Many of today’s professionals require the help and flexibility of accredited online accounting master degrees instead of more traditional, campus-based offerings. Accounting is a profession notoriously characterized by hard work, extra hours, overtime, and going the extra mile to meet clients’ needs. Online programs fit into this busy schedule with ease, allowing students to enroll either part-time or full-time and take only the course load that they feel they can successfully finish while working full-time otherwise. These programs are all accredited and many are offered by the flagship public institution in their respective state. With no shortage of engaging classes, experienced professors, and levels of affordability, many accounting professionals will find it hard to resist the pull of a master’s degree earned via distance learning technology online.
Texas A&M – Commerce
College of Business and Entrepreneurship
The Commerce campus of Texas A&M has long been known as one of the most affordable programs for on-campus Texans and distance learners all around the country. The College of Business and Entrepreneurship offers a large number of graduate-level programs online, including a degree in accounting. The courses taught as part of this program utilize the same professors who teach on-campus accounting courses, and they leverage the power of discussion boards, blogs, videoconferencing, video lectures, and highly interactive experiences. Though based online, Commerce’s courses are universally lauded as some of the most intensive and interactive offered by any distance learning institution. When paired with the school’s connection to the Texas A&M System, with its nationwide prestige, this program offers great benefits for the professional accountant.
Master of Science in Accounting
The M.S. in accounting at Texas A&M’s Commerce campus focuses on two key areas of information that are important to accountants and accounting department managers. The first of these is the technical side of advanced accounting: Students who enroll in the program are taught advanced managerial accounting, corporate budgeting and financial oversight, federal and state regulations, and the impact of both financial markets and public policies on senior accounting jobs. The second area of focus is broader, and teaches students everything from philosophical critical thinking skills to department management, project management, and teamwork. By the end of this program, accountants are better leaders and able to complete more sophisticated financial projects in a corporate environment.
Contact
Texas A&M – Commerce
College of Business and Entrepreneurship
College Station, TX 77843
Phone: (979) 845-3211
Website
University of Connecticut
School of Business
The University of Connecticut’s School of Business is typically ranked in the top 10 percent of business schools in the United States. It’s also regarded as one of the best in the world, with excellent accounting, finance, and management programs that have long prepared the world’s leading executives for prime time. The accounting professors at the school all have doctoral degrees, and almost all of them have worked in corporate settings, putting advanced accounting skills to work in management or executive positions. Students are taught practical skills with real insight, and they’re encouraged to seek clinical experiences, teaching assistantships, and external accolades to help them build experience while still enrolled.
Masters of Science in Accounting (MSA)
The accounting program at the University of Connecticut is designed to give accounting students the full 150-hour course load needed to be eligible for the Uniform CPA exam in most states across the country. In addition to fulfilling this requirement, the program focuses extensively on advanced accounting and the ethical decision-making skills needed to keep corporate employers open, honest, and fully transparent. Accounting students will learn about financial projections and documenting company costs, handling strategic investments and dividends, and making ethical accounting decisions when preparing earnings reports or handling large business transactions. They’ll have an opportunity to teach undergraduate students through a competitive assistantship program as they work on their master’s degree as well.
Contact
University of Connecticut
School of Business
Storrs, CT 06269
Phone: (860) 486-2000
Email: MSACCT@business.uconn.edu
Website
University of Dallas
Satish and Yasmin Gupta College of Business
The University of Dallas is just under 60 years old, but it has spent that brief history developing a reputation for outstanding business education and international reach. In fact, as many as 80 percent of all students participate in programs abroad during undergraduate or graduate work within the College of Business. For accounting students, that means a program more internationally focused and more compatible with international job searches. The school’s professors come from all across Texas, and some from the international community, and offer students hands-on accounting experiences that prepare them for quick, ethical decisions in a larger corporate environment.
Master of Science (MS)
The Master of Science in Accounting program at the University of Dallas uses a blended format, hosting most classes online but requiring limited attendance in on-campus classrooms by graduate students. The program is focused primarily on teaching students the advanced accounting skills they’ll need as a department head or as a CFO. They’ll also take courses in global accounting practices, international financial reporting, and international business management. The university encourages international studies, and offers graduate students the chance to take a semester’s worth of courses in an international classroom if their schedule off-campus permits them to do so. Though not required, the program is highly affordable and could allow students to network more thoroughly in the global marketplace.
