Dec 11, 2024

2024-2025 Graduate Catalog [Current Academic Year]

Accounting [M.S.]

Location(s): Online, In-person/hybrid

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The M.S.A. program provides a balanced broad education and an in-depth understanding of the theoretical and practical concepts of accounting. There are several areas of concentration available, and students have the opportunity to relate accounting topics to other disciplines as they develop the broad base of knowledge necessary to create, use and audit accounting information systems.

Upon admission to the M.S.A. program, each student must prepare a program of study. The program is reviewed with the student by the M.S.A. advisor to ascertain that it is appropriate given the student’s background and career goals. The program of study becomes the student’s degree requirement when signed by the student and the M.S.A. advisor. An M.S.A. faculty advisor must approve subsequent changes in coursework.

Program Admission

Admit Terms and Deadlines

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis; students may start the program in the Summer, Fall, or Winter. See Application Deadlines.

Online Education Eligibility

The U.S. Federal Government limits the number of online courses international students may enroll in while living in the United States. For this reason, we cannot admit students on F1 or J1 VISAs to fully online programs. Please check with International Admissions to confirm eligibility before applying.
All applicants, please review Online Education for Out-of-State Students to confirm your eligibility to enroll in an online program based in Michigan.

Minimum Graduate School Requirements

For full admission, applicants must have 1) Earned a four-year baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or an equivalent degree from a non-U.S. institution, 2) a minimum cumulative undergraduate grade point average of 2.7 on a 4.0 scale, or 3.0 in the last half of the undergraduate program. Conditional admission may be available to applicants not meeting minimum admission requirements.

Program Requirements

Applicants must also meet the following program requirements.

Previous academic performance, written statement of personal goals, and GMAT score are significant factors the M.S.A. director considers in the admission process.

Generally, as a minimum, the applicant must have an overall undergraduate GPA of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) and a GMAT score of 500 or above or a GRE score of 306 or higher. The GRE or GMAT requirement may be waived under the following conditions (GRE/GMAT Waiver Criteria ). Requests to waive the GRE/GMAT requirement are emailed to the Graduate Programs Office (cob_graduate@emich.edu).

Note: The GRE/GMAT requirement is waived for all applicants for the Fall 2024 and Winter 2025 application cycles. Applicants do not need to request a waiver.

Application

Your application will be submitted using BusinessCAS, a Centralized Application Service (CAS) hosted by Liaison. After reviewing the admission requirements, please review the application instructions and select the appropriate application below.

- Go to 2023-2024 BusinessCAS to apply to a program beginning in Summer 2024, Fall 2024, or Winter 2025.

- Go to 2024-2025 BusinessCAS to apply to a program beginning in Summer 2025, Fall 2025, or Winter 2026.

Domestic Applicants Domestic applicants are required to submit only the transcript from the institution granting their bachelor’s degree if either of the following criteria is met: 1) Lists 30 or more credit hours with an overall GPA of 3.0 or over OR 2) Lists 60 or more credit hours with an overall GPA between 2.7 and 2.99. Within the application, follow the instructions to submit an official transcript. The University may ask applicants to submit additional transcripts after applying.

International Applicants Before applying, applicants must review the international application/process deadlines at emich.edu/international as they may differ from general program requirements.

For additional information regarding the application process, please see Graduate Admissions or International Admissions.

Department Information

Accounting, Finance, and Information Systems 403 Hill Hall, 734.487.3320

Charles E. Teague III, PhD, Department Head

Advisor Information

Graduate Programs Office, 102 Hill Hall, 734.487.4444

Foundation/Prerequisite Courses: 18 hours

Students must complete course work in each of the following foundation areas unless they have satisfactorily completed the undergraduate equivalent.

ACC 296 The Accounting Cycle and Profession 3 hrs
ACC 340 Intermediate Accounting 3 hrs
ACC 342 Managerial Cost Accounting 3 hrs
ACC 356 Accounting Information Systems 3 hrs
ACC 501 Accounting Principles 3 hrs
ECON 500 Foundations of Economics Analysis 3 hrs

Degree Requirements: 30 hours

The M.S.A. program requires the completion of 30 hours of coursework to be distributed among required core courses and restricted elective courses as follows. Students having taken equivalent undergraduate coursework in the areas of accounting, finance, information systems, management, and marketing, may be required to substitute other courses as determined by the M.S.A. director/advisor.

