Master of Science in Accounting
Admission | Curriculum | Prerequisite Requirements | Specialty Options
Course Descriptions for Specialty Options | Course Scheduling Guide
The 30-credit program may be completed in one academic year, unless prerequisite business and accounting courses are required based upon deficiencies in the undergraduate degree program of the applicant. Professional experience is not required for admission to the program. Undergraduate accounting majors at Michigan State University may, if eligible, coordinate their study plans for starting their Master of Science in Accounting degree the last semester that they are finishing their Bachelor of Arts degree under the University Dual Enrollment policy.
Flexibility is the key characteristic of the M.S. in Accounting Program. That is, subject to certain broad guidelines, each student's program of study is developed so as to further his or her chosen professional objectives and to build on, or complete, the student's prior academic background. A student selects one of four accounting specialty "options" consisting of five required courses:
- Financial Reporting and Assurance Services (i.e., attestation, consulting)
- Information Systems
- Management Accounting (i.e., controllership/financial management)
- Taxation
Students complement their accounting education with other business courses in finance, supply chain management, management, marketing. and communication.
AdmissionApplication for admission to the Program may be submitted at any time, however, complete applications should be received no later than three months prior to the desired start date. International applications should be submitted at least 4 months prior to the start date to allow time for international mail and visa processing. Admission is competitive; therefore, early application is encouraged. Preferences will be given to submissions received by the following dates: October 1, Janauary1, and March 1. Students are admitted to the program for any semester, Fall (late August), Spring (early January), or Summer (mid-May) as space permits. Summer admission is advisable for students who need to complete certain prerequisite courses. To be considered for admission to the M.S. program, an applicant must:
- Submit to the Department of Accounting and Information Systems a completed Application for Graduate Study, which is available from the Office of Admissions and Scholarships, 250 Administration Building, (517) 355-8332 or it may also be submitted online.
- Take the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) and have the scores submitted to the Broad College Department of Accounting and Information Systems (school code QH0-5P-32). The test must have been taken no more than five years prior to the submission of the admission application. Current Michigan State University accounting students with both an overall GPA and junior and senior level accounting course GPA of 3.25 are not required to take the GMAT.
- Have three letters of recommendation sent to the Program Director, N270 N. Business Complex, East Lansing, MI 48824. The "Recommendation for Admission" form included in the Application for Graduate Study must be included with the letters. To speed up the processing of your application it is recommended that the letters be submitted with your application in sealed envelopes (if you waived access and the letters are confidentially written).
Minimum standards for admission to the M.S. in Accounting degree program are:
- A bachelor's degree from a recognized educational institution.
- A strong score on the GMAT (minimum 550).
- A cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.0 for the last two years of the undergraduate program.
- A grade-point average of at least 3.0 for any junior- and senior-level accounting courses taken as an undergraduate including at least intermediate level financial accounting.
- College-level courses in: (1) Introductory calculus (covering integration and differentiation) and (2) statistics (covering probability theory and distributions, descriptive statistics, sampling, estimation, and hypothesis testing) completed with a grade of 3.0 (B) or higher.
- For international applicants, a TOEFL score of at least 600 (paper score), 250 (computer score), or 100 (internet score). The school code is 1465.
- A working knowledge of personal computers including word processing, spreadsheets, networking, and database management systems.
Admission to the program is competitive. Meeting the minimum standards listed above does not guarantee admission. Although all of the above minimum standards must normally be met, the applicant's overall record is considered, including letters of recommendation, students statement of objectives, work experience, extra curricular activities and TOEFL score (for foreign students). Admission also is conditional on space availability.
The Program accepts qualified applicants, whose undergraduate degree includes an intermediate-level financial accounting course, but does not include all of the accounting courses that are required for a the B.A. degree with a major in accounting from MSU. Such students who did not complete the accounting courses that are required for the B.A. degree with a major in accounting from MSU, or their equivalents, prior to enrolling in the M.S. in Accounting degree program, must complete those courses, or their equivalents, prior to beginning the program or while enrolled in the program. One 400-level accounting course may be counted toward the 15 additional credits in courses approved by the program advisor.
