Franklin L. Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management

Experience the only school of its kind in the nation

At the Franklin L. Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management, you’ll learn the full life cycle of the built environment. You’ll acquire a cohesive understanding of the built environment in addition to the specific educational discipline of your choice and learn to fill an increasingly important role as an integrated project leader.

Your faculty all have professional certifications, not just academic—Your professors at the Burns School are directly connected to significant players in the Colorado Front Range, one of the most active real estate markets and construction areas in the U.S.
Experience on-site learning—Get out of the classroom and learn real estate and the built environment from the foundation up.
Learn, innovate and connect—Our high-tech Collaboratory serves as both an immersive classroom and a space to meet with a network of industry advisors.

Full Life Cycle of the Built Environment

Our Unique and Totally Integrated Program

The only program in the country integrating real estate, project delivery and asset management education into a distinct foundational core representing the full life cycle of the built environment

The REBE Foundational core is a comprehensive, fully integrated curriculum designed to develop 21st-century business leaders in the Real Estate and Construction industries.
The REBE Foundation sets the stage for your success in one of our rigorous, career-oriented educational concentrations.
Each concentration focuses on industry-recognized core competencies and then expands to cover the most advanced topics relevant to the industry today.
Graduates of the REBE programs are uniquely prepared and equipped with the knowledge, skills and big picture perspective necessary to manage, lead, and innovate in this complex and high-risk industry.

Join Burns’ Winning Teams—Showcase Your Skills

Teams from the Burns School continue to win highly competitive real estate and construction management competitions. Does this matter? Yes. Just last year, after winning a competition, all Burns School team members had job offers before they returned to Denver.

Burns School students have competed in, and won, the following competitions:

National Association of Home Builders Competition
Associated Schools of Construction Competition
Rocky Mountain Real Estate Challenge
Sherman Miller Real Estate Competition
Urban Land Institute Student Competition
Design Build Institute of America Student Competition

Earn a Cross-Disciplinary Certificate in Affordable Housing

The University of Denver is introducing an executive certificate designed to equip professionals with expertise in building more affordable housing and more equitable communities. This 8-month program will be jointly offered by the Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management and the Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute at the Sturm College of Law. Learn more about the Executive Certificate in Affordable Housing.

Our History

The Franklin L. Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management was founded in 1938 as the Building Industry and Real Estate Program. In 1947, the school was renamed the Department of Real Estate and Construction Management (RECM). On May 6, 1997, the school was officially named the Franklin L. Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management.

Offering undergraduate and graduate degrees and graduate certificates, the Burns School is one of the largest schools within the Daniels College of Business and the only school of its kind in the nation.

We’re proud of our long legacy at the forefront of the real estate and construction management industries.

Our Namesake

Our school is named for Denver native Franklin Lane Burns (1914–1983), a visionary home builder. He was one of the first builders to bring affordable housing to lower-income families and returning WWII veterans. He was acclaimed as Denver’s premier home builder in the 1940s and 1950s. Franklin and his wife Joy Burns made a $5 million endowment in 1997, which effectively changed the real estate department into a “school.”

The Burns School will forever be grateful for the generosity and faith of Franklin and Joy Burns, and will always work hard to be an expression of their pioneering spirits.

Support the Burns School

Help us build a foundation for the future.

The Burns School has a rich 80-year history creating our solid foundation. As we navigate our future, we continue to embrace the unique intersection of business and the built environment to take our integrated education approach to the next level. Our mission of providing the most advanced education for the built environment means our graduates are grounded in the full life cycle of the built environment. Our goals cannot be achieved without strong investment from our community.

Connect, Engage, Sponsor, Donate

There are many ways to connect with the Burns School and engage our students, and we welcome your support whether it be time, talent or treasure. Please choose from our menu to customize your engagement. Make a donation, connect with career services, engage with students as a advisor/mentor or sponsor an event.

How to Support the Burns School

Market Reports

Real Estate Market Cycle Report

The Real Estate Market Cycle Report from Professor Glenn Mueller provides quarterly analysis on real estate market cycles, with reports covering five property types in 54 cities.

Get the latest reports here

2024 Reports

Apartment Market Trends Report

The Apartment Market Trends report from the Burns School provides quarterly data and analysis on apartment construction rentals and vacancy for the Denver Metro Area. Data is collected from Moody’s Analytics Commercial Real Estate Platform.