Overview

The Master of Science in Accountancy and Accelerated MBA Dual Degree (MSA/MBA) program allows students to earn both a specialized Master's and MBA. Students complete the two degrees in sequence - Master of Science in Accountancy first, Accelerated MBA second. The dual degree is designed for students with an interest in broadening their business education beyond the scope of their first Master's program. The MSA offers two separate tracks in assurance and corporate accounting. This dual degree program will provide a robust framework for acquiring both depth and breadth in business education. 

Scholarships

University of Miami Herbert School of Business - Alumni Association Endowed Accounting Scholarships are available for students pursuing Graduate Studies in Accounting. Various other scholarships and assistantships may be available.

Accounting Summer Intensive Program

The Accounting Summer Intensive Program is designed for students who hold at least an undergraduate business degree in a field other than accounting from an accredited college or university and for foreign students.

Non-Accounting Majors

Students that have a non-accounting degree, preferably in business, can apply for admission to our Master of Science in Accountancy (MSA) and Summer Intensive Program. Applicants to the MSA program will automatically be considered applicants to the Accounting Summer Intensive Program if their undergraduate degree is not in accounting. Summer Intensive students entering the MSA  program must also take an advanced taxation course (ACC 639) which is offered following the Summer Intensive Program in an intersession format in August before the start of the fall semester. MSA students may complete the course in the summer or in term one of the spring semester. 

Foreign Students

The Accounting Summer Intensive Program is also designed to meet the needs of foreign students. Foreign students must have successfully completed two semesters of intermediate accounting, one semester of cost accounting, one semester of auditing, one semester of accounting information systems and one semester of tax at a U.S. university accredited by the AACSB or alternatively, must attend the Summer Intensive Program before enrolling in graduate accounting courses. Foreign students entering the MSA program must also take an advanced taxation course (ACC 639) which is offered following the Summer Intensive Program in an intersession format and in term one of the spring semester. Foreign applicants to the MSA program will automatically also be considered applicants to the Accounting Summer Intensive Program.

Program Schedule

The Accounting Summer Intensive Program is fast-paced and requires full-time attention. As its name implies, the program is intensive and not designed for students that are working even part-time. The 7-week program begins each year about July 1 and continues through mid-August and consists of two 3½ -week modules. Three 2-credit courses are included in each module. Students who want to take any additional graduate tax classes should also plan to take the advanced taxation course (ACC 639) which is offered following the Summer Intensive Program in a 9-day intersession format in August before the start of the fall semester.

Program Prerequisite Accounting Courses

Students entering the program are required to have previously completed introduction to financial accounting and management accounting at a US or foreign university.

Summer Intensive Program Course Offerings

The Summer Intensive Program includes the following six 2-credit upper division accounting courses that are prerequisites for graduate study.

ACC 632Intermediate Accounting I2
ACC 633Intermediate Accounting II2
ACC 634Cost Accounting2
ACC 635Auditing2
ACC 636Accounting Systems2
ACC 673Taxation for Business and Investment Decisions2

Note that the Summer Intensive Program does not include an advanced taxation course (the equivalent of ACC 404) which is a required prerequisite for most tax courses in the MST program. Accordingly, in addition to the six summer intensive courses, students entering the MST program must complete ACC 639 which is offered following the Summer Intensive  Program in an intersession format in August before the start of the fall semester.

Entering the MSA or MST Program

Upon successful completion of the intensive program, students immediately enter the MSA or MST program in the fall semester. To graduate with their MSA or MST degree, students must complete 30 credits beyond the 12-credit intensive program and may graduate in as little as two semesters, assuming they are full-time students.

CPA Licensure Requirements

Most of our students intend to become qualified as Certified Public Accountants (CPA). While the CPA exam is a national exam administered by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, its execution and CPA licensing practices are governed by state law. For example, some states require a certain number of credit hours in particular subjects and have overall accounting and business credit hour requirements. As such, you should check with the state in which you intend to practice to determine what the specific course requirements are for that state. Our department is unable to make a determination of your eligibility to sit for the CPA exam. This can only be done by the appropriate state board. Please find the licensure requirements for the State of Florida, here.

For your convenience, the Florida rules that apply to most individuals are summarized here. Please check the State of Florida Web site noted above for updates and rules which may apply in particular circumstances.

As of July 1, 2008 the Florida State Board of Accountancy (BOA) separated the requirements to become a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) into two parts: (1) the requirements to be eligible to take the CPA exam and (2) the requirements for licensure to practice as a CPA in Florida.

