MASTER OF SCIENCE IN ACCOUNTING ONLINE

Be Greater Than the Sum

Stand out with advanced accounting expertise, business acumen, and an understanding of the human side of accounting.

• 100% online
• 30-credit curriculum
• Graduate in 20 months
• Provides 30 credits toward your CPA exam

Leading your organization demands more than strong financial knowledge. Business acumen and human management skills are vital to success. That's why the online Master of Science in Accounting (MSA) at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota infuses soft skills as well as advanced accounting expertise to connect with the human side of accounting.

The online MSA program was developed in collaboration with CPA firm partners, CFOs, and other accounting leaders who know the day-to-day demands of the financial services industry. Unlike other graduate programs that focus solely on advanced accounting skills, the core curriculum of Saint Mary's program emphasizes highly relevant business topics such as financial communication, leadership, ethics, information systems, and strategic management.

Gain in-depth knowledge of corporate responsibility, strategic planning, and loss prevention and become an accounting expert with Saint Mary's online Master of Science in Accounting. While you earn your degree, you'll gain the credits and knowledge required to sit for the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam, as well as the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) certification.**

Program Highlights

• Career Advancement: From courses in leadership to communication, the core of this curriculum prepares you for advancement into leadership and management positions in nearly any accounting setting, including strategic cost management and information systems management.
• Exam Prep Discount: Receive credits toward those required to sit for the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam, and learn content knowledge to help prepare you for the CPA exam and/or the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) certification while earning your degree. As a student in this program, you'll receive a $700 discount for the CMA Platinum Review Course and a $750 discount on the CPA Gold Review Course.***
• Graduate Certificate Offerings: Course credits taken through the online Accounting Leadership graduate certificate can be added to the M.S. in Accounting degree — The Saint Mary’s Accelerators are a carefully crafted series of master’s-level graduate certificates designed to advance your career to help you meet personal and professional goals. Graduate certificates can be taken individually to help you build a robust professional toolkit, or can be coupled with our degree programs to customize your learning experience and prepare you for the next step in your career.
• Real-Time Applied Learning: With innovative courses like forensic accounting and non-profit accounting, you can apply what you learn in class to your career the next day.
• Industry Experts: Our faculty are practitioners and leaders in the field of accounting. Learn from and network with real professionals who know the demands of accounting, management, and financial strategy.
• Succeed with Saint Mary's: From technical to academic support, our caring instructors and staff provide multiple layers of support to help you achieve your educational and professional goals. With 100 years of academic tradition, Saint Mary's is regularly ranked among the nation's top higher education institutions by U.S. News & World Report, the Princeton Review, and Forbes.

Program Outcomes

• Use advanced accounting knowledge to address organizational issues
• Evaluate complex accounting situations
• Assess emerging and global accounting issues that can contribute to organizational success
• Articulate a process for making ethical decisions
• Manage accounting teams to achieve established goals
• Communicate complex financial information in a clear and concise manner

Graduate Certificate Options to Deepen Your Knowledge

Saint Mary’s Accelerators provide graduate-level, transcribable, courses of study to help you streamline your educational and career goals. Use the skills you learn in a graduate certificate to design a custom learning experience by stacking additional certificates or using your certificate to create a powerful graduate degree experience. With the online Accounting Leadership graduate certificate program, Individual and Team Leadership certificate or an Organizational Change and Leadership certificate, dive in and explore real-world case studies to practice and hone your skills with limited time and financial investment. 

Visually showcase your leadership skills as well as the skillsets you've gained through Saint Mary's Accounting Leadership Certificate program when you earn your digital badges after completion of each course. Current and potential employers, credentialing programs, admissions offices, and colleagues will be able to view your badges to verify your new earn skillset!

Curriculum: More Than the Numbers

Our faculty is made up of experts who know that succeeding in accounting is about more than the numbers. Our 30-credit curriculum is full of cutting-edge accounting methods but also incorporates management, leadership, and strategy to give you everything you'll need to lead. Sample courses include:

Career Outlook

If you're looking to advance into management or take on financial strategy in a new sector, opportunities in accounting are growing, as of May 2018 the median annual salary for accountants and auditors was $70,500, with employment projected to grow 10 percent from 2018 to 2028, faster than average for all occupations.¹

See more on the career outlook for an online Master of Science in Accounting.

Opportunity in Your Hands

Master the Human Side of Accounting

Propel your career with a Master of Science in Accounting that prepares you for a new level of opportunity and success. Request more informationor contact an enrollment counselor at 877-308-9954.

*Additional fees may apply, and tuition rates are subject to change.

**Certification requirements vary by state; it is the responsibility of individual students to review all requirements and criteria for the state in which they are seeking certification.

***You must use your Saint Mary's email to purchase these products or you run the risk of losing access to the materials after you purchase them. Emails are routinely monitored to ensure compliance

Sources:

¹Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Accountants and Auditors. Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/accountants-and-auditors.htm.
²Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Budget Analysts. Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/budget-analysts.htm.
³Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Financial Analysts. Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/financial-analysts.htm.