[1] Objectives

The Department of Accounting in UCA’s College of Business Administration offers a Master of Accountancy (MAcc) program designed to provide a fifth year of accounting education to prepare students for careers in professional accounting.

The objective of the program is to give students greater breadth and depth of accounting knowledge and, if desired, a specialization on taxation or industry track. The program provides the academic background needed to begin a professional accounting career. Outstanding employment opportunities in public accounting, industry, and government await graduates of the Master of Accountancy program.

The MAcc program is a comprehensive program that develops students’ conceptual and technical accounting competence, communication skills, research and analytical abilities, and leadership skills. The UCA MAcc focuses on the common body of knowledge recommended by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and builds on the traditional undergraduate accounting courses. Consequently, graduates are well prepared to sit for and pass the CPA exam. However, UCA takes students beyond the knowledge required on the CPA exam. Students learn the theory behind accounting and auditing procedures so they can adapt to an ever changing environment. The program encourages life-long learning and is unique in two respects: (1) The UCA MAcc teaches leadership through a course that focuses on the application of leadership in business and accounting organizations. (2) The program also requires a case studies course in which students learn to use multiple resources to solve management and accounting problems.

[2] Admission Requirements

Admission to the Master of Accountancy program is based on the applicant’s undergraduate record and score on the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT). Requirements include:

Baccalaureate degree in accounting from an accredited institution*
Cumulative undergraduate Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.7 or above; or a GPA of 3.0 or higher in the last 60 hours
A minimum accounting major GPA of 2.7 or higher
Submission of a score of 450 or above on the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) with minimum scores of 18on the verbal component and 26 on the quantitative component, OR
submission of equivalent minimum scores on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test.
A TOEFL (Test of English as a Second Language) score of 550 on the paper version, 213 on the computerized version, or 79 on the iBT, for students whose first language is not English

*In lieu of a baccalaureate degree in accounting, an applicant may be admitted by presenting a baccalaureate degree in another field and credit in the following undergraduate courses or their equivalents (42 hours total):

Intermediate Accounting (6 hours)
Cost Accounting (3 hours)
Individual Taxation (3 hours)
Auditing (3 hours)
Non-Profit and Governmental Accounting (3 hours)
Microeconomics (3 hours)
Macroeconomics (3 hours)
Management (3 hours)
Marketing (3 hours)
Principles of Finance (3 hours)
Statistics (3 hours)
Business Law (3 hours)
Introduction to Management Information Systems (3 hours)

Additionally students must fulfill all general requirements for graduate admission as required by the Graduate School.

[3] Petition for Candidacy

In the semester following the completion of nine semester hours of graduate work the student must apply for candidacy for the Accountancy degree. Courses taken prior to applying for candidacy will be used toward the degree provided they are appropriate for the program and were approved by the Graduate Coordinator. The Petition for Candidacy must include all courses completed and to be taken for completion of degree and the semester and year in which course was/will be taken.

[4] Degree Requirements

The Master of Accountancy requires 30 hours of course work beyond the baccalaureate degree, of which at least 24 hours must be in courses open only to graduate students (6000-level courses). A concentration in taxation may be obtained by completing nine hours of electives in taxation courses offered by the department. An industry track can be obtained by taking 4 specific MBA courses. Courses will be scheduled so that a full-time student will be able to complete the program in one academic year.

[5] Curriculum

[5.1] Required (18 hours)

ACCT 6309 Tax Research and Planning
ACCT 6310 Seminar in Accounting Theory
ACCT 6317 Seminar in Auditing
ACCT 6320 Seminar in Accounting Information Systems
ACCT 6340 Seminar in Case Studies in Accounting
ACCT 6350 Seminar in Accounting Leadership

[5.2] Electives (12 hours)

ACCT 5312 Advanced Accounting [ Note A, Note B ]
ACCT 5316 Advanced Income Tax [ Note A, Note B ]
ACCT 5322 Advanced Business Law for Accountants [ Note B ]
ACCT 6319 Corporations & Shareholder Taxation [ Note C ]
ACCT 6329 Partnership/S-Corporation Tax [ Note C ]
ACCT 6339 Estate & Gift Taxation [ Note C ]
ACCT 6390 Special Problems in Accounting

MBA 6301 Decision Modeling in Information Systems
MBA 6303 Managerial Economics [ Note D ]
MBA 6305 Financial Decision Making [ Note D ]
MBA 6306 Legal Environment of Business for Managers [ Note D ]
MBA 6320 Strategic Management [ Note D ]
MBA 6325 Organizational Behavior [ Note D ]
MBA 6330 Operations Management

Notes

Note A: These courses are required for students who did not complete equivalent undergraduate level courses.

Note B: These courses are not open to students who completed a similar undergraduate level course.

Note C: Concentration in Taxation – Students desiring a career in the field of taxation are advised to obtain a concentration in Taxation by completing these three electives.

Note D: Industry Track – Students desiring a career in industry are advised to select these four electives.

[6] Graduate Course Links

[6.1] Courses in Accountancy (ACCT)

Follow this link for ACCT course descriptions: course link.

[6.2] Courses in Business Administration (MBA)

Follow these links for MBA course descriptions: course link.