Requirements to Sit for the CPA Exam: To be eligible to take the CPA exam, applicants must have completed 120 semester hours including 24 semester hours of upper division (300-level or above) accounting to include auditing, cost and managerial accounting, financial accounting, accounting information systems, and taxation. Applicants must also complete 24 semester hours of upper division general business courses with some exceptions in that one microeconomics, one macroeconomics, one statistics, one business law, and one introduction to computers course may be lower division (freshman or sophomore level). As part of the general business hours, applicants are required to have a total of six semester hours of business law courses, which must cover contracts, torts, and the Uniform Commercial Code. Note that excess upper division accounting courses may be used to meet the general business requirement; however, elementary accounting classes are never acceptable for credit nor are courses for non-accounting majors and any MBA courses that are equivalent to elementary accounting.

The exam is offered in the following time periods; January – February, April – May, July – August and October – November. Note that applicants are not required to have a bachelor’s degree in order to sit for the CPA exam.

Requirements for Licensure: In addition to passing all four parts of the CPA exam with at least a 75% within 18 month rolling period, the Florida State Board of Accountancy requires that applicants have completed a bachelor’s degree plus an additional 30 hours for a total of 150 semester hours before you can become licensed as a CPA. One year of work experience under the supervision of a licensed CPA is now also required to become licensed. In addition to experience obtained in public accounting and government, Florida’s 2008 legislative change also allows experience obtained in industry and academia. This experience may be obtained before or after sitting for the exam, however, all requirements to sit for the exam must be met before the work experience commences. If you fail to apply for licensure within three years of receiving the licensure package, (sent after you pass all four parts) the CPA grades expire and you have to retake the examination.

The 150 semester hours must include a minimum of 36 semester hours of upper division accounting courses and at least 39 semester hours of upper division (with some exception) general business courses. Excess upper division accounting courses may be used to meet the general business requirement. Courses for non-accounting majors and any MBA courses that are equivalent to elementary accounting are not accepted for this requirement.

Licensed in Another State: If you are licensed in a state other than Florida you can obtain a license in Florida by a process called endorsement. You must provide evidence of meeting all of the requirements in effect at the time of your application. In addition if you passed the exam more than two years before applying you must provide evidence of meeting continuing professional education requirements.

CPA Accreditation Requirements

The Florida State Board of Accountancy accepts degrees from schools accredited by the following associations : Middle States Association, New England Association, North Central Association, Northwest Association, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Association of Independent Schools and Colleges who have been approved by the Florida State Board of Independent Colleges and Universities, and Canadian Schools who have been approved by their provincial educational bodies. If you have graduated from a school or college which is not accredited by the above mentioned means, then you must use the provisions of F.A.C. 61H1-27.001 (5) (see below).

Applicants Who Have Graduated from Non-Accredited Schools (61H1-27.001) (5)

Applicants who have graduated from a non-accredited school may still qualify to sit for the CPA examination. The candidate must take 15 semester hours of graduate classes. Those must consist of at least nine hours of graduate level accounting courses including a minimum of three semester hours of graduate tax. THESE HOURS MUST BE TAKEN AFTER ADMISSION TO GRADUATE SCHOOL. If the courses are taken before admission to a graduate program, the classes will not be accepted, even if the school includes them as part of the graduate program. These courses cannot duplicate other courses which the applicant has taken and they cannot be used to accredit the non-accredited degree and satisfy the educational requirements. The applicant must complete the graduate school courses to validate the non-accredited degree. The applicant must also meet all other requirements for endorsement or transfer of credit. An evaluation of foreign transcripts must be completed by an evaluation service which has been approved by the Board (see Board Approval Evaluation Services).

Duplicate Courses

No credit will be given for courses which duplicate another course for which the applicant has received credit. CPA review courses are considered as duplicates.

Admission Requirements

For admission to MSA , based on an undergraduate degree from an accredited U.S. institution, we consider the applicant’s:

  • Undergraduate grade point average
  • GMAT score
  • Grades in specific accounting courses
  • Rigor of the undergraduate program
  • Other factors such as work experience.

Admission decisions are made on a competitive basis from the applicant pool. Undergraduate students from the University of Miami that have a grade point average of 3.4 or higher do not have to take the GMAT exam. In addition individuals who have demonstrated their ability to do graduate work in accounting by becoming a CPA or who have earned a graduate degree from a business school accredited by the AACSB are also waved from the requirement to take the GMAT exam.

Students without an undergraduate degree in accounting will be required to take certain prerequisite courses to secure admission. These prerequisites will depend upon the undergraduate major and previous accounting courses taken. Necessary prerequisite accounting courses can be taken in the University of Miami’s Accounting Summer Intensive Program, which is a seven-week program beginning in early July.

Foreign students must provide evidence of proficiency in English by supplying a TOEFL score. Additionally, foreign students must have successfully completed two semesters of intermediate accounting, one semester of cost accounting, one semester of auditing, one semester of accounting systems and one semester of tax at a U.S. university accredited by the AACSB before enrolling in graduate accounting courses. Alternatively, foreign students may attend the University of Miami’s Accounting Summer Intensive Program to fulfill this requirement.

