Like other states in the country, Pennsylvania requires that CPA applicants take an exam and that they have they take a certain number of college credits, which is why Master’s in Accounting programs in Pennsylvania are so popular. While some colleges offer five-year degree programs or 4 + 1 programs, others offer standard accounting programs that let students enroll and take up to two years of classes. A 4 + 1 program allows students to take four years of undergrad and graduate classes and one full year of graduate courses. Pennsylvania residents and students of other states can look at all the available programs.
First, see: Master’s in Accounting Degree Programs in Pennsylvania (A-G)
Holy Family University
School of Business Administration
Holy Family University is a religious and private university in Philadelphia. The university makes it easier for students to find out about the classes they will take and any other information that they need. It hosts open houses a few times a year that let students ask questions and find out more about the university and its graduate degree programs. They can also use the Holy Family University website and view the online resources available to students. Those resources include the list of books that they will need and use in all their classes and course schedules.
MS in Accountancy
One of the more popular options for religious students looking at Master’s in Accounting programs in Pennsylvania is the Holy Family University accounting program. Unlike MBA programs that require students take general business courses, this MS program allows students to focus on accounting and finance classes. They’ll earn a Master of Science after completing their studies. Many of the students in this program are professionals who want to change career paths or enhance their current careers. Holy Family University encourages students to fill out the information request on its website to learn more about the program and what it can do for them.
Accreditation
Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP)
Contact
9801 Frankford Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19114
(215) 637-7700
Indiana University of Pennsylvania – Main Campus
Eberly College of Business
The Indiana University of Pennsylvania offers more MBA options on its main campus for students today than almost any other school in the state does. It’s open to both full-time and part-time students and allows them to take as many classes as they can fit into their schedules. One version of the program features evening classes that allow students to come in and take classes at the end of the workday. Students can also apply for assistantship awards that cut their tuition in half. Assistantship students will work for the university in different capacities.
MBA
One of the top Master’s in Accounting programs in Pennsylvania is the MBA program that the Indiana University of Pennsylvania offers. This program allows students to pick a concentration in accounting and take classes on accounting principles, financial issues, and economics. Students who pick the professional accountancy concentration will take at least six credits of accounting classes. They will also take 12 required classes that are worth three credits each for a total of 36 credits. All MBA students will look forward to taking classes such as Management Information Systems, Data Analysis and Decision Making, Case Problems in Business Law and Business Policy.
Accreditation
Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AASCB)
Contact
Eberly College of Business, Room 208
664 Pratt Drive
Indiana, PA 15705
724-357-2522
Keystone College
Masters Degrees
Established in 1868, Keystone College is one of the oldest schools of higher learning in Pennsylvania. The college offers one of the top online Master’s in Accounting programs in Pennsylvania, which is open to students who meet its admissions requirements. Incoming students must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited school and submit transcripts that show they maintained a 3.0 GPA in college. Though the program is open to students with a degree in any field, those who did not study finance or accounting as an undergrad will need to take a few prerequisites, including Cost Accounting, Auditing and Managerial Accounting.
Accountancy MAcc
The Keystone College accountancy program features shorter classes than other programs do. All the classes that students take run for only seven weeks. They’ll take two classes during each session, which lets them focus solely on the topics addressed in those courses. Ranked among the more affordable online graduate accounting degree programs, this program requires that students take classes during the fall, spring and summer sessions. Students can finish their degrees in two years of study or less. They’ll take classes like Corporate Law and Regulations, Corporate and Partnership Taxation and Government and Fund Accounting.
Accreditation
International Assembly for Collegiate BusinessEducation (IACBE)
Contact
One College Green
P.O. Box 50
La Plume, PA 18440-0200
(800) 824-2764
King’s College
Graduate Majors
When looking at Master’s in Accounting programs in Pennsylvania, it’s important that students look at the opportunities that each college or university offers. King’s College offers a number of professional opportunities for students to help them find jobs and learn more about the accounting field. The college hosts three career fairs each year that bring accounting firms from across the nation to its small campus. It also has its own recruiting website that allows students to search for jobs. King’s College puts different assessment tools online too that help students assess their skills and see how well they understand accounting principles.
Master of Science in Accountancy
This Master of Science in Accountancy program is a joint program between King’s College and the University of Notre Dame. The Mendoza College of Business at Notre Dame worked with the college to design a one-year full-time program for students who studied accounting during their undergrad years. Students can enroll in the tax services track or in the track dedicated to financial reporting and assurance services. This program only accepts students who scored at least 620 on the GMAT and have a cumulative GPA of 3.4 or higher. Students must also receive a letter of recommendation from the chair of the accounting department.
Accreditation
Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)
Contact
133 North River Street
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711
1-888-KINGS-PA
La Roche College
Management Division
Located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, La Roche College is a private university. Founded in 1963 by the Sisters of Divine Providence, it retains a deep connection to and affiliation with the Catholic Church. With an enrollment of around 1,400 students, La Roche offers students the chance to form deep connections with their instructors and with other students. The college has a small class size and keeps classes low with a highly selective admissions policy. Though many of its students identify as Catholic, the college accepts students of any religious denomination who have a commitment to their education.
Master of Science in Accounting
The Accounting Department and Management Division at La Roche College worked together to create a Master of Science in Accounting program that covers all accounting principles and important subjects. Called one of the top Master’s in Accounting programs in Pennsylvania, this program features just 10 classes, including Wealth Management, Contemporary Issues in Taxation, Advanced Forensic Accounting, The Business of Reading & Writing and Modern Accounting Information Systems. La Roche also offers a 4 + 1 accounting program. During their senior years, students in this program can take some graduate classes, which allows them to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees in five years.
