MS Accounting AACSB prereqs

Discussion in 'Business and MBA degrees' started by Courcelles, May 20, 2020.

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  1. Courcelles

    Courcelles Active Member

    So, I've been window shopping for AACSB online MACC, MS in Accounting, Master of Professional Accounting type programs (explicitly not looking for an MBA with an Accounting concentration; I'm already doing a general MBA, I want a focused master's on top, not another MBA.)

    The most reasonable cost-wise programs I've found that checks the AACSB box seem to be at Louisiana-Lafayette: https://online.louisiana.edu/graduate-programs/ms-accounting at 480 an hour for a total of $14,400. The other one is at Boise State: https://www.boisestate.edu/online/online-master-of-accountancy/ for tuition starting at 14,800. Anything else out there in that price range I can find? UMass-Dartmouth comes in around 19,000 for another reasonable option.

    Both Boise and UL-L have pre-reqs, of course. I have the 200-level fundamentals of managerial and financial accounting courses. Boise requires:

    ACCT 302 Survey of Federal Income Taxation (3)
    ACCT 304 Intermediate Accounting I (3)
    ACCT 306 Intermediate Accounting II (3)
    ACCT 314 Cost Accounting (3)
    ACCT 350 Accounting Information Systems (3)
    ACCT 405 Financial Statement Auditing (3)

    and 15 hours of other business courses (I already have these, so a non-issue)

    Lafayette requires:

    ACCT 301 - Intermediate Accounting I 3 Credit Hour(s)
    ACCT 302 - Intermediate Accounting II 3 Credit Hour(s)
    ACCT 303 - Intermediate Accounting III 3 Credit Hour(s)
    ACCT 305 - Managerial Cost Accounting 3 Credit Hour(s)
    ACCT 409G - Auditing 3 Credit Hour(s)
    ACCT 420 - Tax Accounting 3 Credit Hour(s)

    (Intermediate III seems to be somewhat particular to UL-L, I don't see it on other requirements or even in a few course catalogs I've checked)

    Now Boise says they are launching an option this fall to take those pre-reqs at the graduate level, either as a separate certificate or as an integral part of a longer MS curricula. Only the certificate has a usable online page right now: https://www.boisestate.edu/online/accounting-foundations-graduate-certificate/ but at $8,900 for tuition for just the certificate this is an expensive option, though it could have appeal to some as the credits transcript at graduate level. Assume I don't care about that, though. But what I might care about is that Boise holds AACSB in both business and accounting, while UL-L only holds it in business.

    So, what options are out there to check those boxes cheaper? Best I can find is LSU independent study, which seems to offer all the courses wither program would require: http://reg.outreach.lsu.edu/modules/shop/index.html?action=courseBrowse&CatalogID=3959464 (Except that strange Intermediate III thing, it doesn't seem to appear as an option in the LSU campus catalogue at all). 866 a course, so 4,330 to get through the pre-reqs for UL-L or 5,196 for Boise.

    LSU has a few benefits for me. It's self-paced, so I can fit them around my MBA coursework without strict deadlines, other than the 6 months to finish each class. The credit is from the Baton Rouge campus, which is AACSB, so I'm thinking it should be accepted as valid at programs I end up considering? Stupidly, I already have credit from LSU's independent study program from years back, so it wouldn't add to the pile of transcripts I have to source every time I enter an application. (Yes, I know, stupid.)

    Any other known options for cheap pre-reqs that are likely to be universally accepted? Any other ideas for affordable AACSB master's -- especially any without the pre-req hoops?

    (NB: As an extensive lurker here, I have no desire to re-open the AACSB/ACBSP/RA/NA debates. Just assume that I've read up on these topics and have decided not to consider any graduate degrees in business-related disciplines from non-AACSB schools.)
     
  2. TEKMAN

    TEKMAN Semper Fi!

