Accounting and Finance Degree Programs Offered at Franklin University
Franklin University is also featured in our ranking of the Top 35 Most Affordable Online Bachelor’s in Finance.
Associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s degree programs are available from Franklin University for students who want to study finance or accounting. The Associate of Science (AS) in Accounting program includes a business core with Financial Accounting and Managerial Accounting and a major core that includes Intermediate Accounting I and II and Federal Income Tax I. Students can earn an AS in Financial Management or Forensic Accounting also. The forensic accounting program lets students take Legal Elements of Fraud and Internal Control Assessment. Principles of Finance, Investments and Money, Banking and Financial Markets are some of the courses available for financial management majors.
Two finance and two accounting programs are available for students at the bachelor’s level too. In the Bachelor of Science (BS) in Accounting, majors take 124 semester hours of classes unless they bring any credits with them. All accounting and finance majors take the same business core, which includes Managerial Accounting, Finance Accounting, Introduction to Microeconomics, Marketing and Principles of Management. Accounting majors will also take Intermediate Accounting I and II, Federal Income Tax I and II and Accounting Research and Analysis. The courses that forensic accounting majors take include Accounting Information Systems, Auditing, Cost Management, and Federal Income Tax.
Students seeking a bachelor’s degree can earn a BS in either Financial Management or Financial Planning. The financial management major teaches them how to manage financial resources for their clients. Investments, Global Finance, Money, Banking and Financial Markets and Tax Planning are some of the classes they can take. Those who choose the financial planning major focuses more on helping clients identify their financial goals and reach those goals. This program includes Principles of Financial Planning, Tax Planning, Estate Planning, Financial Plan Development, and Risk Management and Insurance Planning.
Also available is a Master of Science (MS) in Accounting, which prepares students to sit for the professional exams available in Ohio, Kentucky, and several other states. It takes only 17 months to complete the program as a full-time student. Majors take a four-credit capstone, 10 credits of required classes and 16 units of electives. Their required classes include Introduction to Research in Accounting, Financial Accounting Theory and Management Control Systems and Processes. They’ll then have the option of choosing electives in either taxation or financial operations.
About Franklin University
Franklin University is a private university system based out of Ohio that primarily offers classes in the Midwest. Established in 1902, it had an early affiliation with the YMCA that led to the campus being called the YMCA School of Commerce. Located inside a building on the YMCA Columbus campus in Ohio, the school later moved to a separate campus and adopted the Franklin University name while also ending its partnership with h YMCA. Franklin grew rapidly over the years and became a leading university in Ohio after adding new bachelor’s programs and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) program. Students can take classes on traditional campuses in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana or enroll in online programs. Franklin also owns and operates Urbana University in Urbana, Ohio as a private liberal arts college.
Franklin University Accreditation Details
Franklin University has regional accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) for its main campus and all its satellite campuses. This is why students at all levels can use the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) before they start classes at Franklin and get a financial aid package. The university’s accounting, finance, and business programs all have accreditation from the International Accreditation Council for Business Education (IACBE) too.
Franklin University Application Requirements
Students can apply to the Franklin University associate’s and bachelor’s programs in the same way. They need to show that they either have a high school diploma through an official transcript or that they possess a GED with a copy of that certificate. Students can also apply if they have an associate’s degree or a higher degree from a school with regional accreditation. Franklin will accept up to 24 transfer credits and can award students credits based on their resumes and professional experiences. The university asks for a completed application, which takes around 30 minutes to finish online. Once they get a decision, which takes two business days, the university will require a transcript or certificate.
Most of the graduate programs at Franklin take less than 20 months to complete. None of the accounting or other programs require a GRE score or a score from any other entrance exam. Franklin asks that incoming students have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree and a minimum grade point average of 2.75. Students with a lower GPA should submit a standardized test score to show the university that they are ready for graduate school. The accounting program requires that students take Financial Accounting and other prerequisite courses. This program has a final application deadline of July 15 for the fall semester. Though Franklin charges a $30 application fee, it will waive the fee if the student applies by the beginning of the year.
Tuition and Financial Aid
At Franklin University, undergrads pay $398 per credit hour in both the associate’s and bachelor’s degree programs. They pay $40 per credit hour to get credit for the professional experience and skills that they have. The university offers a service member discount for students in the military that reduces their rates to $250 per credit hour. Graduate students attending Franklin pay $670 per credit hour or $536 if they qualify for the military discount. If the student needs to take any prerequisites at the 500-level, the university will charge him or her $398 per credit hour for those classes alone.
Both government and institutional aid are available from Franklin for students in need. All it needs is an application and a FAFSA to design a financial aid package for a student. Students get more than $13 million in federal aid every year, including Pell grants, grants for students in the military, PLUS loans for parents and graduate students and standard subsidized and unsubsidized loans. Students who are 25 and younger can qualify for the Schell Loan Program, which lets students borrow up to $200 for each credit that they take. Franklin University offers financial aid packages for all accounting and finance majors at all levels.