Colorado Technical University

MBA and MS in accounting Prerequisites?

Hey everyone, thank you for taking th etime to review my question. I am currently an undergrad student, junior year, BA in economics. I am very interested in becoming an accountant, particularly a CPA, however thats a different story. Basically my question is can I go for an MBA with a concentration in accounting (CPA qualifiying), or a MS in Accounting, with an economics BA and not an accounting BA? I am unsure because I am nervous that if I try to switch to accounting MS or MBA after being an economics undergrad they will make me take many accounting undergrad courses before going for the graduate degree. Please not that I also have an associates degree in business administration, and have taken two beginner level accounting courses, or 6 credit hours. Thank you for your help By the way please note that the reason I chose a BA in economics instead of accounting is because to transfer into accounting I would have lost about 25 undergrad credits which is a lot, and I am looking to complete undergrad as fast as possible. This is because I transferred from a community college.

Public Comments

1. First of all, check the requirements for a CPA in your state. Typically, you have to have certain courses, but the number of credit hours and subject can vary from state to state. You typically need intermediate accounting, advanced accounting, auditing, cost accounting, tax accounting, and business law, plus credit in other courses. Next, you may not be able to get the undergraduate accounting courses you need in a graduate program. That is, in an MS accounting program, you may be forced to take undergraduate courses before you get the degree. In MBA programs, you will find that there are not enough courses available to qualify for the CPA, but either degree will satisfy the 30 graduate hours required by most states for the CPA. MBA programs accept students in any undergraduate field so your economics BA is fine. They prefer students who do not have a business background because they give you the business training but they cannot provide the broad background that managers should have. I have taught MBA students with degrees in Music, Medicine, Dentistry, Law, Psychology, Political Science, Chemistry, Biology, Engineering, and many other fields. Most MBA programs prefer students with 2-3 years work experience after the first degree, but many accept students right out of college if they have good grades and a high GMAT score. Some MBA programs are designed specifically for new college graduates without work experience. The Official MBA Guide provides a lot of information about the MBA degree and MBA schools and programs. It's a comprehensive free public service with more than 2,000 MBA programs listed worldwide. It allows you to search for programs by location (US, Europe, Far East, etc.), by concentration (finance, marketing, aviation management, health management, accounting, etc.), by type of program (full-time, distance learning, part-time, executive, and accelerated), and by listing your own criteria and preferences to get a list of universities that satisfy your needs. Schools report their accreditation status, tuition cost, number of students, class sizes, program length, and a lot of other data. Schools provide data on entrance requirements, program costs, program characteristics, joint degrees, and much more. You can use the Guide to contact schools of your choice, examine their data, visit their web site, and send them pre applications. You can see lists of top 40 schools ranked by starting salaries of graduates, GMAT scores, and other criteria. It's the best service available at http://officialmbaguide.org.