Accounting
MS

Advance your career with Charlton’s Master of Science in Accounting (MSA). The MSA offers the professional development that will position you as a leader in the accounting field while maximizing your earnings potential.

If you have your bachelor’s degree in accounting, pursuing the MSA offers the academic preparation and practical skills that will lead to career success.

For non-accounting graduates, the MSA provides the opportunity to transition to rewarding careers in accounting and related professions.

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Discover why UMass Dartmouth is the right place to earn an advanced degree or certificate.

Application deadlines

Fall: Rolling
Spring: Rolling
Summer: Rolling

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CPA, CMA, and other accounting certifications

If you are pursuing the CPA designation, the MSA program will help you meet the 150-credit rule that has been adopted by all states. The program offers courses that are consistent with the content specifications of the CPA and Certified Management Accounting (CMA) exams and topics. The program will also provide excellent preparation for other valuable accounting-related professional certifications such as the Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), Certified Financial Planner (CFP), and Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE).

Program requirements

Program requirements vary, depending on whether you begin the MSA with a bachelor's degree in accounting, a business degree, or a degree in another field.

With a bachelor's in accounting:

7 required courses
3 elective courses

With a bachelor's in business:

9 required courses
2 elective courses

With a bachelor's in another field:

15 required courses

Selected MS Accounting courses

ACT 650 Accounting for Decision Making
ACT 670 Financial Statement Analysis and Firm Valuation
ACT 671 Strategic Cost Management
ACT 672 International Accounting
ACT 673 Government and Non-profit Accounting
ACT 680 Forensic Accounting
ACT 681 Advanced Managerial Accounting
MGT 600 Corporate Social Responsibility and Law
MIS 650 Information Technology Management
FIN 650 Finance for Decision Making

Course descriptions, schedules and requirements

Accounting MS mean starting salary:
$79,046

NACE Data Collection of Class of 2023 Graduate Alumni

UMassD advantages

Maximum flexibility with online, blended, and face-to-face delivery formats
Offers three tracks of graduate accounting education for students with different accounting and business backgrounds
Provides high value and high quality
Taught by leading scholars supplemented by a cadre of seasoned practitioners
Opportunities for networking and dialogue with other professionals and faculty

Rankings

100.0% of MS Accounting graduates were employed within six months of graduating - Class of 2023 NACE survey stat-257a Keywords: Alumni, CCB, Distinction, Factsheet, Graduate, Outcomes,

Graduate admissions requirements

University requirements for graduate admissions

Submit an application via the online portal. Be sure to provide your full legal name and to capitalize the first letter of all proper nouns.
Pay non-refundable $60 application fee (American Express, Discover, MasterCard or Visa) via the online portal. For Nursing applicants, the non-refundable application fee is $75.
Statement of Purpose, minimum 300 words. Unless otherwise indicated in the program requirement details, indicate your graduate study objectives, research interests and experience, and business or industry experience if applicable. If you are applying for a teaching or research assistantship, include any special skills or experience that would assist us in making assistantship decisions.
Resume
Transcripts for all post-secondary institutions attended (regardless of whether a credential is earned or not). Unofficial transcripts are accepted for admissions application review, once enrolled a final official transcript is required. International students applying with an transcript evaluation, please submit that document with your unofficial transcripts. International applicants for Data Science must submit semester-by-semester transcripts as well as consolidated transcripts.
Many programs have specific recommendations/requirements, please see the additional program-specific requirements for more information.
International students: official TOEFL iBT, IELTS, Pearson PTE or Duolingo (if accepted by program) score. Unofficial scores are accepted for admissions application review, once enrolled official scores are required and must be sent by the testing agency (copies/scans not accepted). This is required of any applicant who did not earn a bachelor’s degree or higher degree from an accredited academic institution in the U.S. or accepted English-speaking country, see exemptions for more details. We require an overall/total minimum score of 72 on the TOEFL iBT or BAND 6.0 on the IELTS or a 52 on the Pearsons PTE Academic for entrance to any program and a minimum score of 79 on the TOEFL iBT or BAND 6.5 on the IELTS for consideration for a teaching assistantship. Some programs require higher minimum scores (see program-specific requirements). Most programs also accept the Duolingo with a minimum score of 95. The following programs do not accept the Duolingo: Art Education, Biology/Marine Biology, Nursing (MS, DNP, PhD), Psychology: Clinical, and Public Policy.
All official documents are required for enrollment, please have documents (ie. test scores) sent prior to the expiration.

Program-specific requirements

Candidates must submit the required application materials, university requirements and program-specific requirements, for consideration.

GMAT, LSAT or GRE score (minimum score of 500). Alternatively, some applicants may qualify for GMAT waiver.
2 letters of recommendation: preferably from a faculty member or an employer. Applicants will be required to provide each recommender's name and email address so we can contact the recommender for the letter of recommendation.
International students should have a minimum English Proficiency score of TOEFL iBT 80, IELTS 6.5, Duolingo 110 or the Pearsons PTE Academic 58.

Program deadlines