Dual Degree Admission Process

Students can apply for the dual degree upon initializing their application. Students may also consider applying for the Accelerated MBA while they are enrolled in the Master of Science in Accountancy.

Master of Science in Accountancy + Accelerated MBA Dual Degree (MSA/MBA)

Master of Science in Accountancy

The MSA program offers two tracks: Assurance (MSA-Assurance) for students planning to go into public accounting and Corporate Accounting (MSA-Corporate) for students planning careers as controllers, CFOs or financial analysts. The MSA is designed for the student who has taken the accounting and related courses required for an undergraduate major in accounting or other undergraduate business majors who have successfully completed the Accounting Summer Intensive Program. These students should be able to complete the MSA in a year or less provided they enroll as full time students.

Undergraduate Course Requirements

The courses listed below are undergraduate prerequisites that, unless already completed, must be fulfilled in order to be admitted for graduate study. For most graduate tax classes including ACC 648 Financial Reporting Implications of Income Taxes., the equivalent of ACC 404 Advanced Taxation(Corporate and Partnership Income Taxation) is also required. Students can satisfy this prerequisite by taking ACC 639 Income Taxation and Business Entitles which is offered in a 9-day intersession format in August before the start of the fall semester. If a candidate does not have an undergraduate business degree, additional business prerequisites (economics, marketing, management, finance and others) will also be required.

ACC 211Principles of Financial Accounting3
ACC 212Managerial Accounting3
ACC 301Cost Accounting3
ACC 311Intermediate Accounting I3
ACC 312Intermediate Accounting II3
ACC 402Auditing3
ACC 403Fundamentals of Taxation3
ACC 404Advanced Taxation3
ACC 406Accounting Systems3

Master of Science in Accountancy—Assurance Track (MSA-Assurance)

The program requires 30 semester hours consisting of nine required courses and the balance of approved elective courses provided the student has an undergraduate degree in Accounting, or its equivalent, from an accredited institution. In addition to the nine required courses, students must select four courses from the designated course list.  Other courses can be selected from the list of approved electives or in consultation with the program director. Courses with a 600-level designation are designed for graduate students. Courses with a 500-level designation are open to upper-level undergraduate students and do not count toward the MSA degree. Unless otherwise noted, courses in the program are two semester hours (two credits).

Master of Science in Accountancy—Corporate Accounting Track (MSA-Corporate)

The program requires 30 semester hours consisting of eight required courses and the balance of approved elective courses provided the student has an undergraduate degree in Accounting, or its equivalent, from an accredited institution. In addition to the eight required courses, students must select five courses from the designated course list.  Other courses can be selected from the list of approved electives or in consultation with the program director. Courses with a 600-level designation are designed for graduate students. Courses with a 500-level designation are open to upper-level undergraduate students and do not count toward the MSA degree. Unless otherwise noted, courses in the program are two semester hours (two credits).

Accelerated MBA Program

The Accelerated MBA program at the University of Miami Herbert Business School allows students to fast-track their career through hands-on opportunities in the city that is shaping the future of business. The Accelerated MBA gives eligible students the unique opportunity to earn an MBA in less than a year.  Candidates with an undergraduate degree in business or a graduate degree in business or related discipline are encouraged to apply. The program begins in May and runs through December, for a duration of 7 months.

Curriculum Requirements - MSA (Assurance Track) + MBA

MSA REQUIREMENTS
Required Courses14
Capstone: Financial Reporting Research
Advanced Issues in Auditing
Introduction to Accounting Analytics
International Financial Reporting Standards
Accounting for Income Taxes
Financial Statement Analysis
Communicating for Career Success
Additional Courses 116
The remaining courses will be selected from the following or other courses approved by the program director and a pre-approved list will be provided:
Cases in Financial Reporting Issues
Seminar in Cost Accounting
Internal Auditing
Auditing Seminar
Accounting Controls in Information Technology
International Accounting and Taxation
Accounting for Governmental and Not-for-Profit Entities
Litigation and Advisory Services
Accounting Regulations and Complliance
Corporate Taxation I
Corporate Taxation II
Seminar in Taxation
Financial Reporting Regulatory Issues in Complex Deals
Forensic Accounting
Directed Readings (Internal Auditing Internship)
Advanced Business Law
The Public Corporation: Legal Perspectives
Financial Investment
Corporate Finance
Applied Regression Analysis I
Data Acquisition, Preparation, and Visualization
Machine Learning for Data Analytics I
MBA REQUIREMENTS
Required Courses
BSL 690Responsible Business2
BTE 610Digital Transformation2
BUS 628Applied Career Experience Projects3
FIN 641Valuation and Financial Decision Making2
FIN 642The Financial Environment2
MAS 632Management Science Models for Decision Making2
MGT 622High Performance Teams2
MGT 623Human Resource Systems2
MGT 677Corporate Strategy and Organization2
MKT 641Marketing Research and Decision Making2
MKT 650Strategic Marketing2
Additional Required Courses 2
Electives8
Total Credit Hours61
1

Any other electives must be selected in consultation with the Program Director.

