Business: Accelerated BS/MS Accountancy


Accelerated BS/MS in Accountancy


About the Degree

The accelerated BS/MSA program allows outstanding, full-time accounting students to earn both BS and MS degrees by completing 150 semester hours of coursework, which is the minimum number of credit hours required to sit for the CPA exam in Ohio and most other states. All students in this program will complete 30 credits of graduate coursework to fulfill the requirements for the master's degree, nine of which will be taken during the senior year. The program will also provide students with funding opportunities for the fifth year through graduate assistantships, professional internships, and scholarships.

Students in the Accelerated BS/MSA program may pursue an emphasis in either professional accounting or accounting information systems. Students need 30 credits of graduate coursework to earn the MSA, regardless of the option they choose. Most students pursue the professional accounting option. Students who wish to pursue the accounting information systems option must earn at least 12 graduate credits in accounting information systems or management information systems.

Students in the program study financial reporting, auditing and assurance, taxation, cost management, project management, enterprise risk, business law and regulation, accounting systems and internal control, financial decision making, financial management, and business analytics. All students must complete a capstone course, which includes a significant project management module and a hands-on project that integrates their knowledge.


Salary and Career Outlook

All of the Big Four, most regional and local public accounting firms, as well as Fortune 500 companies and governmental entities actively recruit Accelerated BS/MSA students.  Because this is an integrated program, Accelerated BS/MSA students often complete a full-time internship in the junior year of the BS program and receive offers at the end of the internship. Employers consider The University of Akron’s School of Accountancy as one of the leading programs in Northeast Ohio. About 40 employers visit the campus each fall to recruit our students for internships and full-time positions. Starting salaries offered to our students are competitive.

Most Accelerated BS/MSA students begin their careers in public accounting or industry. Starting salaries average approximately $50,000 per year.


Why Akron?

This program is distinctive because of its structure and outcomes. Its unique structure allows our best students to select a path that will result in earning both a BSA and an MSA as well as earn 100% of the credits needed to be eligible to sit for the CPA exam. The structure allows the School to identify the best accounting majors and offer them a seamless, integrated path toward becoming a professional accountant and business leader.

During the past two years, 100 percent of students in this program received full-time employment by the time they completed the MSA portion of the program. Normally, students who graduate from the program take the CPA exam in the summer immediately after graduation and pass all four parts by the time they begin full-time employment in the fall. Students in this program do not need a GMAT score for admission. Instead, they must earn a B or better in financial reporting, cost management, accounting systems and internal control courses at the junior level in the BS program. Because of their high level of achievement, students in the MSA portion of the program often receive scholarships and graduate assistantships through the School of Accountancy.

We prepare our students to become competent and responsible accounting professionals and business leaders. Close to 100 percent of students who follow our guidance pass all four parts of the CPA exam by the end of the fall after graduation with the MSA. All are employed after graduation. Employers include BDO, CBIZ, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, Goodyear, Grant Thornton, KPMG, PwC, Plant Moran, J M Smucker and many others.


Contact Information

Graduate Programs in Business

College of Business Administration

259 South Broadway

The University of Akron

Akron, Ohio 44325-4805

(Phone)  330.972.7043

(E-mail)  gradcba@uakron.edu