Contact
University of Dallas
Satish and Yasmin Gupta College of Business
1845 E. Northgate Dr.
Irving, TX 75062
Phone: (972) 721-5000
Email: nwagner@udallas.edu
Website
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Bryan School of Business and Economics
UNC Greensboro is one of the fastest-growing public universities in the University of North Carolina system, generally due to population growth and gentrification in the city that it serves. Greensboro itself is home to a fast-growing banking and business sector, giving students the networking opportunities they’ll need to move up in the accounting profession after graduation. Most professors come from within this same business community, using their experience working for regional and national banks to give students insight into how their accounting skills will help them in America’s financial and investment sectors. Research is encouraged of students who might seek their doctorate, though it is not required.
Master of Science in Accountancy
Students who wish to get their doctoral degree in accounting, finance, or management, will be required to write and defend a thesis as a condition of graduation. Others will simply have to participate in laboratory accounting experiences and a capstone class instead. Coursework at UNCG is pretty standard, with accountants taking advanced classes in corporate accounting, fiscal reporting, international accounting, and auditing. Elective courses focus on forensics and corporate ethics, budgeting and acquisitions, and other unique fields where accountants often play an outsized role. The courses taken, and the number of credits required, both ensure that students will be eligible for the CPA exam when they graduate from UNCG.
Contact
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Bryan School of Business and Economics
PO Box 26170
Greensboro, NC 27402
Phone: (336) 334-5390
Email: msa@uncg.edu
Website
University of Texas
Naveen Jindal School of Management
The Jindal School of Management, and the larger University of Texas campus in Austin, is among the most prestigious in the world. In fact, the University of Teas often ranks as a “public ivy” on par with the likes of Harvard and Yale. The School of Business’ accounting program is designed to prepare students for a role in auditing, forensics, or technology. Professors utilize some of the most advanced technological tools on the market to simulate real-world, corporate scenarios and teach accounting students how to make quick decisions and judgments that benefit the company, align with industry ethical guidelines, and appease federal regulators. With seasoned accountants leading class discussion, there’s an opportunity for real insight and excellent professional networking within the Austin business community.
Master of Science in Accounting
All students will be required to be technologically proficient in accounting information systems prior to graduation. This requirement is enforced by multiple courses that cover advanced information systems, common accounting software suites, and the software needed to work in taxation. Students will then move to the core of the accounting program, at least in terms of crunching the numbers: Advanced taxation for corporations, proper budgeting and financial disclosure for corporate environments, cost accounting, auditing and corporate forensics, and a seminar in the current issues facing today’s accountants. An optional research component or internship is strongly encouraged in order for students to land an advanced position or pursue an advanced degree upon graduation. Those who do graduate will be eligible for the CPA examination in Texas.
Contact
University of Texas
Naveen Jindal School of Management
Austin, TX 78712
Phone: (972) 883-5912
Website
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Collat School of Business
UAB’s Collat School of Business is one of the largest in the state, and offers students a large number of opportunities as a result. Students who enroll can choose to participate in research as part of a graduate thesis, opt for a part-time teaching assistantship if they’re local to the Birmingham campus, or participate in a self-selected clinical experience near their home if they’re located far from UAB’s main campus in downtown Birmingham. The school’s professors teach both on-campus and online courses, giving students uniform quality of instruction no matter where they choose to do their learning. Students can even opt to take some courses online, and others at the Birmingham campus, if they live nearby and find time in their busy schedule to make that happen.
Master of Accounting
The Master of Accounting degree at UAB is a rather general, graduate-level program that teaches students more advanced knowledge in terms of financial reporting, auditing, and managerial work. This program also emphasizes legal and ethical issues of the accounting profession and current issues facing the modern corporate accountant. Those who wish to go beyond the general core of the program can opt for a concentration in internal auditing, which ups the ante in terms of forensic accounting courses. Students who opt for this concentration will learn how to spot financial reporting irregularities and hold companies accountable for “cooking the books” in order to impress investors, hide unprofitable business activities, or disguise any other, more nefarious corporate financial reporting practices that might be taking place.
Contact
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Collat School of Business
BEC 216
1720 2nd Ave. S.
Birmingham, AL 35294
Phone: (205) 934-8800
Email: ejack@uab.edu
Website
University of Charleston
School of Business and Leadership
The University of Charleston has been embracing distance learning recently ,and the school now offers its popular Master of Forensic Accounting in a hybrid format. This means that students will take their courses primarily online, using the Blackboard Learn system from wherever they live and work. In a limited number of cases, some classes, meetings, or seminars will be based on campus and will require in-person attendance. This setup is designed to reduce the on-campus instructional hours so that professionals throughout Charleston can pursue their master’s degree without sacrificing a full-time job, time with their family, or any other important daily routines. Professors who teach the program come from Charleston’s business community, and many of them have experience in accounting, finance, or economics, giving students access to the mind and insight of a current industry expert.
