Graduate Programs

Graduate Business Degree
Master of Arts in Accounting

The Master of Arts program in accounting is designed to impart a well-rounded training in accounting for employment as a professional accountant in industry, government, and nonprofit institutions, as well as providing the basis for achievement of certificates in public accounting (C.P.A.) and/or in management accounting (C.M.A.). Emphasizing integration between economics and accounting and modern quantitative methods of decision making, the program is versatile and flexible. The required courses in the program provide a broad exposure to the theory and application of cost and financial accounting, while the elective courses permit the program to be tailored to the needs of those specializing in financial accounting, governmental accounting, managerial accounting, fund accounting for nonprofit organizations, or financial management. The minimum number of semester hours of graduate credit to be earned by degree candidates is thirty.

A. Undergraduate Requirements:A minimum of twenty-one semester hours of undergraduate credits in the following disciplines: accounting (9), economics (6), and statistics (6).

B. Course Work
       1. Required courses (fifteen): Acct 604, Advanced Corporate Accounting (3); Acct 609, Advanced Cost Accounting (3); Acct 615, Accounting Theory (3); Acct 650, Accounting Seminar: Graduate (3); Econ 662, Graduate Statistics (3). The prerequisite for admission to the accounting seminar is the completion of the required courses.
       2. Electives (fifteen): Five graduate courses in the field of accounting, for which the student qualifies.

C. Certification of Proficiency in Computer Science: This certification should be completed during the first year of course work. It is obtained by the successful completion of a computer science course or an equivalent course which has been approved by the department (Mgt 568, Microcomputer Applications in Business, is highly recommended) or by the equivalent practical work with computers which is so evaluated by the department. The course in computer science or the equivalent course is not part of the thirty-six minimum credit hours necessary for the M.A. in Accounting.

D. Comprehensive Examination: Students are required to pass a comprehensive examination as designed by the department. Students must complete all required courses (see B-1 above), with the exception of Acct 650, before the semester in which they will take the comprehensive examination.