Description

The Master of Science in Accounting (MSA) degree provides candidates with greater breadth and depth in accounting than is possible in baccalaureate programs. The emphasis is on preparing students for careers as professional accountants and consultants in public practice, financial institutions, governments, industry, and nonprofit organizations. The program, along with appropriate foundation work, satisfies the Florida requirements to qualify to take the Certified Public Accountant(CPA) examination.

Faculty members in the Kenneth G. Dixon School of Accounting emphasize independent learning in various ways in all courses in the MSA program. Cases and research projects that involve independent work outside the classroom are incorporated into all course work. The cases and projects are both individual and team prepared. Students are asked to do research that requires they utilize library, internet and resources other than the material provided by the professor. The results of independent research activity are presented in either a written report or case analysis or oral presentation. Students work to develop and enhance skills and competencies that will support them professionally throughout their careers. The approaches used in our courses encourage students toward life-long learning. In addition, each student must pass a final oral examination that is administered by a committee of graduate faculty.

Degrees Offered

Master of Science in Accounting
• Professional MSA Track

Admission

For information on general UCF graduate admissions requirements that apply to all prospective students, please visit the Admissions and Registration section of the Graduate Catalog. Applicants must apply online. Please be sure to submit all requested material by the established deadline(s).

In addition to the general admission requirements, applicants must provide:

• Official score of at least 540 on the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT).
• GPA of 3.0 or higher in last 60 hours of upper-division undergraduate study and in upper-division accounting and tax courses. All foreign transcripts must be evaluated.
• Resume.
• For applicants from countries where English is not the official language, or for an applicant whose bachelor’s degree is not from an accredited U.S. institution, an official score of at least 230 (computer-based test; or equivalent score on the paper-based test) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is required.

Application Due Dates

All application materials must be submitted by the appropriate deadline listed below.

All students applying for fellowships must apply by the Fall Priority deadline date.

U.S. Applicants

The Summer 2008 application deadline has been extended to April 15th.

Program(s)	Fall Priority	Fall	Spring	Summer
Master of Science in Accounting	Jan 15	Jun 15	Dec 1	Mar 15
Professional MSA Track

 

International Applicants

Program(s)	Fall Priority	Fall	Spring	Summer
Master of Science in Accounting	Jan 15	Jan 15	Jul 1	Nov 1
Professional MSA Track

 

International Transfer Applicants

Program(s)	Fall Priority	Fall	Spring	Summer
Master of Science in Accounting	Jan 15	Mar 1	Sep 1	Dec 15
Professional MSA Track

Master of Science in Accounting

M.S.A. Degree Minimum Requirement—30 Credit Hours

The Master of Science in Accounting (M.S.A.) degree is awarded upon satisfactory completion of a minimum of 30 credit hours. In the total program of study a minimum of 18 hours of the course work, including a minimum of 12 hours of accounting/tax course work, must be at the 6000 level. Students, with the assistance and approval of the program adviser, may select courses that reflect their interests.

Case analyses and research projects are incorporated into course work that require students to obtain and to demonstrate successfully their ability to learn independently. The research study and final report will focus on reviewing and analyzing contemporary research in a student’s particular specialization within the accounting profession in order to help students acquire knowledge and skills pertaining to research-based best practices in that specialization area.

Accounting and Business Foundation Core

The courses included in the accounting and business foundation core are listed below. A recent UCF accounting undergraduate degree satisfies the core requirement. Other recent related business administration course work may partially or fully satisfy this requirement. Any deficiencies must be satisfied before advanced course work can be taken. Students with a non business undergraduate degree will probably need to take 12-45 additional semester hours of business to satisfy the requirements of the CPA examination.

Accounting Foundation Core—21 Credit Hours

• ACG 3131 Financial Accounting Concepts and Analysis (3 credit hours)
• ACG 3141 Intermediate Financial Accounting (3 credit hours)
• ACG 3361 Intermediate Managerial Accounting (3 credit hours)
• ACG 4401 Accounting Information Systems (3 credit hours)
• ACG 4651 Auditing or ACG 4671 Internal Auditing (3 credit hours)
• BUL 3130 Legal and Ethical Environment of Business (3 credit hours)
• TAX 4001 Taxation of Business Entities and Transactions (3 credit hours)

Business Foundation Core—12 Credit Hours

• ACG 6065 Accounting Foundations (3 credit hours)*
• ECO 6418 Economic Concepts with Math Applications (3 credit hours)*
• ECO 6405 Business Statistical Concepts and Methods (3 credit hours)*
• FIN 6XXX Foundations of Finance (3 credit hours)*

* Or undergraduate course equivalent taken as an undergraduate student. If the course was not part of the undergraduate program, it must be taken at the 6000 level.

Required Courses—6 Credit Hours

• ACG 6636 Advanced Auditing Topics (3 credit hours)
• ACG 5405 Advanced Accounting Information Systems (3 credit hours)

Restricted Electives—24 Credit Hours

Students must select eight elective courses for their programs of study. Five selections must be from the list of restricted electives listed below. At least three of these five selected courses must be accounting and/or taxation courses at the 6000 level.

