Accounting

The Master of Professional Accountancy (MPAcc) degree program is a one-year full-time (or two-years part-time) program designed to prepare students for successful careers in the field of public accounting. Students complete a rigorous program that develops their technical knowledge, ethical decision-making ability, communication competence, and research and critical-thinking skills.

Program Candidates

The program is particularly well suited for the following groups of prospective applicants:

1. Individuals with a degree in business or other non-accounting discipline who are interested in making a professional career change to accounting to become a CPA.
2. International students with a bachelor’s degree in accounting or another discipline who want to obtain CPA licensure in the United States.

A. Admission Criteria

Successful applicants must have:

1. A four-year baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution.
2. Good academic standing at the last college or university attended.
3. Earned one of the following:
   1. A minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 in all units attempted as an undergraduate, independent of when the degree was granted; or,
   2. A minimum grade point average of 3.0 in the last 60 semester/90 quarter units attempted from all postsecondary institutions attended, including all units from the entire semester or quarter in which the 60/90 units began; or,
   3. An acceptable postbaccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution with:
      1. A minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 in all units attempted as an undergraduate, or
      2. A minimum grade point average of 3.0 in the last 60 semester/90 quarter units attempted from all postsecondary institutions attended.
4. Successfully completed Introduction to Financial Accounting (with a “B” or higher) and Introduction to Managerial Accounting (with a “B” or higher) from a regionally accredited university or community college.
5. A GMAT score in the top 50th percentile of both verbal and quantitative, or GRE equivalent, unless applicants have earned a graduate degree, or an undergraduate degree with a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher, from a regionally accredited institution.
   Also, the Nazarian MPAcc Admissions Committee may, at its discretion, waive the GMAT/GRE requirement for applicants who have both: (a) a minimum 3.0 GPA in the last 60 units taken at a regionally accredited academic institution of higher education and (b) professional work experience of at least four years.

B. Requirements for the Degree

To earn the Master of Professional Accountancy, candidates must complete the 32 units of coursework as described below with a 3.0 or higher GPA. The maximum time allowable to complete the degree is five calendar years from the date of admission.

1. Required Courses (29 units)

ACCT 511 Accounting Ethics and Professional Responsibilities (3)
ACCT 536 Accounting for Governmental and Nonprofit Entities (3)
ACCT 600 Taxation of Individuals and Property Transactions (3)
ACCT 605 Introduction to Audit and Attestation (3)
ACCT 620A Financial Accounting Reporting I (3)
ACCT 620B Financial Accounting Reporting II (3)
ACCT 620C Financial Accounting Reporting III (3)
ACCT 624 Advanced Audit and Attestation (2)
ACCT 625 Federal Taxation of Entities (3)
IS 530 Accounting Information Systems (3)

2. Culminating Experience (3 units)

ACCT 697 Directed Comprehensive Studies in Accountancy (3)

Total Units Required for the MPAcc Degree: 32