Required Core Courses: 12 hours

ACC 540 Corporate Financial Reporting 3 hrs
ACC 544 Federal Income Taxation 3 hrs
ACC 567 Professional Auditing 3 hrs
ACC 696 Accounting Theory, Research and Policy 3 hrs

Restricted Electives (tracks): 12 hours

Students do not have to choose a track; recommended tracks are as follows. An advisor must approve selected courses.

Financial Services and CPA:

Any 500 or 600 level ACC course not previously taken 3 hrs
ACC 511 Accounting Data Analytics and Emerging Technologies 3 hrs
ACC 541 Advanced Financial Accounting 3 hrs
ACC 546 Government and Non-Profit Accounting 3 hrs
Note - Students planning to take the CPA examination must elect ACC 546 and satisfy the state’s general business requirement.

Other Accounting Courses:

ACC 590 Special Topics 1 hr
ACC 591 Special Topics 2 hrs
ACC 592 Special Topics 3 hrs
ACC 679 Special Topics 1 hr
ACC 680 Special Topics 2 hrs
ACC 681 Special Topics 3 hrs
ACC 697 Independent Study 1 hr
ACC 698 Independent Study 2 hrs
ACC 699 Independent Study 3 hrs
TAX 574 Electronic Tax Preparation 3 hrs
TAX 671 Advanced Federal Corporate Taxation 3 hrs
TAX 673 Advanced Federal Partnership Taxation 3 hrs
TAX 675 International Taxation 3 hrs

College of Business Electives (Non-ACC): 6 hours

Select six credit hours from any combination of 500- to 600- level ACC, COB, DS, FIN, IB, IS, OM, MGMT, MKTG, LAW or SCM courses, with advisor approval.

Critical Graduation Information

Each graduate student is responsible for fulfilling the requirements or equivalents of the Eastern Michigan University catalog in force at the time of their initial registration or a subsequent catalog, including the one in effect at the time of their graduation.

Master’s degree requirements must be completed within six (6) years of first enrollment in the master’s degree program.

In the event a student does not complete the master’s degree requirements within six years of the date of their original registration, the student may be required to have their credits re-evaluated by the academic department(s) of their degree in keeping with catalog requirements in force during the year of their graduation.

The following are minimum requirements for all master’s degrees awarded by Eastern Michigan University. Some programs require more than the minimum in one or more areas below.

A master’s degree must require a minimum of 30 credit hours.
No more than six credits of independent study courses and no more than 12 credit hours of special topics and independent study courses combined may be applied to a graduate degree.
Residency Requirement:
- For students admitted to master’s degree programs of 36 or fewer required hours, at least 24 new graduate hours beginning the semester of acceptance and enrollment into the degree program must be earned at EMU. The remaining program requirement hours may be met through transfer or prior degree credit (EMU or elsewhere).
- For students admitted to master’s degree programs of 37 or more required hours, at least 30 new graduate hours beginning the semester of acceptance and enrollment into the degree program must be earned at EMU. Minimum degree hours must still be met for graduation. The remaining program requirement hours may be met through transfer or prior degree credit (EMU or elsewhere).
- Residency and enrollment in multiple programs: Students enrolled in multiple master’s/specialist degree programs must have 24 unique credit hours in each degree program.
Only credits from one completed graduate certificate may be applied to a master’s or specialist degree in a relevant field of study, as determined by the Graduate School and with the approval of the degree-granting academic department, and be included in the residency hours above.
Students must maintain a 3.0 cumulative GPA in all graduate-level courses taken at EMU and in their program of study to remain in good academic standing and be eligible for graduation. Students do not need to be registered for classes during the semester of graduation.
The Graduate School does not permit the use of undergraduate courses (499 and below) to meet degree requirements on graduate programs of study.
Some master’s programs require a thesis; others require a special project or internship; others require students to pass a final exam. See the Graduate School website for Thesis and Dissertation Manuals, all forms, and information about research and human subject approval. Every completed thesis or dissertation must be submitted to Digital Commons. Any form of graduate student work submitted to Digital Commons must first be approved by a faculty advisor and the Graduate School.