COURSE CURRICULUM

The Master of Science in Accounting is a comprehensive graduate program designed to prepare students for advanced professional careers in accounting, auditing, taxation, financial analysis, and business decision-making. The program requires the completion of 36 to 39 credits depending on prior academic preparation and selected concentration. Certain prerequisite courses, including Financial Accounting for Managers, Managerial Accounting, and related foundational coursework, may be waived with departmental approval for students who already possess equivalent academic backgrounds. Students may select only one concentration within the program, with the Accounting Analytics concentration requiring 39 total credits and holding STEM designation approval due to its strong emphasis on analytics, technology, and data-driven decision-making. The program is structured to help graduates become successful accounting professionals, qualify for the CPA examination, and advance within their chosen career paths. The curriculum develops expertise in financial accounting, managerial accounting, auditing, financial reporting, accounting theory, and assurance services while emphasizing ethical responsibility, communication skills, and the relationship between accounting disciplines and organizational environments. Students learn to analyze business transactions, evaluate financial information, apply ethical principles within accounting practice, and produce professional written documents related to accounting and finance topics. All students complete a core set of advanced accounting courses covering current topics in financial accounting, advanced accounting practices, auditing and assurance services, financial statement reporting and analysis, accounting theory, and independent research or study experiences. Students pursuing the STEM-designated Accounting Analytics concentration complete additional specialized coursework in business analytics, data visualization, database management, accounting analytics, and data mining for business intelligence. These courses provide students with advanced analytical and technological skills used in modern accounting environments, including predictive modeling, auditing analytics, financial data interpretation, and business intelligence systems. Students learn how to analyze and communicate data effectively to answer research and business questions while supporting strategic organizational decisions. The combination of accounting expertise and analytical training prepares graduates for careers in public accounting firms, corporate finance departments, consulting firms, auditing organizations, financial analysis, business intelligence, and accounting analytics roles. Overall, the program equips students with strong technical knowledge, ethical awareness, analytical thinking, and communication abilities necessary to succeed in today’s technology-driven accounting and financial industries.