MS in Accounting

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

SUNY Geneseo has an active recruiting process 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, numerous regional firms, in corporate accounting and government. SUNY Geneseo has strong connections to several New York City-based firms and its Accounting Society operates an annual fall networking trip to the city.

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

Cost

Graduate tuition and fees at SUNY Geneseo is $12,295 for New York State residents. For non-residents, tuition and fees is $24,515 (2023-2024).

This price is extremely competitive with other options for graduate study in the Rochester area and beyond.

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.

GMAT Requirement Waived

The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) requirement is waived for applicants who meet the following criteria:
a) They have earned, or expect to earn before entering the program, a bachelor’s degree in accounting from an accredited institution within the last five years.
b) They have achieved a cumulative GPA of 3.20 or higher.

The GMAT is also waived for applicants who successfully complete the Geneseo Accounting Advisory Pathway (GAAP).

The One Year Program

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

One Year Program Details

The MS in Accounting, an online and in-person hybrid program, 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
MGMT 522 Quantitative Analysis
FNCE 530 Strategic Equity Valuation
MGMT 550 Information Systems Theory and Practice

Spring Courses

ACCT 503 Strategic Management Accounting
ACCT 520 Advanced Auditing Theory
ACCT 530 Theory and Research
ECON 525 Managerial Economic Analysis
MGMT 500 Leadership

The five accounting courses will cover topics in financial, managerial, and tax accounting, advanced audit and a capstone in financial accounting theory and research.

Courses with a management, economics, or finance prefix will cover information systems, quantitative methods, managerial economics, advanced financial management, and electives.

See descriptions for each of these courses.

The Geneseo Accounting Advisory Pathway (GAAP)

For international students and business students who don't have an undergraduate background in accounting.

GAAP Details

Students with an undergraduate degree in business, or international students with an undergraduate accounting degree which did not include a focus on U.S. Taxation or U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, can elect a pathway whose successful completion guarantees admission to the SUNY Geneseo MS in Accounting. This sequence of courses can be completed on a four-course-per-semester basis, with the option of taking additional electives at any time. The student is non-matriculated in the first year, and a student in our MS in Accounting program in the second year.

Students applying for this sequence must provide evidence of having completed Introductory Financial and Managerial Accounting (courses similar to SUNY Geneseo's ACCT 102 and ACCT 103) and a minimum of 21 hours of general business courses (see a schedule of topical areas that meet the New York State requirements for CPA licensure). SUNY Geneseo offers both courses online each semester.

In certain circumstances, students whose prior preparation does not include the 21 hours of general business courses may be able to make up this deficiency in the first year of the integrated sequence. Students must earn a B (3.0 GPA) in any 300-level SUNY Geneseo course. SUNY Geneseo will assist you with a transcript analysis in order to determine your eligibility. 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 270 Managerial Accounting I
ACCT 301 Intermediate Financial Accounting I
ACCT 310 Tax Accounting I
MGMT 550 Information Systems Theory and Practice

Year One (Spring)

ACCT 302 Intermediate Financial Accounting II
ACCT Elective
FNCE 311 Managerial Finance (or other business elective)
MGMT 500 Leadership in Organizations

Summer Session (May - June)

ACCT 320 Auditing I

Year Two (Fall)

ACCT 502 Advanced Financial Accounting
ACCT 510 Advanced Taxation Accounting
FNCE 530 Strategic Equity Valuation
MGMT 522 Data Analysis and Visualization

Year Two (Spring)

ACCT 503 Strategic Management Accounting
ACCT 520 Advanced Auditing Theory
ACCT 530 Theory and Research
ECON 525 Managerial Economic Analysis

Minimum Prerequisites for Admission to GAAP

Introduction to Financial Accounting (ACCT 102) and Introduction to Managerial Accounting (ACCT 103), or their equivalents.
18 hours of credits in general business topics, or the ability to ensure that the applicant will have completed a minimum of 36 hours by the time of graduation with the MS degree.
Completion before the fall semester of the second year of Organization Behavior (MGMT 300), Managerial Finance (FNCE 311), Ethical Issues in Business (PHIL 237) and Business Communications (INTD 205), or their equivalents.

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.