Certification Process
The Education Requirement
To meet the Education Requirement of the CRAA® Program, you must have either (i) obtained a bachelor's degree or equivalent in any discipline from an accredited college or university and/or (ii) completed 6,000 hours of qualifying work experience directly related to the real assets industry. Read below for more details on the Education Requirement.
Completing the Education Requirement
Before earning your CRAA® certification, you must fulfill the Education Requirement by meeting one of the two options below. Please note that you are not required to complete the Education Requirement prior to taking the CRAA® Exam.
Obtain a Bachelor's Degree (or Equivalent)
While you can take the CRAA® Exam as an undergraduate, you must complete a bachelor's program (or equivalent) and receive a degree from the college/university in order to satisfy the Education Requirement.
Your degree must be awarded from an accredited institution. In the U.S., accreditation is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For international schools, please consult your institution or local education authority.
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Bachelor's Degree
A bachelor's degree (or higher) in any field from an accredited college or university will fulfill the Education Requirement.
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International Degree
An international degree will fulfill the requirement if it is equivalent to a bachelor's degree. If you are unsure about the equivalency of your degree, please consult your institution for guidance.
Accumulate Qualifying Industry Experience
Education in the built and natural environments reflects the entrepreneurial spirit of the real assets industry. If you choose to qualify through Option II, you can satisfy the Education Requirement by accumulating 6,000 hours of work experience acquired before, during, or after registering in the CRAA® Program. Typically, a full-time position accumulates 1,500 to 1,750 hours of work experience per year.
Industry experience can be related to any income-producing real asset or any profession within the real asset value chain. Paid internships qualify. Work experience with your own business or a family business also qualifies, provided you were paid a market rate for the services performed.
Eligible industry experience involves actively applying real assets knowledge, skills, and higher-level judgment. Please note that activities unrelated to advancing competence in the real assets industry — such as training, company marketing, self-promotion, or clerical administrative duties — cannot be counted toward your total accumulated industry experience hours.
In the broadest sense, qualifying experience should be any activity that engages with one or more the CRAA® Program Curriculum Topics, in a way that creates value for decision-making for income-producing real assets. Some examples of qualifying experience include:
- Managing a Commercial Real Estate Property: Overseeing tenant relations, negotiating leases, coordinating property maintenance, and ensuring the profitability and operational efficiency of an income-generating property.
- Conducting Real Estate Market Research: Analyzing market trends, evaluating property values, and interpreting economic data to inform investment decisions, guide development strategies, and assess future opportunities.
- Working as a Real Estate Investment Analyst: Evaluating potential property acquisitions, building financial models, performing due diligence, and analyzing market risks to support investment decisions in income-producing real assets.
- Supervising a Construction Project: Managing contractors, monitoring budgets, overseeing timelines, and ensuring compliance with building standards in the development of commercial or residential properties.
- Performing Asset Management Duties: Monitoring the financial performance of real assets, making recommendations for capital improvements, developing strategies to maximize asset value, and ensuring optimal cash flow for income-generating properties.
- Working as a Leasing Agent for Commercial Properties: Negotiating lease terms, marketing available spaces, managing tenant relationships, and driving occupancy to ensure the profitability of commercial property leases.
- Operating a Real Estate Development Business: Overseeing project planning, securing financing, coordinating site selection, managing budgets, and fostering partnerships to execute successful real estate development projects.
- Providing Infrastructure Consulting Services: Advising clients on infrastructure investments, crafting development strategies, offering guidance on portfolio management, and optimizing income-producing infrastructure assets for long-term growth.
- Evaluating Property for Acquisition: Conducting financial analysis, assessing risk, performing site visits, and analyzing market conditions to determine the viability and potential returns of acquiring income-generating properties.
- Working as a Facilities Manager: Managing the operations and maintenance of buildings, ensuring regulatory compliance, overseeing budgeting for operational expenses, and implementing strategies to ensure profitability and efficiency.
- Managing Agribusiness Operations: Overseeing crop production, managing livestock, negotiating supplier contracts, optimizing farm operations, and ensuring revenue generation from agricultural activities.
- Managing Timberland Resources: Supervising sustainable forestry practices, planning timber harvests, negotiating timber sales, ensuring compliance with environmental regulations, and optimizing income generation from timberland assets.
Let's Get This Done
Submitting Your Information
As a CRAA® candidate, you do not need need to take any immediate action to report your completion of the Education Requirement. When you submit your final application for CRAA® certification after successfully passing the CRAA® Exam, you will attest to whether you satisfied the Education Requirement under Option I or Option II.
Please note, industry experience for the Education Requirement and Professional Experience Requirement is cumulative. This means if meet the 6,000-hour Education Requirement under Option II, you automatically fulfill the 4,000-hour Professional Experience Requirement.
RPII does not ask for degree or industry experience verification documentation prior to submission of your final CRAA® certification application. However, RPII may request proof of education (such as, a copy of your diploma or grade reports) and/or work experience (such as an employment letter or pay stubs) during the processing of your certification application or after you become a CRAA® professional to ensure all certification requirements were met. Failure to provide requested documentation relevant to any certification requirement may result in a breach under the Code and Principles of Professional Conduct and could lead to sanctions or loss of your certification designation.
Begin Your Journey
Ready to Evolve?
Now is the time to embark on your real assets journey. Enhance your career potential and deepen your knowledge through the CRAA® Program. Gain in-depth insights, set yourself apart from the competition, and build real-world skills. See how you can register for CRAA® certification.
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