Accounting careers vary widely in today's complex, global economy. Graduates may find themselves tracking illegal funds for the FBI to preparing financial statements for multi-billion dollar firms. Generally, accounting career paths can be described as financial reporting, assurance, budget analysis, management accounting, tax accounting, and federal contract accounting. Accountants may work for public accounting firms, public or private corporations, governments at all levels, or for themselves in private practice.
The purpose of the Master of Accountancy program is to provide students an academically rigorous course of study in accounting necessary for successful careers in professional accountancy in public, private, non-for-profit, and federal government accounting. Students have the flexibility to become educationally prepared for recognized certifications.
The program is designed to satisfy the 150 semester hours required by the Alabama State Board of Public Accountancy for Certified Public Accountant (CPA) examination candidates. The program exceeds the educational requirements for membership in the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), as well as those to sit for the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) examinations.
Qualified undergraduate accounting graduates may be able to complete the requirements for the M.Acc. degree in one additional year of full-time course work beyond the bachelor's level, in what is called the 4+1 program. Individuals interested in the M.Acc. program should contact the Graduate Advisor, 102 Business Administration Building, (256) 824-6024. For more information on the 4+1 program, refer to the UAH Undergraduate Catalog.
The M.Acc. program normally consists of 33 semester hours of graduate coursework. The program includes a minimum of 18 semester hours of accounting (including at least 15 hours at the 600-level) and a minimum of 12 semester hours in other disciplines (including at least 9 hours at the 600-level). The accounting theory class, ACC 680, should be taken toward the end of the student's program, must be taken at UAH, and must be completed with a grade of A or B (including an average of at least B on all individual components). A maximum of 12 semester hours of graduate work may be transferred from another institution.
There are four tracks in the M.Acc. program: two stand-alone tracks plus two 4+1 program tracks. The 4+1 tracks include 4 years of undergraduate study plus 1 year of graduate study ending with the Master's in Accountancy. The four tracks are (1) CPA Preparatory with an Emphasis in Assurance and Financial Reporting (4+1 Program), (2) CPA Preparatory with an Emphasis in Taxation (4 + 1 Program), (3) General Accounting, and (4) Information Systems Audit and Control (ISAC).
Program prerequisites may be satisfied by either of the following: (a) possession of a Bachelors degree in accounting from an AACSB accredited institution, or (b) possession of a Bachelors degree and satisfactory (i.e., "C" or higher) completion of the following list of basic skills, business core, and accounting courses. Accounting prerequisites vary somewhat depending upon the track a student selects.
Basic skills and business core electives applicable to all M.Acc. tracks:
| Title | Semester Hours |
| Written and oral communications | 6 hrs. |
| Calculus | 3 hrs. |
| Microcomputing | 3 hrs. |
| Statistical analysis | 3 hrs. |
| Legal environment of business | 3 hrs. |
| Principles of accounting (financial and managerial) | 6 hrs. |
| Principles of economics | 6 hrs. |
| Principles of finance | 3 hrs. |
| Principles of marketing | 3 hrs. |
| Operations management | 3 hrs. |
| Organizational theory, behavior, and environment | 3 hrs. |
The 4 + 1 program (4 years of undergraduate study at UAH plus 1 year of graduate study ending with the Master's in Accountancy) in the assurance and financial reporting concentration prepares students for the CPA exam and for teaching at the community college- or university-level.
The undergraduate prerequisite accounting courses are as follows * :
| Course Number | Title | Semester Hours |
| ACC 307 | Accounting Information Systems | 3 hrs. |
| ACC 310 | Intermediate Financial Accounting I | 3 hrs. |
| ACC 311 | Intermediate Financial Accounting II | 3 hrs. |
| ACC 313 | Individual and Small Business Income Taxes | 3 hrs. |
| ACC 314 | Cost Accounting | 3 hrs. |
| ACC 431 | Principles of Auditing | 3 hrs. |
| ACC 432 | Advanced Auditing | 3 hrs. |
| ACC 433 | Forensic Accounting | 3 hrs. |
| Total Hours Required | 24 hrs. |
|
* The basic skills and business core electives can be found above. BLS 411, Business Law for Accountants, may be taken as BLS 511 if not already taken at UAH in the undergraduate program.
