The curriculum
The Master of Science in Accounting (MSA) provides students with the advanced accounting skills and education necessary to compete on a professional level in the field of Accountancy. The program is designed to meet the minimum course requirements to sit for the CPA exam (150 hours) and to prepare students for rewarding careers in financial accounting, auditing, analytics, taxation, and other accounting-related positions.
This degree is designed and intended for undergraduate students with a major in accounting or equivalent hours in accounting (with the approval of the program coordinator). Students without an undergraduate degree in accounting may complete the MSA with the completion of appropriate accounting prerequisites. Additionally, students enrolled in the MBA program may have some of their coursework apply towards the completion of the MSA (upon approval of the program coordinator).
The MSA program consists of 30 semester hours of graduate-level coursework. The core requirements consist of 24 semester hours and are required of all students completing the MSA. Six additional semester hours can be selected as electives with at least three semester hours required as accounting electives. The remaining course to be completed is an elective that may be selected from the Master of Business Administration (MBA) or Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) program or any other LSB graduate program with the approval of the faculty coordinator of the respective program as well as the MSA faculty coordinator. Students are strongly encouraged to complete a non-credit CPA exam prep course immediately after graduation.
Prerequisite Courses
| ACC 2010 | PRINCIPLES OF ACCOUNTING | 4 sh |
| BUS 2210 | LEGAL AND ETHICAL ENVIRONMENT OF BUSINESS | 4 sh |
| ACC 3310 | INTERMEDIATE ACCOUNTING I | 4 sh |
| ACC 3320 | INTERMEDIATE ACCOUNTING II | 4 sh |
| ACC 3330 | INTERMEDIATE ACCOUNTING III | 4 sh |
| ACC 3360 | COST ACCOUNTING | 4 sh |
| ACC 3410 | FUNDAMENTALS OF INCOME TAXATION | 4 sh |
| ACC 3510 | ACCOUNTING INFORMATION SYSTEMS | 4 sh |
| ACC 4970 | AUDITING | 4 sh |
| Total Credit Hours: | 36 |
Graduate Courses
Core Courses: 24 sh
| ACC 6020 | Business Ethics for Accounting Professionals | 3 sh |
| ACC 6300 | Advanced Financial Accounting | 3 sh |
| ACC 6350 | Governmental and Not-for-Profit Accounting | 3 sh |
| ACC 6400 | Research and Communications for Accounting Professionals | 3 sh |
| ACC 6420 | Taxation of Business Entities | 3 sh |
| ACC 6500 | Accounting Analytics | 3 sh |
| ACC 6520 | Advanced Auditing and Assurance Services | 3 sh |
| ACC 6530 | Information Technology and Risk Control | 3 sh |
Choose two elective courses: 6 sh
Students can choose elective courses from the group below with at least three semester hours required as accounting electives. The remaining course to be completed is an elective that may be selected from the Master of Business Administration (MBA) or Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) program or any other LSB graduate program with the approval of the faculty coordinator of the respective program as well as the MSA faculty coordinator.
| ACC 6320 | International Accounting | 3 sh |
| ACC 6410 | Taxation of Corporations and Shareholders | 3 sh |
| ACC 6430 | Taxation of Flow-through Entities | 3 sh |
| ACC 6450 | Issues in Tax Policy and Special Topics | 3 sh |
| ACC 6510 | Fraud Examination | 3 sh |
| ACC 6550 | Internal Auditing | 3 sh |
Total Credit Hours: 30