CurriculumA minimum of 30 credits, with a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.00, is required for the M.S. degree. At least 24 credits must be at the 800-level. Students are required to select one of the following options: financial reporting and assurance services, information systems, management accounting, or taxation. For each option, students are required to take at least 15 of the designated credits and at least 9 credits outside of the accounting major (see elective course description).
Option Requirements
Students must select one of the following four options and at least 15 credits in the option. All courses in the option are 3 credits each
Financial Reporting and Assurance Services Option
ACC 450 Accounting for Multiunit Enterprises
ACC 807 Financial Statement Analysis
ACC 808 Contemporary Financial Reporting Decisions
ACC 814 Advanced Auditing
ACC 852 Corporate Governance and Accounting Control
All five courses are required
Information Systems Option (five courses from list)
MSU undergraduate accounting majors:
ACC 822 Analysis and Design of Enterprise Systems
ACC 823 Advanced Enterprise Database Systems
ACC 824
Governance and Control of Enterprise Systems
ACC 825 Object Oriented Business Information Systems
ACC 826 Enterprise Information Systems
ACC 890 Independent Study
Non-MSU undergraduate accounting majors:
ACC 821 Enterprise Database System AND four courses from list
ACC 822, ACC 823, ACC 824, ACC 825, ACC 826, ACC 890
Management Accounting Option
(All three courses required)
ACC 841 Strategic Management Accounting
ACC 843 Operational Management Accounting
ACC 844 Management Accounting for Global Enterprises
(Plus two additional from list)
ACC 807 Financial Statement Analysis
ACC 822 Analysis and Design of Enterprise Systems
ACC 833 Federal Income Taxation of Corporations and Shareholders
ACC 852 Corporate Governance and Accounting Control
Taxation Option
(all five courses required)
ACC 450 Accounting for Multiunit Enterprises
ACC 830 Tax Research
ACC 833 Federal Income Taxation of Corporations and Shareholders
ACC 834 Taxation of Gifts, Trusts, and Estates
ACC 836 US Taxation of Multinational Transactions
Note: For any option, alternative courses can be substituted with the approval of the Director of the MS Program in Accounting.
Elective Courses
Students must select at least 15 elective credits, of which 9 must be outside the accounting major. For taxation, management accounting and financial reporting and assurance services options, information systems courses are considered outside the accounting major. For the information systems option, all other accounting courses are considered outside the accounting major.
Subject to the above constraint, students may select any MSU 800 level course as an elective upon approval of the Director of the MS Program in Accounting. The Director has available a list of suggested elective courses that may meet students' education objectives.
Upon completion of all other degree requirements, the student should contact the Department of Accounting and Information Systems and request certification for the completion of the Accounting Option. After the chairperson of the department and the Dean of the Broad Graduate School of Management approve the certification, the Office of the Registrar will enter on the student's academic record the name of the option and the date that it was completed. This certification will appear on the student's transcript.
Prerequisite Course Requirements
The prerequisite courses required for the Master of Science in Accounting at Michigan State University are listed on the following pages.
- The first three courses (and any prerequisites for those courses) must be completed before an application can even be considered.
- The last eleven classes can be completed before or during the MS program but must be completed before a student can graduate from the MS program. 800-level courses and two 400-level courses may be completed as electives for the MS program and will count toward the 30 credits required in the program. (Please note that the financial reporting and taxation options in the program require one 400-level course so you would only be able to take one additional 400-level elective as part of the 30 MS credits).
- ACC 308 is optional but is required for students who want to meet the requirements to take the CPA exam in Michigan. GBL 451 is recommended for students who want to take the CPA exam because the course content is covered in the Regulatory/Taxation section of the CPA exam.
- The course number in parentheses is the designation of the course at Michigan State University.
- A description of each course follows its name.
- Prerequisites for courses follow the course description.
- Check the "Description of Courses" or "Schedule of Courses" websites under "Current Students" on the MSU Homepage (www.msu.edu) to find out when the courses are offered.
- If you believe that you have completed a similar course elsewhere, you must apply to the MS Program to have your transcript reviewed and the prerequisite accepted. Information on applying is available at www.bus.msu.edu/acc/masters/professional.html.
