If you want to work as a certified public accountant in the Bayou state, you should get your start at one of the Master’s in Accounting degree programs in Louisiana. Like other states, Louisiana requires that you take and pass an exam before you can work as a CPA, but before you can even sit for that exam, you must first complete at least five years of college. This includes the four years it takes to finish an undergrad degree and one year of graduate school. Louisiana colleges can help you better prepare for that exam to help you pass it on your first try.
Louisiana State University
Department of Accounting
Louisiana State University is the predominate public university in the state. Founded in 1860, the university has connections to several military academies that the government established over the years. The university briefly closed because of the outbreak of the Civil War but saw its enrollment grow significantly in the days after the War ended. U.S. News & World Report and Washington Monthly are just a few of the organizations that rank LSU among the nation’s top colleges. Some of the LSU programs that rank among the top include those in business, social work, landscape architecture library and information sciences and accounting.
Master of Accountancy
One of the Master’s in Accounting degree programs in Louisiana that requires you have an undergrad degree in accounting or business before you can enroll is the LSU Master of Accountancy. The transcript that you submit must show that you took some basic classes, including intermediate accounting, auditing, cost analysis and control and accounting information systems. Though there is a five-year program available, this program requires that you take an internship in the middle of your undergrad and graduate years. LSU also lets you enroll as a new graduate school and finish your degree in two years or less.
Accreditation
Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business
Contact
4005 Nicholson Drive Extension
Baton Rouge, LA 70803
(225) 578-3211
Louisiana Tech University
College of Business
Louisiana Tech University is a state university that is a member of the University of Louisiana system. Founded in 1894 as the Industrial Institute College of Louisiana, it became the Louisiana Industrial Institute at the turn of the 20th century and also served as the Louisiana Polytechnic Institute for several decades until the beginning of the 1970s. Though it has a strong reputation for the technical and technology programs that it offers, Louisiana Tech now offers a number of standard college programs too. Times Higher Education World University Rankings called Louisiana Tech one of the top growing schools in the world.
Master of Accountancy
Though not all Master’s in Accounting degree programs in Louisiana have a GPA requirement, Louisiana Tech does. You will need to maintain a GPA in all accounting classes and any other classes that you take to graduate. The Master of Accountancy program includes five core courses on business law for accountants, cases and problems in income taxes, advanced auditing, advanced auditing analysis and control and contemporary accounting theory. You will also need to take nine credits of accounting electives and six credits of business electives, which brings the total credit count up to 30. Louisiana Tech lets you transfer in up to six credits.
Accreditation
Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Busines
Contact
502 W. Texas Ave.
P.O. Box 10318
Ruston, LA 71272
(318) 257-2822
adrake@latech.edu
Tulane University of Louisiana
Freeman School of Business
The Tulane University of Louisiana, better known as Tulane University or just Tulane, is a private university in the state that dates back to 1834. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana, it changed its curriculum just 13 years later and introduced programs in other disciplines to meet the needs of incoming students. Tulane is a highly selective university that admits accepts only 30% of the students who submit applications each year. The Princeton Review ranks the university on its list of the top college towns, party schools, best colleges in the southeast United States and happiest students.
Master of Accounting
Tulane University gives you the choice between enrolling in a combined undergrad and graduate program or enrolling in the standard graduate program. Master’s only students must take financial accounting, managerial accounting and intermediate accounting before enrolling or before beginning any of the advanced classes available. The six core courses that you take include advanced financial accounting, advanced managerial accounting, business law and principles of equity taxation. As one of the top Master’s in Accounting degree programs in Louisiana, this Tulane program requires that you take 12 credits of electives but features classes like taxation of individuals and tax planning for corporate decision making.
Accreditation
Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business
Contact
7 McAlister Drive
New Orleans, LA 70118
(504) 865-5000
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Graduate School
The University of Louisiana School System consists of multiple branches like the one in Lafayette. Officially called the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, it also goes by the names of ULL and UL Lafayette. Established in 1898 as an industrial institute that offered technical and industrial training programs, it became the University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1960. It didn’t select its current name until 1999. The university was the first in the Deep South to admit a large number of African American students and still retains its commitment to helping minority students both get into college and cover the cost of going to school.
MS in Accounting
This ULL program is the only one of the Master’s in Accounting degree programs in Louisiana designed for students living in the Gulf South area. Though the program features 33 credits of classes, the university guarantees that full-time students can finish the program in a single year. You’ll take nine hours of electives that can include contemporary accounting thought, fraud examination and tax research and analysis. The six core courses that ULL requires you take include professional ethics for accountants, theory of accounting, directed research in accounting and theory and practice of international accounting.
Accreditation
Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business
Contact
Martin Hall, Suite 332
104 University Circle
Lafayette, LA 70503
(337) 482-6965
gradschool@louisiana.edu
University of New Orleans
College of Business Administration
The University of New Orleans is the main college in the Louisiana city of the same name and often goes by the name of UNO. Founded in 1958 as the Louisiana State University in New Orleans, it didn’t admit students until two years later. The UNO name came in later years and started as a way to show that the university was its own standalone school. Its location led to several university buildings housing locals during Hurricane Katrina. The university created an online system to help students go back to school faster after that natural disaster.
Master of Science in Accounting
This Master of Science in Accounting program that UNO offers is its standard accounting graduate program, which is open to those who took prerequisite courses at the undergrad level. The university offers concentrations in auditing, accounting information systems and finance. You’ll need to take at least five classes in this concentration, but those courses will count towards the total number of credits needed to complete the program. Required classes that all accounting students take include studies in managerial accounting, studies in accounting theory and strategic business planning. You may take courses on IT auditing, fraud examination and financial administration too.
Master of Science in Tax Accounting
One of the only Master’s in Accounting degree programs in Louisiana with a focus on tax accounting is this program that the University of New Orleans offers. This program features three required courses on strategic business planning and both managerial and accounting and accounting theory. Courses in this program deal specifically with tax concepts and how you can prepare taxes for individuals, groups, organizations and companies. Some of the tax courses that you can take include tax accounting I, estate and gift taxation and tax accounting II. UNO offers a CPA review course for those preparing to sit for the CPA examination.
Accreditation
Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business
Contact
2000 Lakeshore Drive
New Orleans, LA 70148
(888) 514-4275
New Orleans is just one of the many cities in Louisiana that have a high need for trained and licensed accountants. Though you’ll need to pass a professional licensing exam to get your license, Master’s in Accounting degree programs in Louisiana can prepare you for any of the exams you need to take.
See also: Top 35 Online Master’s in Accounting Degree Programs 2017