Accounting and Taxation Restricted Electives

• ACG 5346 Advanced Managerial Accounting (3 credit hours)
• ACG 5517 Financial Accounting and Auditing for Governmental and Nonprofit Organizations (3 credit hours)*
• ACG 6255 International and Multinational Accounting (3 credit hours)
• ACG 6519 Seminar in Governmental and Nonbusiness Accounting and Auditing (3 credit hours)
• ACG 6685 Seminar in Fraud Auditing (3 credit hours)
• ACG 6805 Seminar in Accounting Theory (3 credit hours)
• ACG 6835 Seminar in Ethics and Professionalism in Accounting and Auditing (3 credit hours)
• ACG 6946 Graduate Accounting Internship (3 credit hours)
• TAX 5015 Advanced Tax Topics (3 credit hours)**
• TAX 6065 Tax Research (3 credit hours)
• TAX 6135 Taxation of Corporations and Shareholders (3 credit hours)
• TAX 6205 Partnership Taxation (3 credit hours)
• TAX 6405 Taxation of Estates and Gifts (3 credit hours)
• TAX 6946 Graduate Tax Internship (3 credit hours)
• TAX 6845 Tax Planning and Consulting (3 credit hours)
• TAX 6505 International Taxation (3 credit hours)

Business Restricted Electives

• BUL 5332 Advanced Business Law Topics (3 credit hours)**
• ECO 6115 Economic Analysis of the Firm (3 credit hours)
• FIN 6406 Strategic Financial Management (3 credit hours)
• FIN 6425 Asset Management and Financial Decisions (3 credit hours)
• FIN 6475 Business Valuation (3 credit hours)
• FIN 6515 Analysis of Investment Opportunities (3 credit hours)
• ISM 6227 Management of Telecommunications (3 credit hours)
• ISM 6305 Information Resources Management (3 credit hours)
• ISM 6367 Strategic Information Systems (1.5 hours)
• ISM 6407 Decision Support Systems (1.5 hours)
• ISM 6485 Electronic Commerce (3 credit hours)
• ISM 6537 Quantitative Models for Business Decisions (3 credit hours)

* Students who have not completed ACG 3501 Financial Accounting for Governmental and Nonprofit Organizations, or its equivalent, must complete ACG 5517 Financial Accounting and Auditing for Governmental and Nonprofit Organizations or ACG 6519 Seminar in Governmental and Nonbusiness Accounting and Auditing. Either may be selected as an elective in the graduate program of study courses.

** Students planning to take the C.P.A. examination should include TAX 5015 Advanced Tax Topics and, if a second law course is needed, BUL 5332 Advanced Business Law Topics in their elective course selections.

Other Electives

The three additional elective courses may be chosen from the list of restricted electives above, including accounting, taxation, and other business electives. They may also be selected from other graduate courses offered in the College of Business Administration or from outside the college. Courses not on the restricted elective list should be selected with the student’s area of interest in mind and with approval of the program adviser. The university limits program of study courses outside the college to six semester hours.

Students must show clear evidence of proficiency in oral and written communication and computer usage.

Comprehensive Examination

Satisfactory completion of an end-of-program comprehensive examination is required. The M.S.A. program does not require a thesis.

Financial Support

Graduate students may receive financial assistance through fellowships, assistantships, tuition support, or loans. For more information, see Financing Grad School, which describes the types of financial assistance available at UCF and provides general guidance in planning your graduate finances. The Financial Information section of the Graduate Catalog is another key resource.

Key points about financial support:

• If you are interested in financial assistance, you are strongly encouraged to apply for admission early. A complete application for admission, including all supporting documents, must be received by the priority date listed for your program under "Admissions."
• You must be admitted to a graduate program before the university can consider awarding financial assistance to you.
• If you want to be considered for loans and other need-based financial assistance, review the UCF Student Financial Assistance website at http://finaid.ucf.edu and complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) form, which is available online at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov. Apply early and allow up to six weeks for the FAFSA form to be processed.
• UCF Graduate Studies awards university graduate fellowships, with most decisions based on nominations from the colleges and programs. To be eligible for a fellowship, students must be accepted as a graduate student in a degree program and be enrolled full-time. University graduate fellowships are awarded based on academic merit and therefore are not affected by FAFSA determination of need.
• Please note that select fellowships do require students to fill out a fellowship application (either a university fellowship application, an external fellowship application, or a college or school fellowship application). For university fellowship applications, see Financing Grad School
• For information on assistantships (including teaching, research, and general graduate assistantships) or tuition support, contact the graduate program director of your major.

Contact Info

Master of Science in Accounting

Charles Kelliher, Ph.D., Associate Professor
Phone Number: 407-823-5128
charles.Kelliher@bus.ucf.edu

Professional MSA Track

Jaime Patterson
Phone Number: 407-235-3912
pmba@bus.ucf.edu