Accounting (B.A.)

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The accounting major provides the opportunity to understand in depth the design of a system intended to give financial data users the ability to make informed economic decisions. The accounting major stresses the development of an understanding of generally accepted accounting principles. The educational background necessary to sit for the CPA (Certified Public Accountant) examination requires the completion of 150 credits; it is possible for qualified students to fulfill the entire CPA educational requirement during their undergraduate studies if they go beyond the 120 credits required for the Accounting B.A. The student’s advisor should be consulted for more details.

Accounting Requirements

Completing the accounting major requires at most 70 credits in total (44 credits in addition to the 26 credits in Foundations of Business).

Foundations of Business Courses

The following courses are required for all students majoring in accounting, business analytics, business management, entrepreneurship and innovation, finance, or marketing:

BUS 105 - Introduction to Business (2)
FIN 110 - Personal Financial Analysis (2)
ECO 115 - The Economy (4)
ACC 117 - Principles of Financial Accounting (4)
ACC 118 - Principles of Managerial Accounting (4)
BUS 205 - Vocation and Business Careers (2)
BUS 211 - Statistics in Business and Economics (4) *
PHI 215 - Business Ethics (4)

Additional courses required for the Accounting major:

Notes

Students must continuously maintain a 2.0 GPA within the major.

Double majors within the School of Business are allowed, but students must have at least four courses (16 credits) which are uniquely counted to each major. To complete a major and a minor which are both within the School of Business, at least two courses (8 credits) must be uniquely counted to the minor.

*The BUS 211 requirement can alternatively be satisfied through completion of MAT 220 - Biostatistics ; or MAT 318 - Probability and MAT 319 - Statistics ; or PSY 256 - Research Methods I and PSY 257 - Research Methods II or AP Statistics by permission.

Concentrations

The concentration is optional.

Professional Accounting

Honors

In exceptional cases majors in the School of Business may earn honors in their major field by researching and writing an honors thesis over the senior year. Under the direction of a faculty advisor, candidates will develop a thesis proposal in the spring prior to the senior year and, with school approval, register for and complete 8 credits of independent research in the senior year (ECO 471 - Honors Research I , ECO 472 - Honors Research II ). For honors the thesis must be of high quality and be defended orally in front of School faculty toward the end of spring term. The minimum GPA for honors candidates is 3.70 in the major and 3.30 overall. An honors thesis should be considered by students intending to complete a research-oriented advanced degree in any economics or business field. See School faculty for details.