- FINANCE MAJORS have already completed equivalents of ACC 300, STT 315, EC 301, MTH 124, FI 801, MSC 800, and MSC 805. They must still complete all of the other prerequisite accounting courses.
Before applying to the program, you must complete:
Intermediate Financial Accounting I (ACC 300): Concepts and procedures for preparing financial statements. Revenue recognition. Accounting for receivables, inventory, plant assets, intangibles, and current liabilities. Applied research methods. Prerequisites: (ACC 202: Principles of Management Accounting).
Survey of Calculus I (MTH 124): Study of limits, continuous functions, derivatives, integrals and their applications. Prerequisites: (MTH 103 or MTH 116 or LBS 117)or designated score on Mathematics placement test.
Introductory Probability and Statistics for Business (STT 315): A first course in probability and statistics primarily for business majors. Data analysis, probability models, random variables, confidence intervals, and tests of hypotheses with business applications. Prerequisites: (MTH 124 or MTH 132 or MTH 152H or LBS 118).
Before or during the MS Program you must complete:
Intermediate Financial Accounting II (ACC 301): Concepts and procedures in accounting for investments, bonds, leases, pensions, taxes, owners' equity, earnings per share and comprehensive income. Accounting changes and errors. Prerequisites: (ACC 300) and completion of Tier I writing requirement.
| Accounting Information Systems (ACC 321): Hardware and software elements needed to support accounting information systems. Conceptual modeling and implementation of accounting transaction processing systems. Enterprise value chains. Documentation of workflow processing and control requirements. Prerequisites: (ACC 202 and ACC 300 or concurrently). |
OR |
| Enterprise Database Systems (ACC 821): Management of information in business organizations. Conceptual modeling of transaction processing systems, workflow systems, and enterprise-wide networks of value-added activities. Integration of decision support and policy level systems with economic event processing systems. Information system implementation. Open only to master's degree students in Accounting, MBA students, or approval of the department. |
Federal Income Tax Accounting (ACC 331): Federal income taxation of businesses and individuals. Gross income, deductions, and tax computations for corporations, partnerships, and individuals. Prerequisites: (ACC 300) and completion of Tier I writing requirement.
Cost and Managerial Accounting (ACC 341): Cost behavior and estimation. Cost analysis for planning and control decisions. Cost accumulation and allocation systems. Prerequisites: (ACC 202 and ACC 300 and STT 315).
Auditing (ACC 411): Roles, responsibilities and regulation of auditors. Providing assurance to users, including audit objectives, risk assessment, sampling, evidence decisions, control evaluation, and reporting. Auditors' ethical and legal responsibilities. Prerequisites: (ACC 300 and ACC 321 and STT 315).
Governmental and Not-For-Profit Accounting (ACC 308): Financial and managerial accounting for governmental and other not-for-profit entities. Topics include general and special funds accounting, financial reporting, selected not-for-profit entities, and governmental budgeting. Prerequisite: (ACC 300).
Intermediate Microeconomics (EC 301): Theories of consumer choice, production, cost, perfect competition, and monopoly. Welfare economics, general equilibrium, externalities and public goods. Prerequisite: (EC 201: Introduction to Microeconomics).
Law of Commercial Transactions (GBL 451): Law of contracts and sales, commercial paper, secured transactions, consumer credit, and debtor-creditor relationships.
Managerial Finance (FI 801): Short-, intermediate- and long-term problems. Financial planning and control. Applications in domestic and international settings.
Supply Chain Management (MSC 800): Fundamentals of materials and logistics management. Strategic impact of the transformation process in a global economy. Quality, inventory management, logistics strategy, customer service, international procurement, management of technology. Prerequisites: None listed.
Marketing Management (MSC 805): Strategic and decision-making aspects of marketing functions. Analysis, coordination, execution of marketing programs. Development of strategies and tactics. Segmentation, marketing mix, market response modeling, and ethics in a global context. Prerequisites: None listed.
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Admission | Curriculum | Prerequisite Requirements| Specialty Options
Course Descriptions for Specialty Options | Course Scheduling Guide