2025-2026 Graduate Catalog Accounting
301 State Farm Hall of Business
Campus Box 5500
(309) 438-7651
Chairperson: Joseph Johnston
Programs Offered
- M.S. in Accountancy
- Integrated B.S./M.P.A. in Accountancy
- Data Scientist: Business Information Systems in Accounting
- Forensic Accountant
Course Finder
Admissions Information
To be certified for the CPA examination in Illinois, a candidate must successfully completed at least 150 semester hours of acceptable credit and earn a baccalaureate or higher degree. The semester hours accepted by the Board must include an accounting concentration or its equivalent. A candidate will be deemed to have met the education requirement if, as a part of the 150 semester hours of education or equivalent as determined by the Board, he or she has earned a graduate degree with a concentration in accounting from a program that is accredited in accounting by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). The Master of Science in Accountancy (MSA) and the Integrated Bachelor of Science (BS) Master of Professional Accountancy (MPA) are accredited by the AACSB.
More details on the educational requirements to sit for the CPA examination can be found at .
Master of Science in Accountancy
Degree Offered: M.S.
Degree Offered: M.S.
This 30-hour stem-designated degree requires:
- A comprehensive examination administered near the end of the final semester of course study
- 6 hours:Ի
- 9 hours of 400-level accountingor BIS analytics-focused electives: choose from, , ,,,,,
-
15 credit hours taken from the following:
- A minimum of 3 credit hours must be from graduate accounting electives: This includes all ACC 400-level graduate accounting courses including , , , , ,,,,, and . This excludes classes deemed to be Business Information Systems courses like and .
- A minimum of 3 credit hours must be from graduate business electives: This includes all BIS, FIL, MBA, MGT or MKT 300- or 400-level graduate courses. and count here as business electives.
A course that satisfies one requirement cannot satisfy another program requirement. Please see your academic advisor for program planning.
The College of Business only allows students to repeat a course once. Students who earn a “W” grade in either attempt must apply for permission to complete a third enrollment.
The following course will not count toward the M.S. in Accountancy because it is a foundation/deficiency course:.
Integrated Bachelor of Science (B.S.) Master of Professional Accountancy (M.P.A.)
Degree Offered: M.P.A.
The 150-hour B.S. (min. 120 hours) and M.P.A. (min. 30 hours of graduate level coursework) integrated program is designed for students wishing to complete both degrees at 鶹ý. The B.S. degree is awarded after completion of the undergraduate degree requirements and the M.P.A. degree is awarded after completion of the graduate degree requirements.
Core courses: Students selecting either sequence must complete the following:
- Undergraduate: ; , , , , , , , , , , , , , ; , , , ; and ; ; or . (Note: is a prerequisite for )
- Graduate: , and either or .
Accountancy and Information Systems Sequence
In addition to core courses, students must complete 27 hours (24 graduate and 3 undergraduate) as follows:
Undergraduate:
- 3 hours:
Graduate:
- 9 hours: 400-level accounting electives chosen from , , , , , ,
- 9 hours: 400-level BIS electives chosen from , , , , , , ,
- 6 hours: 400-level accounting or business electives
Professional Accountancy Sequence
In addition to core courses, students must complete 27 hours of accounting and business electives (24 graduate and 3 undergraduate):
Undergraduate:
- 3 hours: 300-level accounting electives chosen from , , , , , ,
Graduate:
- 9 hours: 400-level accounting electives chosen from , , , , , ,
- 9 hours: 400-level accounting electives
- 3 hours: 400-level accounting elective OR 400-level BIS elective
- 3 hours: 400-level business elective chosen from outside the accounting discipline
BS/MPA Policies
A course that satisfies one requirement cannot satisfy another program requirement. Please see your academic advisor for program planning.
NOTE: Students in either sequence who wish to enhance their chances of passing the CPA examination should include in their Plan of Study the following advanced accounting courses: , , .
The College of Business only allows students to repeat a course once. Students who earn a W grade in either attempt must apply for permission to complete a third enrollment.
Data Scientist: Business Information Systems in Accounting Graduate Certificate
This certificate provides training with programming tools designed specifically for data analysis such as Python programming language and R programming language. Data management will be explored including data preparation, data exploration, data representation, data discovery and data cleansing. Finally, the application of data analysis tools to existing big data sets will be performed.
This 9-hour certificate requires successful completion with a grade of B or better in each of the following courses:
- , and
Forensic Accountant Graduate Certificate
This graduate certificate provides exposure to issues related to accounting fraud, understanding the theory of accounting fraud, and application of tools and procedures to detect and correct accounting fraud.
This 9-hour certificate requires successful completion with a grade of B or better in each of the following courses:
- , and