  3. JoshD

    JoshD Well-Known Member

    Are you looking to stay cheap? If your open-minded, then I would recommend UNC-Chapel Hill Kenan Flagler. They offer an online Master of Accounting degree that can be completed for $52,000-$69,000 depending on the number of credits that you have to take. They do not have prerequisites and it is open to anyone who has a bachelors degree (you have to be admitted to the program...it is not open admissions).

    https://www.kenan-flagler.unc.edu/programs/master-of-accounting/
     
  4. TEKMAN

    TEKMAN Semper Fi!

    Top ranking #2 and #4 from these two for $21,000 to $27,000.
    CourseRA; University of Illinois Urbana Champaign
    EdX: Indiana University
     
  5. Courcelles

    Courcelles Active Member


    I'm from the Carolinas, so a degree from UNC would be awesome... but there are two big problems. First, that price is heart-stopping. They might as well be asking a million for all the chance I have of affording that.

    Second, and this is also the problem with Illinois and Indiana, I don't know if I'd have any realistic chance of getting in. My undergraduate GPA is weighed down by some really poor decisions when I was 16-18 at a B&M, from where I did not graduate. Now, when I went back (I did Alabama by distance) I worked hard and managed to rescue some awful number up to a 3.3, and a great deal higher than that if you only looked at my last 60 hours or those in the major, but you run my overall GPA and it's still well short of even a 3.5, Top end programs would likely see my 3.3 and round file it without looking any deeper. Even worse, Alabama allowed grades of A+ for courses taken there, which count as 4.33. I got several of those, so anyone who re-scores my GPA to a strict 4.0 scale would find a number even lower than that on the transcript. All that said, I have a decent-not-great GMAT score (720) and am on track for a pretty solid MBA GPA. So who knows...

    Indiana's program would be a good value for me at that price for not having to run around chasing pre-reqs, but that would be putting a lot of hope in getting in one program. They also seem to invite you to complete three courses in something called a "Micromasters" (seriously?) but if they ultimately don't let you in, that's a lot of money gone for no credit.

    Illinois will at least let you take two classes (8 hours) for real credit through their performance-based admissions. So I'd at least have something usable if they decided not to let me in. I like them both, and when you factor in not needing to run down 18 hours in pre-reqs the cost isn't that high. Just don't know how reasonable my prospects would be at getting in to either.
     
  6. JoshD

    JoshD Well-Known Member

  7. Marcus Aurelius

    Marcus Aurelius Active Member

    Why do you want to earn a second masters? What are your career goals?
     
  8. JoshD

    JoshD Well-Known Member

    Do not underestimate yourself. The 3.3 undergrad GPA, solid MBA GPA and a 720 GMAT will show that you have the quantitative ability. Your essays, recommendations and interview would help highlight your verbal skills.

    I was in a similar situation. I had a 3.1 undergrad GPA but then I got a 4.0 MBA GPA at a AACSB Accredited program that is not nationally known. I went out on a whim and applied to Johns Hopkins Carey Business School and Duke University's Fuqua School of Business...I was offered admissions to both programs and begin my Master of Science in Quantitative Management: Business Analytics at Fuqua in September! The key is making your application unique and standing out to the admissions committee. I am sure whichever program you choose, whether it be Kenan Flagler, Gies, Kelley, etc. you will get an admissions offer.

    One thing I really like about Kenan Flagler is the fact that they include their online students in everything. You are recruited by the same companies as the on-campus students, etc. I believe you would be afforded greater opportunities with KF than the others but if you are dead set on a cheaper program, then go for it! :)
     
  9. Courcelles

    Courcelles Active Member

    My last job (thank you, fricking pandemic!) was in a small company where I wore many hats. I really enjoyed it because I got to do a little of almost everything (that you learn in a business school). I've no desire to work for a huge company or firm, but I would like to be able to sit the CPA exam. Which I technically could in this state with just an AACSB MBA and 24 hours of accounting-prefixed credit (could easily pick those up from LSU, given I already have 12.)

    I also find myself entertaining the pipe-dream of doing an (in-residence, i.e. funded) doctorate, and have a silly notion that IF I could finish two AACSB masters' with really good GPAs, it would give me a chance of finding somewhere to take me, undergrad GPA be damned. Yeah, typing it out seems stupid...
     

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