Accreditation
Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP)
Contact
9000 Babcock Blvd.
Pittsburgh, PA 15237
(412) 367-9300
Lehigh University
Academics
Lehigh University received high marks and reports from the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) in terms of what students said after completing its accounting program. Graduates reported that they would likely recommend the program to others and that they learned skills in the program that they use in their jobs. The university puts this information online and allows prospective students to see what graduates said before they enroll. TFE Times ranks the Lehigh program within the top 25 of all accounting graduate programs. It also ranks as one of the top Master’s in Accounting programs in Pennsylvania and in the east.
MSAIA Program
Though Lehigh doesn’t offer concentrations like other schools do, it does give students the chance to take electives in certain accounting subjects, including finance, management and marketing. They can also bring in up to six credits from another school and transfer those c, edits into this program. Students completing the whole program at Lehigh will need to take 12 classes. The university requires that students maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher in all those classes. Lehigh allows students to check out virtual information sessions and see professors talking to students before they apply or take any classes.
Accreditation
Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)
Contact
27 Memorial Dr. W
Bethlehem, PA 18015
(610) 758-3000
Mount Aloysius College
Majors & Programs
Founded in 1853, Mount Aloysius College is a private college in Pennsylvania that offers degrees at the upper and lower levels. It’s one of the only full colleges in the state that offers associate degree programs for students. As a liberal arts school, the college requires that students at all levels take some general education courses to complement and supplement their studies. Students can also do practicums and gain more experience in a specific field. Graduate students can sign up for internships that allow them to gain some experience and course credit. Internships are available with some local accounting firms.
Business Administration (Masters)
Though MAC does not offer a standard accounting program, it does offer a Business Administration/MBA program with a concentration in accounting. Other concentrations are available in nonprofit management, health and human services administration and project management. This program combines evening classes with online courses. Students can take classes on the campus later in the day and after they finish working, but they’ll also have the chance to take classes from home. A 4 + 1 version of the program is also available for undergrads. They can take four years of undergrad and graduate classes to finish a bachelor’s degree and take one more year of classes to finish an MBA.
Accreditation
Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP)
Contact
7373 Admiral Peary Highway
Cresson, PA 16630
(888) 823-2220
Neumann University
Adult and Graduate
More than 80 percent of students attending Neumann University receive some form of financial aid, which makes it accounting program one of the more affordable Master’s in Accounting programs in Pennsylvania. The federal loans that students receive help cover some or all the costs they have. Students will find that this is a hybrid program that features both offline work and some online work. They can take classes on the Aston campus and interact with other students and their teachers in an online format. Neumann allows full-time students to finish all their classes within 18 months.
MS in Accounting
A unique aspect of this accounting program is that it has an emphasis on forensics and fraud detection. Students learn how to track financial information online and on computers. Some of its graduates now work for government agencies and help track terrorists and other types of criminals. The program teaches students how to find and gather evidence of crimes and how to analyze financial statements for signs of fraud. Though students can take different classes, they’ll take some of the same courses, including Forensic Accounting and Fraud Prevention, Financial Statement Analysis and Fraud and Business Ethics and Forensic Accounting.
Accreditation
Accreditation Council for Business Schools & Programs (ACBSP)
Contact
One Neumann Dr.
Aston, PA 19014
(610) 361-5208
Penn State Harrisburg
School of Business Administration
Pennsylvania State University operates several campuses in Pennsylvania. The branch located in Harrisburg uses the name Penn State Harrisburg. Established in 1966, this campus has authority from Penn State to offer both undergrad and graduate degree programs. Though this campus is smaller than the main campus, it still has an enrollment of more than 4,000 students. The university offers a Master of Professional Accounting that is suitable for those who have a bachelor’s degree in accounting or any related field. Completing this program will help students meet all the requirements for sitting for the Pennsylvania CPA exam.
Master of Professional Accounting
Penn State offered its Master of Professional Accounting degree program on its campuses for several years, but this program is now only available through its World Campus. The World Campus replaced the distanced education programs offered by the university in the past. Students will take a total of 30 credits of work, which equals out to 10 classes. The program teaches students how to evaluate financial documents and accounting problems and how to solve the problems they find. In addition to offering one of the top Master’s in Accounting programs in Pennsylvania, this branch of Penn State also offers an accounting certificate program and an MBA program with an accounting concentration.
Accreditation
Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)
Contact
777 West Harrisburg Pike
Middletown, PA 17057
(717) 948-6000
Penn State Main Campus
Graduate Programs
Penn State is one of the most recognizable and well-known colleges in the world. It ranks as one of the top schools in the nation and as one of the world’s best colleges. The Smeal College of Business received a number of accolades over the years too. Both Economist and Financial Times ranks its MBA program as one of the best in the world, and U.S. News & World Report and others rank its MBA program as one of the best in America. This school also offers an accounting program for graduate students that is quite popular.
Accounting (IACCT)
The Accounting program that Penn State offers ranks among the best Master’s in Accounting programs in Pennsylvania. This is a professional program designed for students who studied business at the undergrad level. Students who graduated from Penn State and the Smeal College of Business may have the option of transferring in some of their undergrad courses. Students will typically take 10 required classes and some electives at the 500-level through the 800-level. Those courses will include Governmental and Nonprofit Accounting, Accounting Information and Decision Systems, Forensic Accounting and Litigation Support and Financial Reporting. The university doesn’t have a final project or thesis requirement.
Accreditation
Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)
Contact
210 Business Building
University Park, PA 16802
(814) 863-1947
Taking the CPA exam is just one thing that a student can do after finishing an accounting program. Students can also take other licensing exams before finding work anywhere in the country. Before they can take any of those exams, they’ll need to complete one of the Master’s in Accounting programs in Pennsylvania or another state.
Continue here: Master’s in Accounting Degree Programs in Pennsylvania (Q-Z)