The M.Acc. * courses for the CPA Preparatory track with an Emphasis in Assurance and Financial Reporting (4+1 Program) are as follows:
| Course Number | Title | Semester Hours |
| ACC 607 | Advanced Accounting Information Systems | 3 hrs. |
| ACC 614 | Cost Management | 3 hrs. |
| ACC 680 | Financial Accounting Theory | 3 hrs. |
| ACC 517 | Governmental Accounting | 3 hrs. |
| ACC 513 | Corporate, Partnership & Estate Taxes | 3 hrs. |
| MIS 634 | Management of Information Technology | 3 hrs. |
| Non-accounting electives, 600-level courses | 6 hrs. |
|
| Non-accounting electives, 500 or 600-level | 3 hrs. |
|
| Select two of the following: | 6 hrs. |
|
| ACC 603 | Financial Statement Analysis | |
| ACC 615 | Advanced Financial Accounting | |
| ACC 642 | Advanced Internal and Operational Auditing | |
| OR 6 hours of thesis ** | ||
| Total Hours Required | 33 hrs. |
|
* ACC 600 or 602 may not be used in the M.Acc. program.
** Thesis option reduces the required credit hours to 30 hours. Students may eliminate a 500-level non-accounting elective.
The 4 + 1 program (4 years of undergraduate study plus 1 year of graduate study ending with the Master's in Accountancy) in the taxation concentration prepares students for the CPA exam and for teaching at the community college- or university-level.
The undergraduate prerequisite accounting courses are as follows * :
| Course Number | Title | Semester Hours |
| ACC 307 | Accounting Information Systems | 3 hrs. |
| ACC 310 | Intermediate Financial Accounting I | 3 hrs. |
| ACC 311 | Intermediate Financial Accounting II | 3 hrs. |
| ACC 313 | Individual and Small Business Income Taxes | 3 hrs. |
| ACC 314 | Cost Accounting | 3 hrs. |
| ACC 413 | Corporate, Partnership, and Estate Taxes | 3 hrs. |
| ACC 420 | State and Local Taxation | 3 hrs. |
| ACC 431 | Principles of Auditing | 3 hrs. |
| Total Hours Required | 24 hrs. |
|
* The basic skills and business core electives can be found above. BLS 411, Business Law for Accountants, may be taken as BLS 511 if not already taken at UAH in the undergraduate program.
The M.Acc. * courses for the CPA Preparatory with an Emphasis in Taxation (4 + 1 Program) are as follows:
| Course Number | Title | Semester Hours |
| ACC 607 | Advanced Accounting Information Systems | 3 hrs. |
| ACC 614 | Cost Management | 3 hrs. |
| ACC 680 | Financial Accounting Theory | 3 hrs. |
| ACC 517 | Governmental Accounting | 3 hrs. |
| ACC 532 | Advanced Auditing | 3 hrs. |
| MIS 634 | Management of Information Technology | 3 hrs. |
| Non-accounting electives, 600-level courses | 6 hrs. |
|
| Non-accounting electives, 500 or 600-level | 3 hrs. |
|
| Select two of the following: | 6 hrs. |
|
| ACC 603 | Financial Statement Analysis | |
| ACC 615 | Advanced Financial Accounting | |
| ACC 642 | Advanced Internal and Operational Auditing | |
| OR 6 hours of thesis ** | ||
| Total Hours Required | 33 hrs. |
|
* ACC 600 or 602 may not be used in the MAcc program.
** Thesis option reduces the required credit hours to 30 hours. Students may eliminate a 500-level non-accounting elective.
The General Accounting Track is designed to allow students (working with the Graduate Advisor) to tailor a degree program in line with the student's background and career goals. The accounting prerequisites for the track are as follows*:
| Course Number | Title | Semester Hours |
| ACC 307 | Accounting Information Systems | 3 hrs. |
| ACC 310 | Intermediate Financial Accounting I | 3 hrs. |
| ACC 311 | Intermediate Financial Accounting II | 3 hrs. |
| ACC 313 | Individual and Small Business Income Taxes | 3 hrs. |
| ACC 314 | Cost Accounting | 3 hrs. |
| ACC 431 | Principles of Auditing | 3 hrs. |
| Total Hours Required | 18 hrs. |
|
* The basic skills and business core electives can be found above.
