The nation's 1st undergraduate-only in-classroom real estate investment program
After 13 years of dreaming and 2 years of intensive planning, the Vieth Institute for Real Estate Leadership at Marquette University, supporting one of the university’s top-ranked undergraduate programs, launched the nation's first undergraduate classroom-based applied learning program in 2021: The Real Estate Asset Program (REAP). REAP’s inaugural cohort began in the Spring of 2022.
Adding to this impressive roster of experiential learning opportunities in the College of Business Administration, REAP’s applied learning model further sets Marquette's real estate program apart from other undergraduate programs, leading to more successful graduates, more engaged alumni, and more supportive industry partners.
The Spring 2026 application process for REAP is now closed. Candidates interested in applying in the future should read below for application guidelines. If you have any questions please contact Vito Taphorn, Director for the Real Estate Asset Program, at vito.taphorn@marquette.edu.
Guidelines for Applying to the Real Estate Asset Program (Spring 2027)
Fill out the entire application
Complete both essays (500 words or less)
Attach your resume in the correct format (PDF and file name "Resume_Last Name_First Name")
Attach your graduation checklist (name the file: "Grad_Last Name_First Name")
Include a letter of recommendation. Letters should not be requested from Marquette University College of Business Administration real estate program faculty/staff. Please either have the letter emailed to Vito Taphorn or attached in the application (name the file: "LOR_Last Name_First Name")
Marquette real estate majors in the spring of their sophomore year are eligible to apply to participate in REAP. REAP’s mission is to provide an applied-learning environment for a select group of real estate program students in which they gain real-world experience in investment sourcing, underwriting, closing, management, and investor reporting. Participants will make investment recommendations to the investment committee, with oversight of a more than $4 million closed-end fund for equity investment, based on their analysis.
Working with the REAP director and investment committee as well as industry professionals, REAP students will apply their classroom training to make equity investment recommendations in actual real estate and then manage the ongoing investor reporting on behalf of investors.
REAP – CURRICULUM AND ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS
Prerequisite courses:
Required: Introduction to Commercial Real Estate (REAL 3001)
Recommended: Commercial Real Estate Finance (REAL 4002/FINA 4002), Real Estate Modeling (REAL 4061)
REAP’s specialized curriculum (cohort-format; students are accepted into a cohort and take this series of classes together over three semesters):
Applied Real Estate Asset Management and Modeling (3 credits - Fall junior year) — Students are prepared for active investing in real estate property by re-underwriting past and existing deals to learn the acquisitions and asset management process and investor reporting, then begin underwriting new deals and learning the process of investor pitching and reporting.
Intermediate Real Estate Investing (3 credits - Spring junior year) — Students refine their skills through intensive underwriting of new deals and in-depth learning of the due diligence and market analysis process, as well as pitching deals to the investment committee.
Advanced Real Estate Investing (3 credit - Fall senior year) — Students develop advanced analysis, underwriting and pitching skills, deliver advanced portfolio reporting metrics, and provide mentoring to the incoming cohort of REAP students.
Photo: REAP Cohort 2023 (L to R: Reed Casper, Benj Van Handel, Jackson Gearen, Grace Vanden Heuvel, Annie McDonough, Leigh Steiner, Melissa Variny, Gabby Boester, Harry Oatway, Vito Taphorn)
Watch REAP student and Marquette University alumnus Ava Villarreal (Bus Ad '24) discuss the REAP investment portfolio during the 2024 Marquette Real Estate Strategies Conference (May 1, 2024)
Thank you to our Investment Committee Members for the Real Estate Asset Program for their time, mentoring, investment funding and significant oversight of REAP's success:
Pat Biernacki, Bus Ad ’08, The Canopy Company (ex-officio, lead Managing Member)
Krista Casper, Bus Ad '04, Associated Bank
Trisha Connolly, Arts ’07, Catal Capital
Steve Disse, Bus Ad ’86, Colliers International
Austin Mautz, Grad '13, Fiduciary Real Estate Development
