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Milena Petrova

Milena Petrova

Associate Professor of Finance

315-443-9631
Room: 120F
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Ph D, University of Florida (Finance)

Milena Petrova is an Associate Professor at the Department of Finance where she teaches real estate and corporate finance at the graduate and undergraduate levels. Prof. Petrova has also taught at SDA Bocconi School of Management as a SDA Professor of Corporate Finance & Real Estate and held visiting positions at Amsterdam University, the Netherlands and Bocconi University, Italy. Petrova’s particular areas of specialization are real estate investment trusts, commercial real estate valuation, real estate asset pricing, real estate in a mixed-asset portfolio, corporate governance, corporate financing strategy and corporate restructuring. Her research has been published in top international journals including the Journal of Banking and Finance, Financial Management, Journal of International Money and Finance, Real Estate Economics, Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, and others. Dr. Petrova has won multiple awards and grants for her research and teaching and presented her research to over 70 international conferences.


Besides being an active researcher, Dr. Petrova is a well-recognized real estate expert and
as such has trained and consulted for investment professionals in the USA, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. As a consultant she has advised on M&As – valuation, post-merger integration, and exit opportunities; corporate restructuring; business plan evaluation; and the development, acquisition and financing of commercial real estate. She has also served as an advisor in setting up REITs and use of tax deferred exchanges. Prior to her academic tenure, Dr. Petrova worked in management consulting (Booz Allen Hamilton) and project finance (Finnvera). Prof. Petrova has a Ph.D. in Finance from the University of Florida, a Master’s Degree in Finance from Hofstra University, a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Helsinki School of Economics, Finland and Post-Graduate Certificates in Fintech from Oxford University, the UK and in Industrial Management from the Helsinki University of Technology, Finland.

Research Topics

  • Commercial real estate pricing
  • REITs
  • Real estate markets and strategy
  • Corporate restructuring and corporate governance

Dr. Petrova currently teaches Real Estate Modeling, Real Estate Finance and Investments, Real Estate Principles, and Financial Management at the undergraduate and graduate levels.



Prof. Petrova has taught the follollowing classes at Syracuse University:

FIN 960 Seminar in Finance (PhD Course)

FIN 855 Theory of Finance (PhD/MSF Course)

MBC 633 Managerial Finance (Graduate Course)

FIN 455 Financial Management (Undergraduate Course)

RES 662 Real Estate Finance & Investments (Graduate Course)

RES 631 Real Estate Principles (Graduate Course)

RES 362 Real Estate Finance & Investments (Undergraduate Course)

RES 332 Real Estate Principles (Undergraduate Course)

RES 400 Real Estate Modeling (Undergraduate Course)

Excel Real Estate Modeling (2-day Workshop)

Argus Valuation (2-day Workshop)

Professor Petrova's primary research interests are in the areas of commercial real estate pricing, real estate operations, REITs, real estate capital markets, corporate finance and corporate restructuring.

Selected Publications

Awards and Honors

  • Whitman Teaching Fellow - Syracuse University (2020)
  • Real Estate Research Consortium Grant 2020 - The Real Estate Research Consortium (2020)
  • Best Paper in Corporate Finance (Nomination) - European Financial Management Association (2017)
  • Real Estate Roundtable Grant 2014-2015 - Real Estate Round Table (2014)
  • Best Paper Award for “Why do Managers Divest Corporate Assets? Insights from Equity Carve-outs - , International Business Finance Conference, ICFAI Business School (2012)
  • American Real Estate Society Best Research Paper for “Heterogeneous Investors, Negotiation Strength & Asset Prices in Private Markets: Evidence from Commercial Real Estate - CoStar Group (2010)
  • Nominated by the Dean of Whitman School of Management and the Department of Finance for receiving Syracuse University’s Teaching Recognition Award (2010)
  • Nominated for Best Paper Award in Investments for “Heterogeneous Investors, Negotiation Strength, & Asset Prices in Private Markets: Evidence from Commercial Real Estate - Financial Management Association (2010)
  • Recipient of the Oberwager Award for Outstanding Faculty (2009)
  • CoStar Best Paper Award for Use of Commercial Real Estate Data (2007)
  • ARES Doctoral Seminar Travel Award - ARES (2006)
  • AREUEA Doctoral Session Travel Award - AREUEA (2006)
  • Gerald R. Brown Award for Best Paper on Real Estate and Finance - Department of Real Estate, National University of Singapore (2003)