Four UAB Pathways to Accounting and Finance Careers
The University of Alabama at Birmingham is also featured in our ranking Top 15 Online Master’s in Forensic Accounting.
Modernized in Summer 2018 for $3.5 million, the Charles & Patsy Collat School of Business is a 108,000-square-foot NSF Innovative Corps Site granting the Finance B.S. for University of Alabama at Birmingham undergrads called to better allocate corporate assets. Overseen by Dr. Arline Savage, the 120-credit, AACSB-accredited major boasts 82 percent retention in three specializations: Real Estate, Investments & Institutions, or Financial Management. Practice-based courses, such as Equity Analysis and Security Trading, are accessed in Forbes’ 163rd best city or wholly online for $441 per credit. Juniors upholding a 3.5 GPA or better can apply to the Business Honors Program until October 15th. More options include utilizing the Bloomberg Finance Lab, joining the FMA, and attending Fall Break in Denmark.
Endorsed by the Institute of Management Accountants, the Accounting B.S. maintains a 19:1 ratio for UAB undergrads to actively engage in financial reporting practice online via Canvas or at the Collat School’s 13th Street location. Chaired by Dr. Teri Conover, the 120-credit, four-year plan offers CMA examination prep with two concentrations in Forensic Accounting and Information Technology Auditing. Since 2012, the Ollie Powers Accounting Bootcamp has accompanied in-depth courses like Cost Analysis and Income Taxation. On HireABlazer, students can find placements, such as KPMG, Brasfield & Gorrie, and Stone Avant & Daniels, for 150-hour internships. Majors might pledge Beta Alpha Psi, earn the $2,500 Debra Linton Scholarship, and take the 4+1 MAc Fast Track too.
Ranked 51st on the U.S. News & World Report, the UAB Collat School of Business presently bills $32,640 total for a Master of Accounting that’s designated an Internal Audit Education Partner for the best financial examination training. Directed by Dr. James Byrd Jr. since 2014, the 30-credit curriculum takes as little as 12 months online or through evening Birmingham courses after 5:00PM. Non-accounting bachelor’s grads meeting the 3.0 GPA minimum can start with prerequisites in the Bridge Program. Opportunities include engaging in the Regions Institute for Financial Education, joining the NABA Chapter, attending the Accounting Job Fair, and adding the Non-Profit Management Certificate. Graduate classes from Tax Entities to Cyber Attacks help achieve a median CPA pass rate of 80 percent.
Selectively admitting cohorts of 60 with a mean 507 GMAT mark, the MBA for the University of Alabama at Birmingham has August 1st, December 1st, and May 1st yearly deadlines to begin four concentration tracks, including Finance. Administered by Dr. Eric Jack, the 2009 President’s Award for Excellence recipient, the 39-credit degree ranks 32nd regionally on The Economist for decision-oriented leadership training. Dual MSHA, ASEM, and MD Tracks abound to build atop evening or Canvas courses like Financial Risk Analysis. Hands-on investing practice is obtained with the $550,000 UAB Green & Gold Fund applauded in BusinessWeek magazine. Post-grads could also add the 15-credit Certificate in Healthcare Financial Management to take HFMA credentialing exams for hospital jobs.
About University of Alabama at Birmingham
The University of Alabama at Birmingham is one of the three campuses that make up the University of Alabama school system. Before becoming a university, it served as a branch of the University of Alabama called the Birmingham Extension Center, which opened in the 1930s. This center was so small that it held classes in a former private home. When the university moved its School of Medicine to the city in the 1950s, enrollment in the center grew rapidly. This new school also took over the operations of two local hospitals and later opened a separate hospital for children. The university merged its School of Medicine with the Birmingham Extension Center in 1969 to create the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
UAB now has the largest campus in the region. That campus covers more than 80 blocks and features three sections that are each home to different departments and colleges. The university ranks as one of the top schools in America, according to U.S. News and World Report, Forbes, ARWU and Washington Monthly. It also ranks as one of the top colleges in the south on the list produced by The Princeton Review. UAB is a large public university with an enrollment of more than 21,000 students.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham Accreditation Details
Accounting grad students who took prerequisites in college or took graduate courses already can show the university those classes and possibly gain course credit because UAB has regional accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCC). This also allows any student who wants to use the FAFSA to file that document and apply for federal financial aid. The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) granted specialty accreditation to UAB for all its business programs, which includes its undergrad and graduate accounting programs.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham Application Requirements
The deadline for graduate students who want to start UAB in the fall is August 1, but the university will accept applications up through December 1 for those who want to start in the spring. Select programs may have their own deadlines for applications. Though UAB offers summer classes, it does not let new grad students start in the summer. Those who do not have a strong accounting background or a business degree may need to take some prerequisites in the summer before starting the full program in the fall.
There is a standard $50 application fee that a student must pay when he or she finishes the application. UAB recommends that students create a new account on the application site and that they keep track of their login details, which they’ll use to log in and check on the status of the application later. All programs ask for an official test score from the GMAT, GRE or another exam, but the university will accept both paper and electronic scores. Students can use the application dashboard to view any other requirements they must meet. They may need to supply three letters of recommendation, a resume and/or some type of writing sample.
Tuition and Financial Aid
UAB allows students from any state to apply and take graduate classes online for the same rate that Alabama residents pay. Its traditional degree programs charge nonresidents a slightly higher rate. Online graduate students pay $534 per credit hour for any business classes they take, which will include accounting courses. They are responsible for any other fees charged by the university and for anything they need in their classes, including any supplies or books.
To qualify for the federal government’s loan program, students must use the FAFSA. As long as they take at least a half course load, they qualify for a loan of more than $20,000 a year. The government allows students to borrow the same amount each year too. Students must log into their UAB accounts and complete online counseling before the university will disperse their loans. They will also need to accept their loans online too. UAB offers information for students who want to use alternative loans also. Though the University of Alabama at Birmingham accepts private loans, it recommends that students look at all their funding options before borrowing more money.