The General Accounting track consists of four required courses and seven elective courses. Students must take a minimum of 18 hours of Accounting with at least 15 of those hours at the 600-level. They must also take a minimum of 12 hours of non-accounting courses with at least 9 hours at the 600-level. A sample program is presented below including four specific required courses. *
| Course Number | Title | Semester Hours |
| ACC 607 | Advanced Accounting Information Systems | 3 hrs. |
| ACC 614 | Cost Management | 3 hrs. |
| ACC 680 | Financial Accounting Theory | 3 hrs. |
| ACC 634 | Management of Information Technology | 3 hrs. |
| ACC 6XX | Accounting elective or thesis ** | 6 hrs. |
| ACC XXX | Accounting elective or thesis, 500 or 600-level *** | 3 hrs. |
| Non-accounting electives, 600-level courses | 6 hrs. |
|
| Non-accounting electives, 500 or 600-level | 3 hrs. |
|
| Free elective, 500 or 600-level | 3 hrs. |
|
| Total Hours Required | 33 hrs. |
|
* Students planning to sit for the CPA examination in Alabama must complete the subject matter shown below. In order to keep the M.Acc. at 33 graduate-level hours, at least one of these accounting courses should be completed at the undergraduate level before entering the program: BLS 511 Business Law for Accountants; ACC 513 Corporation, Partnership, and Estate Taxes or ACC 520 State and Local Taxation; ACC 517 Governmental (Fund) Accounting; ACC 532 Advanced Auditing
** Thesis option reduces the required credit hours to 30 hours. Students may eliminate a 500-level non-accounting elective.
*** ACC 600 or 602 may not be used in the M.Acc. program.
The ISAC Track provides a focal point of study for students with an undergraduate degree in accounting (or the equivalent) who have an interest in graduate education in accounting and information technology. Because the ISAC track requires extensive coursework in information systems, it may not be possible for students electing this track to complete the coursework required to sit for the CPA examination within the framework of 33 semester hours of graduate coursework.
The accounting prerequisites for the Information Systems and Audit and Control track are as follows*:
| Course Number | Title | Semester Hours |
| ACC 307 | Accounting Information Systems | 3 hrs. |
| ACC 310 | Intermediate Financial Accounting I | 3 hrs. |
| ACC 311 | Intermediate Financial Accounting II | 3 hrs. |
| ACC 313 | Individual and Small Business Income Taxes | 3 hrs. |
| ACC 314 | Cost Accounting | 3 hrs. |
| ACC 431 | Auditing | 3 hrs. |
| Total Hours Required | 18 hrs. |
|
* The basic skills and business core electives can be found above.
Although not required, it is recommended that UAH undergraduate accounting majors interested in the ISAC track select ACC 432 Advanced Auditing as one of their accounting electives and MIS 420 Electronic Commerce as a non-accounting elective within the College of Business Administration. Also recommended, but not required, are BLS 411 Business Law for Accountants as a non-accounting elective within the College (if the student plans to sit for the CPA examination), and two programming courses (CS 102 Introduction to C Programming and CS 103 Introduction to Computer Science (JAVA)) as electives from outside the College of Business Administration.
The ISAC track consists of eight required courses and three elective courses (or thesis). Students must take a minimum of 18 hours of Accounting with at least 15 of those hours at the 600-level. They must also take a minimum of 15 hours of MIS courses, at least 9 hours at the 600-level. A sample set of courses for the ISAC track is presented below:
| Course Number | Title | Semester Hours |
| ACC 614 | Cost Management | 3 hrs. |
| ACC 607 | Advanced Accounting Information Systems | 3 hrs. |
| ACC 680 | Financial Accounting Theory | 3 hrs. |
| ACC 642 | Advanced Internal and Operational Auditing | 3 hrs. |
| ACC 6XX | Accounting elective or thesis * | 3 hrs. |
| ACC XXX | Accounting elective or thesis ** | 3 hrs. |
| MIS 634 | Management of Information Technology | 3 hrs. |
| MIS 640 | Relational Database Management Systems | 3 hrs. |
| MIS 660 | Information Security Management | 3 hrs. |
| MIS 670 | Business Contingency Planning | 3 hrs. |
| MIS XXX | MIS Elective ** | 3 hrs. |
| Total Hours Required | 33 hrs. |
|
* Thesis option reduces the required credit hours to 30 hours. Students may eliminate a 500-level non-accounting elective.
** Suggested electives are MIS 597 Information Systems Design and MIS 560 Telecommunications and Networking. Other recommended courses for the ISAC track include: ACC 532 Advanced Auditing, BLS 511 Business Law for Accountants, MIS 520 Electronic Commerce, MIS 663 Computer Forensics, and MIS 677 Network Defense and Operating Systems. ACC 600 or 602 may not be used in the M.Acc. program.
A new web-based application is now available. Get started on your online application.
Contact Information
Director of CAS Graduate Programs
Office of Academic Assistance ASB 102-H
College of Business Administration
University of Alabama in Huntsville
Huntsville, Alabama 35899
Email: gradbiz@uah.edu
300 Sparkman Drive, Huntsville, AL 35899 • (256) 824 - 6024 • Campus Map • Email: Webmaster
©2008 University of Alabama Huntsville • Policies & Disclaimers • Last Updated 03/11/08