Accounting Major - MPA
Objectives
The School of Accountancy offers an integrated Master of Professional Accountancy degree program, a Stand Alone M.P.A. Program, and offers courses that support the M.B.A. degree. The overall objective of the school is to provide an academic program that enables students to prepare for entry into the profession of accountancy. The curriculum is intended to increase the student's understanding of accounting and to be responsive to the changing requirements of the accounting profession.
The M.P.A./B.B.A. program leads to a Master of Professional Accountancy degree for those who are primarily interested in pursuing a career in professional accounting. The program contains 156 hours of course credit and complies with all the educational requirements for those who wish to take the CPA exam. A bachelor's degree is awarded simultaneously with the M.P.A. The five-year degree program covers concepts of financial accounting, managerial accounting and information systems for accounting and management. These subjects make up the core of the accounting curriculum. Students also gain critical knowledge in the areas of auditing and taxation.
The Stand Alone M.P.A. Program has a 36 semester hour core. Leveling courses cover the common body of accounting knowledge that would normally be found in an undergraduate curriculum. The following 33 semester hours are included: ACC 231, ACC 232, ACC 331, ACC 332, ACC 333, ACC 343, ACC 437, ACC 465, ECO 502, ECO 515 and FIN 504. Depending on the student's background, some or all of the leveling courses may be waived by the M.P.A. Director. For a course to be waived, the student must normally have completed comparable undergraduate or graduate business course work from a regionally accredited university with grades of B or better within the last five years. The Stand Alone program covers concepts in financial accounting, managerial accounting, auditing and taxation.
Graduate Assistantships
A limited number of graduate assistantships are awarded each year in the school. For information and applications, contact the School of Accountancy Director.
Five-Year Program*
| Bachelor of Business Administration-Master of Professional Accountancy Program | |||
Freshman Year |
|||
| Freshman ENG | 3 | Freshman ENG | 3 |
| MTH 143 | 3 | MTH 144 | 3 |
| Science | 4 | Science | 4 |
| HIS or PSC | 3 | HIS or PSC | 3 |
| ART/MUS/THE/DAN | 3 | CSC 121 | 3 |
| 16 | 16 | ||
Sophomore Year |
|||
| ACC 231 | 3 | ACC 232 | 3 |
| ECO 231 | 3 | ECO 232 | 3 |
| MTH 220 | 3 | BCM 247 | 3 |
| ENG LIT/PHI/HIS | 3 | HIS or PSC | 3 |
| HIS or PSC | 3 | COM 111 | 3 |
| Elective | 3 | ||
| 15 | 18 | ||
Junior Year |
|||
| ACC 331 | 3 | ACC 332 | 3 |
| ACC 333 | 3 | ACC 343 | 3 |
| CSC 340 | 3 | ECO 339 | 3 |
| FIN 333 | 3 | BLW 335 | 3 |
| GBU 325 | 3 | MGT 370 | 3 |
| Elective | 1 | ||
| 16 | 15 | ||
Senior Year |
|||
| ACC 453 | 3 | **ACC 512 | 3 |
| MGT 371 | 3 | Elective (Grad Credit) | 3 |
| ACC 442 | 3 | MGT 463 | 3 |
| ACC 457 | 3 | ACC 465 | 3 |
| MKT 351 | 3 | ACC 437 | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
Graduate Year |
|||
| ACC Elective (Grad Credit) | 3 | ACC 532 | 3 |
| FIN 514 or 554 | 3 | ACC Elec (Grad Credit) | 3 |
| ACC 547 | 3 | ACC Elec (Grad Credit) | 3 |
| Elective (Grad Credit) | 3 | Elective (Grad Credit) | 3 |
| Elective (Grad Credit) | 3 | BLW 547 or FIN 510 | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
*M.P.A./B.B.A. degree consists of 120 hours undergraduate and 36 hours graduate
**A student must apply for admission and be admitted to the M.P.A. Program and graduate school no later than the semester prior to the first semester of enrolling in any 500- level course. The two-step admission process is:
- Receive clear admission to the M.P.A. Program. Requirements for admission are:
- completion of at least 75 hours (including all 100/200 level courses plus a minimum of 15 hours of accounting)
- cumulative GPA of 2.5
- 2.5 Accounting GPA or better in all accounting courses completed at the time of 52 admission and maintain a C or better in all accounting courses.
