Course Curriculum

NEC's curriculum provides a way for students to achieve their cherished lifelong learning goals.

The Master of Science in Management - Real Estate Management online program at New England College (NEC) consists of nine courses for a total of 36 credit hours. You will begin the program with core courses and then progress into the concentration courses that delve further into your area of interest. At the end of the program, you will use the skills learned within the program in a practical problem-solving capstone project.

Below is a listing of the core courses, concentration courses, and the Capstone project:

Organization Management and Leadership - 4 credits
This course combines theory and practice by encouraging students to learn traditional and contemporary leadership theories and apply them in analyzing the behavior of leaders, colleagues, and subordinates. Through a variety of readings, cases, and exercises, students will examine effective leadership models. Topics include the evolution of leadership; the roles of strategy and vision in transformational change; the development of leaders; the leadership responsibilities of creating effective teams, organizations, and cultures; the exploration of different leadership styles; and current popular approaches to leadership theory.

Managing Projects in Organizations - 4 credits
This course presents an overview of managing a project from start to finish. Students will examine project organizational structure, work breakdown, scheduling, budgeting, costing, resource allocation, and human resource considerations throughout the project process. Topics include the management of human resources and team building; planning and control; scope management; time and cost management; quality and risk management; and technical tools, including GANTT and PERT charting.

Professional and Organizational Ethics: A Global Perspective - 4 credits
This course explores and analyzes the relationships among stakeholders in business and the global economy. The moral implications of organizations and decisions are explored. Included are their social effects and the tension that exists between achieving desirable outcomes and attending to the means by which they are achieved. Topics include theories of morality; analysis of ethical decision-making; interaction and conflicts among personal, professional, and organizational values; the effect of cultural diversity on individual and group values; current issues related to the "flattening" of the business environment; and the impact of ethical considerations on the responsible achievement of business goals. The roles of individual and collective choice in the management of competitive environments and organizational positions on contemporary moral issues are also examined.

Managerial Accounting and Finance for Leadership - 4 credits
This course discusses how to more effectively and ethically lead and influence in situations where financial issues play a key role, with particular attention to public fiscal management. It introduces the concepts and principles of financial management and managerial accounting, discussing developing and using budgets for planning and control, demonstrating accountability, and establishing priorities within an organization. Students will explore the tools and techniques available to maximize the use of scarce resources, and the implications of public funding and cost accounting for programs and initiatives within the organization.

Strategic Planning and Policy - 4 credits
The primary focus of this course is strategic planning in a business unit, which is the foundational level for competitive analysis and analysis of the issues central to a firm's short-term and long-term competitive success. Using a combination of case studies and industry field research, students will assume the roles of key decision-makers and/or advisors in analyzing these issues and offering recommendations for strategic change. In conjunction with these assignments, students will also be challenged to critically examine revolutionary changes now occurring in some organizations, such as vertical integration, horizontal consolidation, strategic alliances and joint ventures, entrepreneurial startups, and the development of niche networks.

Contract Management - 4 credits
This course introduces the student to the contract management process from both buyer and seller perspectives, from pre-RFP planning, proposal development, and negotiation, through contract administration and closeout. Using the work breakdown structure as a framework for planning, the course explains all typical major tasks, responsibilities, and customer interfaces.

Principles of Finance & Insurance - 4 credits
This course incorporates managerial finance and concepts of insurance. Topics include the nature of risks, types of insurance carriers and markets, insurance contracts and policies, property and casualty coverages, life and health insurance, and government regulations. The functions of underwriting, setting premiums, risk analysis, loss prevention, and financial administration of carriers are emphasized.

Customer Relationship Management - 4 credits
Built around the notion of the customer lifecycle, this course emphasizes analytical approaches to customer relationship management. Topics include identifying good prospects and customer acquisition; customer development via up-selling, cross-selling and personalization; customer attrition and retention; and customer lifetime value.

Master's Capstone Project - 4 credits
In this summative course in the program, each student will undertake a major investigation of a significant leadership and management challenge. Students propose either a public policy initiative or an organizational change or innovation that is responsive to the problem they have identified. In the process of researching the problem and proposing an evidence-based solution or improvement, students integrate principles, theories, and methods learned in required program courses.

Students may enroll in a non-credit self-study Proposal Development course, whenever and as often as they wish. The Proposal Development course guides them in writing an approvable proposal. Once the proposal is approved and students have completed all other courses in their program, they may enroll in the Capstone course. During this final course in the program, students will gather and analyze their research, and create a viable strategic plan for implementing their project.