Master of Forensic Accounting
The goal of the Master of Forensic Accounting program at Charleston University is to produce accountants who have a far more observant and analytical mind. Since forensic accountants are essentially financial investigators, send to businesses and government departments to find irregular accounting practices and bring them to light, the program focuses primarily on the history of accounting fraud, the most common schemes used to cook the books and dodge taxes, and the most common places to look for early indications of fraudulent behavior. Students in the program will work in collaborative teams n real-life simulations, which encourage them to find accounting irregularities, act as if they were reporting them, and then show how to fix them so that the company falls back in line with set guidelines.
Contact
University of Charleston
School of Business and Leadership
2300 MacCorkle Ave SE
Charleston, WV 25304
Phone: (800) 995-4682
Email: scottbellamy@ucwv.edu
Website
University of Colorado – Denver
The Business School
The UC-Denver campus is the metropolitan choice of students who live in greater Denver, or those who value the expertise of professors from a large business community. For accounting students, the Denver-based business professors are some of the most compelling reasons to choose this distance education program. The Business School is also AACSB-accredited, giving it national prestige and prominence that cannot be offered by a large number of competing distance education programs at the graduate level. In addition to seasoned accountants as doctoral professors, distance education students enjoy access to Blackboard Learn, Blackboard Mobile Learn, collaboration video and chat tools, online discussions, and e-Book availability.
MS in Accounting
The MS in Accounting takes skills learned at the undergraduate level and then makes them even more advanced so that they can be used within the world’s largest companies. One of the main points of the program is to teach accountants how to apply their basic accounting skills to advanced, multinational corporations. They learn about consolidated financial reporting and earnings documentation as a result. these skills are also applied to working within large, expansive government agencies that require accounting services to transcend local branches and report on a federal level. Also covered as part of the program is federal taxation, the implication of multinational corporate structure on tax filing, and courses that cover advanced accounting ethics and legal issues facing today’s professionals.
Contact
University of Colorado – Denver
The Business School
1475 Lawrence St.
Denver, CO 80202
Phone: (303) 315-8000
Email: grad.advising@ucdenver.edu
Website
University of Maryland – University College
Graduate School
University of Maryland University College is one of the largest campuses within the University of Maryland System, and offers all of its degrees and classes online through a distance education portal. Graduates receive a University of Maryland System degree, and typically enjoy access to a large number of prestigious accounting positions in the Baltimore and Washington metropolitan areas after graduation. The school is accredited by the IACBE, a business accreditation that focuses strongly on the quality of instruction and the accomplishments of the campus’ professors in the business community. This means most UMUC students are taught by real accountants with doctoral degrees, ensuring their education is of the highest quality.
Master of Science in Accounting & Financial Management
The combined program in accounting and financial management gives accountants a slightly different view of their role within a corporate organization. The program teaches advanced managerial accounting, auditing, tax preparation, and financial reporting, but also takes time to teach students about proper financial management in a business setting .This includes budgeting, mergers and acquisitions, tax policies at the state and federal level, and other skills that are necessary to make sure that the business’ books are balanced, and that its activities lead to a consistently profitable outcome over the long-term. Graduates of this program fulfill the requirements needed to take the CPA examination in Maryland, Virginia, and DC, as well as many other states nationwide.
Contact
University of Maryland – University College
Graduate School
3501 University Blvd. East
Adelphi, MD 20783
Phone: (800) 888-8682
Website
University of Massachusetts
Isenberg School of Management
UMass Amherst’s Isenberg School of Management is one of the most prestigious in the world, consistently ranked in the top 5 percent of business schools internationally. This gives students a powerful degree upon graduation, as well as an instant network of thousands of skilled accountants across the country and around the world. Distance education classes are taught by the same, highly qualified professors who teach accounting courses at the Amherst campus. These courses utilize the same textbooks and enforce completion of the same assignments, ensuring that all UMass graduates are of uniform quality and professional preparedness. A commitment to on-campus research gives professors the ability to teach students upcoming trends and new findings within accounting for a superior quality of instruction overall.
MBA Concentration in Accounting
Accounting professionals who wish to further their education at the Isenberg School of Business will need to enroll as students in the Master of Business Administration program. Considered one of the best MBAs in the country, the program will first teach students the advanced management skills they need to function well at the executive level. Departmental management, executive management, and financial management, represent the three main areas of concern within the program. Those who take the accounting concentration will then learn about advanced auditing and cost accounting, managerial accounting and consolidated fiscal reporting, and the ethical concerns associated with a multinational business enterprise. All students finish with either a capstone or a thesis defense and, upon graduation, they will have satisfied the requirements needed to take the Uniform CPA examination in Massachusetts and many other states.
