Accounting, M.Acc.

Admission Requirements

To be considered for admission to the Master of Accountancy program (see Admission to the College of Graduate Studies ), a student must meet ONE of the following:

1. Student has an undergraduate accounting degree from an Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accredited institution with an overall undergraduate GPA of 3.00.
2. Student has an overall composite score > 950, calculated as (Cumulative GPA x 200) + GMAT, with a minimum GMAT of 400.
3. Student has an upper-division composite score > 1,000, calculated as (Upper Division GPA x 200 ) + GMAT, with a minimum GMAT of 400.
4. International students must comply with the following provision: For undergraduate degrees from foreign institutions where a grade point average cannot be clearly established but where that work is thought to be equivalent to domestic grades of B or higher, admission eligibility may be determined by the GMAT score. A score of at least 450 is required for unconditional admission under such circumstances. Preparatory work taken at institutions with grading systems paralleling those of most U. S. institutions must conform to a B average.
5. Students without an undergraduate degree in Accounting may apply for admission to the Master of Accountancy program as long as they meet the requirements in (2) or (3) above. In addition, these students will be required to complete certain prerequisite undergraduate accounting courses including (but not limited to) Principles of Accounting I and II, Intermediate Accounting I and II, Cost Accounting, Introduction to Federal Income Tax, Auditing, Legal Environment of Management (Business Law), Survey of Economic Theory, Quantitative Methods Survey, Survey of Information Systems Issues, and Survey of Managerial Finance.

Application Procedures

All application materials are to be submitted to the College of Graduate Studies.

Applications are accepted for students to begin the M.Acc. program during any semester (fall, spring, or summer). June 1 is the deadline for priority admission for the fall semester, and October 1 is the deadline for priority admission for spring. Applications will be accepted after these dates, but admission consideration is not guaranteed. Students are encouraged to apply early to facilitate early registration for classes.

Applicant must

1. submit an application with the appropriate application fee (online at www.mtsu.edu/graduate/apply.php);
2. submit official scores on the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) if required;
3. submit official transcripts of all previous college work.

NOTE: Letters of recommendation are not required unless a student is applying for an assistantship. Students applying for an assistantship must also submit three letters of recommendation from professors or professionals that address the applicant’s potential to successfully complete the Master of Accountancy program.

Degree Requirements

The Master of Accountancy requires completion of a 13 credit-hour core and 17 credit hours in electives. A capstone course must be passed with a grade of B- or higher with a maximum enrollment of two times. The degree is to be completed within six years from the time of admission to the degree program.

Curriculum: Accounting

Candidate must complete 30 hours in the following course of study:

Program Notes

The business prerequisites for a student seeking the M.Acc.degree are

• an undergraduate course in business law or  BLAW 3400, Legal Environment of Business
• undergraduate course in economics or ECON 2410 or 2420, Principles of Economics
• undergraduate course in statistics or BIA 6000, Quantitative Methods Survey
• undergraduate course in information systems or INFS 3100, Principles of Management Information Systems
• undergraduate course in finance or FIN 3010, Business Finance.

A recent graduate of an AACSB-accredited program would normally possess an adequate background in these prerequisites. In addition, students entering the M.Acc. degree program must have completed an additional 21 hours of prerequisites in accounting  including

• ACTG 2110 and ACTG 2125, Principles I and II
• ACTG 3110 and 3120, Intermediate Accounting I and II
• ACTG 3310, Cost Accounting
• ACTG 4550, Introduction to Federal Income Tax
• ACTG 4620, External Auditing I

With proper planning the Master of Accountancy will fulfill the educational requirements to sit for the CPA exam in Tennessee.

Under special circumstances, a student may request to be exempted from taking the CPA Review classes (ACTG 6820, ACTG 6830, ACTG 6840, and ACTG 6850). For example, students who have previously passed the CPA exam or international students who do not intend to take the CPA exam may want to request an exemption. The approval of such a request is at the discretion of the director of the M.Acc. program. If an exemption is received, a student must substitute four credits of other 6000-level Accounting classes.

No foreign language or thesis is required in the program.

Students are required to complete a degree plan and to submit it to the College of Graduate Studies prior to entry into the program.

A candidate must file a Notice of Intent to Graduate Form in the College of Graduate Studies during their first semester in the program.

Students who have credit for the undergraduate equivalent of a 5000-level course are not permitted to enroll in the 5000-level course for credit.