and showed up because the topic sounded interesting,” says James, who spoke at the conference. “The students were sitting there trying to figure out whether any of this applied to them, whether it was worth taking and whether it could actually lead somewhere. My answer was yes on all three counts.”

Hospitality management and tourism management students in the Real Estate Development concentration will take two finance courses (Introduction to Real Estate and Urban Development, Real Estate Investment Fundamentals), one School of Hospitality and Tourism Management course (Advanced Lodging Management) and a new capstone course: Commercial Real Estate Development for the HRSM Industries, to be offered for the first time in spring 2027.

David and Nicole Tepper Department of Sport and Entertainment Management students who add the concentration will replace Advanced Lodging Management with one of three electives.

The sport and entertainment industry is becoming fundamentally linked to real estate development. For example, the Atlanta Braves' mixed-use development generated $45.4 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization in 2024, while the baseball team itself generated only $6.6 million (bravesholdings.com). Real estate has become the primary profit driver for the organization and this pattern is becoming an industry standard.

One of the finance courses included in the new concentration is also a state-approved 30-hour course for the South Carolina Real Estate licensing pre-examination requirement.

“So, even setting aside the concentration, the major, and the career trajectory, you're walking out of one semester with a credit that counts toward an actual professional license. Few finance electives can say that,” James says. “Buying a home is the most leveraged and least understood decision most Americans ever make, so even if you never work in real estate, this class makes you the person in your family who actually knows what's going on. That alone is worth your seat.”

“If you want a career on the commercial side, USC is building one of the only undergraduate programs in the country that teaches real estate specifically through the experiential industries, available to majors in hospitality management, tourism management, and sport and entertainment management. That specialization will set you apart in a way a generic real estate elective never could.”

Interested students should speak with their advisors about the real estate development concentration.