Contact
University of Massachusetts
Isenberg School of Management
Amherst, MA 01003
Phone: (413) 545-5661
Email: jfs@isenberg.umass.edu
Website
University of Phoenix
School of Business
The University of Phoenix is perhaps the best-known distance education institution in the United States, thanks to a prolific advertising campaign and a strong set of programs that increasingly draw professional accountants into the fold. The university’s master of science in accounting program is taught by seasoned accountants based nationwide, giving students access to some of the brightest minds in the industry regardless of where they’re located or which employer they call their own. Because the University of Phoenix is so well established, students can expect to use innovative, unique online engagement tools to interact with their professors and other students. They can also expect easy access to university advising throughout the program, and excellent career services after graduation.
Master of Science in Accountancy
The MSA degree at the University of Phoenix is a generalist program, which seeks to educate students in a broad array of skills most commonly required in management-related positions. That means students will start with advanced managerial accounting and then proceed through courses in forensic accounting, cost accounting, corporate auditing, advanced federal tax policy, and a “current issues” course that focuses on the accounting industry. Students will focus a great deal of their time on learning how to be more efficient accountants, and how to lead a large department of fellow accountants either as a department manager or a member of executive-level leadership.
Contact
University of Phoenix
School of Business
3157 E. Elwood St.
Phoenix, AZ 85034
Phone: (866) 766-0766
Website
University of South Dakota
Beacom School of Business
The University of South Dakota offers one of the most affordable accounting programs in the country, and makes it easily accessible via distance learning tools. The school employs an all-doctoral group of professors to ensure that its educational quality remains high and to ensure that students understand the material they’re required to know in advance of the CPA examination. The department is actively involved in on-campus research and frequently pulls that knowledge into online courses in order to give accountants additional insight into new developments going on across the country.
Master of Professional Accountancy (MPA)
MPA students will take a core of advanced accounting classes. These include advanced financial accounting, financial reporting, international business accounting, cost accounting, auditing, forensic services, accounting irregularities, a history of ethical issues in the profession, and a slate of courses that focus extensively on federal tax rules and how they apply to domestic and multinational businesses. students will also learn the managerial skills needed to run a department or enter into private practice, giving them strong career options after graduation. Most graduates can sit for the CPA examination after finishing the program.
Contact
University of South Dakota
Beacom School of Business
414 E Clark St.
Vermillion, SD 57069
Phone: (605) 677-5232
Email: Angeline.Lavin@usd.edu
Website
Walden University
Department of Accounting
Walden University is another of the biggest names in American distance education, offering a great combination of doctoral faculty and innovative online experiences. Students in the Department of Accounting are encouraged to substitute classroom learning environments for simulated reality, and they do this through video chats, video lectures, and software simulations of common accounting theories. All students are encouraged to participate in self-guided research during their time in the program, which culminates either in a thesis defense or in a capstone course immediately prior to graduation. Professors provide one-on-one consultation with students throughout their coursework and research to ensure excellent results.
Master of Science in Accounting
Walden’s MSA degree is a generalist one, focusing primarily on advancing the skills that most accountants should have learned at the undergraduate level. This starts with advanced financial accounting and reporting, and moves into areas like cost accounting and advanced auditing, irregularities and ethical issues, and several advanced taxation courses that focus on unique issues imposed by state and federal governments. Students work in groups as they complete many of their assignments, through virtual conference rooms where professors encourage problem-solving, spotting irregularities, and making realistic business decisions based on financial statements, long-term financial objectives, and ethical considerations.
Contact
Walden University
Department of Accounting
100 Washington Ave. S.
Suite 900
Minneapolis, MN 55401
Phone: (866) 492-5336
Email: help@waldenu.edu
Website
Accounting might be one of the most stable positions in the United States, but it’s also one that requires an exceedingly large amount of work at all hours of the day and night. Many accountants simply don’t have the time required to attend a full-time or even part-time master’s degree program on campus. For those who are already busy within the profession, accredited online accounting master degrees open the door to a graduate-level accounting program and make it easier to get ahead over the long-term.
For information on earning your accounting degree online, take a look at “The Top 15 Best Online Bachelor’s Degree Completion Programs“.
For more information on obtaining your online Accounting Master Degree, please see:
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