MS in Accounting

The SUNY Geneseo School of Business is an AACSB International-accredited business school.

Geneseo offers two 30-credits graduate accounting programs that can be finished full-time in one year or part-time: (1) a hybrid program for students with an undergraduate accounting degree and who prefer in-person learning and (2) a fully online program for students without an undergraduate accounting degree and who value flexibility. Both programs provide a deep foundation in the core knowledge and skills required for professional success in the accounting field and meet New York State requirements for CPA licensure.

SUNY Geneseo puts strong emphasis on student placement and almost all students in the history of the program have graduated with job offers. MS Accounting alumni work at each of the Big 4 accounting firms, Deloitt, PWC, EY, KPMG, and numerous regional accounting firms such as DeJoy & Co, MMB+CO, Bonardio Group, as well as in corporations and governments. They contribute to the fields of public accounting, taxation, auditing, corporate accounting, and government accounting. SUNY Geneseo is proud of its strong and active alumni network that provides continuous support for its current students. The school organizes a New York City networking trip to visit NYC-based firms every fall and local trips to Rochester or Buffalo every spring to connect students with alumni and major employers.

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Want to speak to someone directly? Email gradadmissions@geneseo.edu or call 585-245-5040.

Tuition and Financial Support

Hybrid Program: NY State Residents ($5,655 per semester, $471 per credit, $11,310 per program); Non-Residents ($11,985 per semester, $999 per credit, $23,970 per program).

100% Online Program: NY State Resident ($5,655 per semester, $471 per credit, $11,310 per program); Non-Residents ($,6785 per semester, $565 per credit, $16,950 per program).

SUNY Geneseo provides scholarship and other financial supports for graduate students. Please contact: FinancialAid@geneseo.edu

Advantages of an MS in Accounting

Earning an MS in Accounting provides the following benefits:

Enhanced preparation: Fifth-year graduates will arrive in the workplace with a superior level of skills and knowledge. This frequently translates to more rapid advancement and enhanced career prospects.
Career planning flexibility: Professional mobility requires a CPA license or the ability to become licensed. Many states which already have 150-hour requirements will not provide reciprocity for out-of-state candidates who possess only 120 hours. The lack of 150 hours can adversely affect promotions contingent on a transfer, plans to move out-of-state, or advancement prospects in a market which includes some 150-hour jurisdictions (e.g. metro New York City).
Shortened experience requirement: Masters graduates need only one year of work in order to meet the experience requirement for CPA licensure.
Performance on the CPA exam: There is a growing body of evidence which shows significantly enhanced pass rates for fifth-year students.

Standardized Test Requirement

SUNY-Geneseo is a test optional school. The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) or Graduate Record Examination (GRE) requirement is waived for all applicants. .

Hybrid Graduate Program

For students who will have earned a bachelor's degree in accounting from a registered program before entering the MS program.

Hybrid Graduate Program Details

The hybrid MS in Accounting is designed as a full-time, academic year program that builds on the body of knowledge developed in the undergraduate accounting major. SUNY Geneseo's small classes, accessible faculty, and carefully designed curriculum all reflect the high quality of our highly regarded accounting program. Fall courses are held on campus so students and faculty can get acquainted and build working relationships. For spring semester courses, students have the option to attend classes on campus or virtually.

The MS in Accounting courses will be given in the following rotation:

Fall Courses

ACCT 502 Advanced Financial Accounting
ACCT 510 Advanced Taxation Accounting
ACCT 522 Data Analytics Tools for Accountants
FNCE 530 Strategic Equity Valuation
ACCT 508 Accounting Information Systems

Spring Courses

ACCT 503 Strategic Management Accounting
ACCT 520 Advanced Auditing Theory
ACCT 588 Special Topics in Accounting
ECON 525 Managerial Economic Analysis
MGMT500 Leadership

See descriptions for each of these courses.

100% Online Program

For students with a non-accounting undergraduate business degree, but is interested in switching to the accounting profession.

100% Online Program Details

The 100% online MS Accounting program is designed for students with a undergraduate business degree outside of the field of accounting. Students can choose to attend this program either full-time or part-time. The minimum requirement is to have taken Introduction to Financial Accounting (ACCT 102) and Introduction to Managerial Accounting (ACCT 103), or their equivalents and complete a minimum 21 hours of credits in general business topics (see a schedule of topical areas that meet the New York State requirements for CPA licensure). Students without meeting these requirements maybe conditionally admitted to the MS Accounting program through Geneseo Accounting Advisory Pathway (GAAP) program. If conditionally admitted, students need to make up for required undergraduate accounting and business courses before being formally accepted into the graduate program.

All candidates for the MS must assure themselves that, by anticipated completion of their Masters education, the student will meet New York State Education Department (NYSED) requirements of 33 semester hours in Accounting, 36 hours in general business, and 150 hours overall.

Courses will be given in the following rotation:

Year One (Fall)

ACCT 601 Financial Reporting I
ACCT 610 Personal Taxation
ACCT 508 Accounting Information Systems
ACCT 522 Data Analytics Tools for Accountants

Year One (Spring)

ACCT 602 Financial Reporting II
ACCT 503 Strategic Management Accounting
ACCT 510 Advanced Taxation Accounting
ACCT 595 Accounting Internships

Summer Session

ACCT 603 Financial Reporting III
ACCT 620 Auditing Theory

Geneseo Accounting Advisory Pathway Program (GAAP)

For international students with an undergraduate accounting degree which did not include a focus on U.S. Taxation or U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Also for domestic students with insufficient accounting and business courses to be admitted to the hybrid program or the 100% online program.

GAAP Program Details

Students will be conditionally admitted to either the hybrid or 100% online MS accounting program. The student is non-matriculated while completing the pathway courses. Contingent on the successful completion of the pathway courses, i.e., earn a 3.0 GPA in these courses, the student will matriculate into an MS Accounting program.

For example, for international students interested in the hybrid program, the GAAP courses can be taken in the following sequence:

Year 1 Fall Courses

ACCT 270 Managerial Accounting I
ACCT 301 Intermediate Financial Accounting I
ACCT 310 Tax Accounting I
ACCT 508 Accounting Information Systems

Year 1 Spring Courses

ACCT 302 Intermediate Financial Accounting II
ACCT 320 Auditing I
MGMT300 Organizational Behavior
MGMT500 Leadership in Organizations

See descriptions for each of these courses.

More Information

SUNY Geneseo's MS in Accounting has been designed to satisfy the New York State Department of Education requirements for CPA licensure, Option #2, which includes but are not limited to at least 33 semester hours in accounting with courses in financial accounting theory and principles, managerial accounting, U.S. federal tax accounting, auditing and computer auditing; and 36 semester hours in general business electives including business statistics, commercial law, computer science, economics, and finance. The combination of a Geneseo undergraduate accounting degree and MS will fulfill New York State requirements.

Please note that the SUNY Geneseo MS contains fifteen (15) semester hours of accounting; therefore prospective applicants from other schools should have completed a minimum of eighteen (18) semester hours of accounting coursework in order to be eligible for CPA licensure in New York State. Reference & additional information.

For additional information about the SUNY Geneseo MS in Accounting, contact:

Dr. Harry Howe
SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor & Director, Masters in Accounting Program
SUNY Geneseo
School of Business
South Hall 107
585-245-5465
howeh@geneseo.edu

For more information about the application process, financial aid, and scholarships and assistantships, please see the Graduate Admissions website or email gradadmissions@geneseo.edu.