- Receive clear admission to graduate school. Requirements include:
- present satisfactory score on Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT). For admission through 8-31-11, a candidate must have either a value of at least 950 using the formula(overall GPA x 200) + GMAT score. For admission after 08-31-11, see formula in College of Business section.
- file formal application for admission to graduate school.
M.P.A. Stand Alone Program
Foundation of Knowledge: |
||
| BLW 547 | International Legal Environment of Business | |
| or | ||
| FIN 510 | International Finance | |
| FIN 514 | Advanced Financial Management | |
| or | ||
| FIN 554 |
Investment Analysis and Portfolio Management plus nine hours of graduate electives, three of which may be ACC 585. |
|
Accounting Requirements |
||
| ACC 512 | Seminar in Accounting Research | |
| ACC 532 | Legal Principles Related to Accounting | |
| ACC 533 | Advanced Topics in Management Accounting | |
| ACC 547 | Seminar in Auditing | |
| plus nine hours of graduate accounting electives | ||
Courses in Accounting (ACC)
*Unless otherwise indicated, courses are three semester hours credit.
501. Financial Accounting. Study of the accounting process for external reporting purposes. Recommended for students with no accounting background.
511. Accounting For Management. Use of accounting data in the managerial decisionmaking process and in the analysis and control of business operations. Prerequisite: ACC 501 or equivalent and CSC 503.
512. Seminar in Accounting Research. The study of proper accounting research and reporting techniques. Prerequisite: M.P.A. graduate standing or ACC 511 and ECO 502, or equivalents.
521. International Accounting. A study of critical issues and differences in the global accounting environment. Prerequisites: ACC 231 and 232, or 511.
531. Seminar in Not-for-Profit Accounting Principles. Study of accounting and auditing principles as they apply to governmental and not-for-profit entities. Prerequisite: ACC 331.
532. Legal Principles Related to Accounting. Intensive study of legal principles which arise in the practice of accounting. Prerequisite: BLW 335.
533. Advanced Topics in Management Accounting. Study of decision making and performance evaluation techniques in management accounting. Prerequisite: ACC 333.
537. Seminar in Auditing. Study of financial auditing standards and theory. Prerequisites: ACC 332 and ECO 339.
542. Advanced Financial Accounting II. Advanced financial accounting topics continued. Prerequisite: ACC 442.
543. Advanced Tax I. Study of tax problems related to taxable entities. Prerequisite: ACC 343.
547. Advanced Auditing. Application of audit theory to public accounting. Prerequisite: ACC 437.
549. Advanced Accounting Practicum. Study of practical applications of accounting theory. Prerequisites: ACC 332 and 333.
551. Seminar in Oil and Gas Accounting. Study of accounting principles related to the oil and gas industry. Prerequisite: ACC 331.
553. Advanced Tax II. Comprehensive study of tax research methodology. Prerequisite: ACC 343.
557. Controls and Internal Auditing. Study of internal audit theory and practice. Prerequisite: ACC 437.
563. Contemporary Issues in Accounting. Study of contemporary issues in accounting and their development in accounting theory. Prerequisite: ACC 332.
570. Advanced Topics in Accounting. One to three semester hours. Advanced topical studies in various aspects of accounting. Titles and topics will vary. May be repeated with a change of topic up to a maximum of three total graduate hours.
575 . Advanced Graduate Studies. Students are individually assigned to an instructor on the basis of the type of studies needed for the programs pursued. May be repeated under different topics.
576. Advanced Graduate Studies. Same as 575 but in a different topic area.
578. Seminar. May be repeated.
585. Internship in Accounting. One to three semester hours. Internship in an accounting position with faculty supervision. May be used for free elective hours but not for "Accounting Elective (graduate credit)" as specified in the five-year accounting program. Prerequisites: Student must be admitted to M.P.A. program, or stand alone program, and graduate school. Approval of The Director of the Gerald W. Schlief School of Accountancy and supervising instructor. Minimum of 12 hours of accounting at 300 level or above must be completed.
See the Accounting portion of the Graduate Bulletin for more information.
For specific course syllabi, please visit Course Information.