2

8 credits of electives are required. Elective offerings are based on class demand.

Curriculum Requirements - MSA (Corporate Track) + MBA

MSA REQUIREMENTS
Required Courses13
Internal Auditing
Capstone: Financial Reporting Research
Introduction to Accounting Analytics
International Financial Reporting Standards
Accounting for Income Taxes
Financial Statement Analysis
Communicating for Career Success
Additional Courses 117
Cases in Financial Reporting Issues
Seminar in Cost Accounting
Auditing Seminar
Accounting Controls in Information Technology
Advanced Issues in Auditing
International Accounting and Taxation
Accounting for Governmental and Not-for-Profit Entities
Litigation and Advisory Services
Accounting Regulations and Complliance
Corporate Taxation I
Corporate Taxation II
Seminar in Taxation
Taxation of Multinational Corporations
Financial Reporting Regulatory Issues in Complex Deals
Forensic Accounting
Directed Readings
Advanced Business Law
The Public Corporation: Legal Perspectives
Financial Investment
Quantitative Stock Portfolio Management
International Finance
Corporate Finance
Advanced Topics in Corporate Finance
Mergers and Acquisitions
Applied Regression Analysis I
Data Acquisition, Preparation, and Visualization
Machine Learning for Data Analytics I
MBA REQUIREMENTS
Required Courses
BSL 690Responsible Business2
BTE 610Digital Transformation2
BUS 628Applied Career Experience Projects3
FIN 641Valuation and Financial Decision Making2
FIN 642The Financial Environment2
MAS 632Management Science Models for Decision Making2
MGT 622High Performance Teams2
MGT 623Human Resource Systems2
MGT 677Corporate Strategy and Organization2
MKT 641Marketing Research and Decision Making2
MKT 650Strategic Marketing2
Additional Required Courses 2
Electives8
Total Credit Hours61
1

Any other electives must be selected in consultation with the Program Director.

2

8 credits of electives are required. Elective offerings are based on class demand.

Sample Plan of Study

MSA (Assurance Track) + MBA

Plan of Study Grid
Graduate Year
FallCredit Hours
Required Courses
ACC 610 Capstone: Financial Reporting Research 2
ACC 628 Introduction to Accounting Analytics 2
ACC 672 Financial Statement Analysis 2
Electives 10
 Credit Hours16
Spring
ACC 622 Advanced Issues in Auditing 3
ACC 630 International Financial Reporting Standards 1
ACC 648 Accounting for Income Taxes 2
BUS 610 Communicating for Career Success 2
Electives 6
 Credit Hours14
Summer
BSL 690 Responsible Business 2
BTE 610 Digital Transformation 2
FIN 641 Valuation and Financial Decision Making 2
FIN 642 The Financial Environment 2
MGT 622 High Performance Teams 2
MGT 623 Human Resource Systems 2
 Credit Hours12
Fall II
BUS 628 Applied Career Experience Projects 3
MAS 632 Management Science Models for Decision Making 2
MGT 677 Corporate Strategy and Organization 2
MKT 641 Marketing Research and Decision Making 2
MKT 650 Strategic Marketing 2
Electives 8
 Credit Hours19
 Total Credit Hours61

Sample Plan of Study

MSA (Corporate Track) + MBA 

Plan of Study Grid
Graduate Year
FallCredit Hours
ACC 606 Internal Auditing 2
ACC 610 Capstone: Financial Reporting Research 2
ACC 628 Introduction to Accounting Analytics 2
ACC 672 Financial Statement Analysis 2
Electives 8
 Credit Hours16
Spring
ACC 622 Advanced Issues in Auditing 3
ACC 630 International Financial Reporting Standards 1
ACC 648 Accounting for Income Taxes 2
BUS 610 Communicating for Career Success 2
Electives 6
 Credit Hours14
Summer
BSL 690 Responsible Business 2
BTE 610 Digital Transformation 2
FIN 641 Valuation and Financial Decision Making 2
FIN 642 The Financial Environment 2
MGT 622 High Performance Teams 2
MGT 623 Human Resource Systems 2
 Credit Hours12
Fall II
BUS 628 Applied Career Experience Projects 3
MAS 632 Management Science Models for Decision Making 2
MGT 677 Corporate Strategy and Organization 2
MKT 641 Marketing Research and Decision Making 2
MKT 650 Strategic Marketing 2
Electives 8
 Credit Hours19
 Total Credit Hours61