Accountancy, MS

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The Master of Science in Accountancy program is a 30-credit program designed to prepare students for a professional career in the accounting industry. The program also helps prepare students for professional accounting certification in applicable states.

Program Learning Outcomes:

1. Record transactions and prepare financial statements according to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.
2. Apply auditing concepts as they relate to business processes.
3. Apply advanced managerial accounting concepts.
4. Understand and apply federal tax law relating to business entities.
5. Integrate the four major areas that constitute the CPA exam (capstone project).
6. Apply the concepts of managerial finance and economics.
7. Apply the concepts of managerial analytics.

Program CIP: 52.0301 - Accounting.

Program SOC: 13-2011 - Accountants and Auditors

Admission Requirements

Admission Requirements

Completion of a bachelor’s degree with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher
Goal statement consisting of 300 - 500 words
Professional resume

Prerequisite Courses

ACCT 280 - Accounting I (Financial)
ACCT 281 - Accounting II (Managerial)
FINC 350 - Business Finance
MKTG 210 - Principles of Marketing
MGMT 230 - Principles of Management
ACCT 381 - Federal Income Tax-Individuals
ACCT 382 - Intermediate Accounting I
ACCT 383 - Intermediate Accounting II
ACCT 385 - Accounting Information Systems
ACCT 386 - Managerial and Cost Accounting
ACCT 489 - Auditing I

Conditional Admission

Conditional admission is based on appropriate professional work and teaching experience and/or potential for academic success at the graduate level. Students who are granted conditional admission are limited to one course per session until a GPA of 3.0 has been maintained through six (6) hours of coursework. When this condition has been met, students will automatically be updated to full program status.

Program Requirements

Degree requirements include common core courses and integrate foundation courses for a minimum of 30 semester hours.

Required Graduate Core Courses (27 sem. hrs)

Elective Graduate Courses (3 sem. hrs)

Choose one elective from the following:

Total Semester Hours (30 sem. hrs)

¹ Capstone Course: The capstone course is required of students as the culminating experience for the M.S. Accountancy Program, and students must have completed 21 hours in the program before enrolling in this course. Students must earn a B or higher in this course in order to graduate.

²Undergraduate Substitution Courses: Certain undergraduate accounting courses can serve as substitutions for graduate-level accounting courses. Students who have completed ACCT 481, ACCT 384, ACCT 485, or ACCT 488 may substitute these courses for ACCT 581 , ACCT 584 , ACCT 585 , or ACCT 588 respectively if they received a grade of B or higher in the undergraduate courses. The courses must have been completed within seven years of the time of admission to the MBA (accounting emphasis) or M.S. Accountancy program and prior to admission to any Columbia College graduate program. Once the student is admitted to any master’s program, he/she may not complete undergraduate accounting courses to substitute for graduate- level accounting courses. The request for substitution must be made during the first session after admission, using the Graduate Accounting Undergraduate Substitution Form. Additional BUSI courses must then be substituted as elective courses to complete the credit hours necessary for the MBA (with accounting emphasis) or M.S Accountancy degree. For coursework taken at an institution other than Columbia College, an official transcript must be submitted to verify the course equivalency.