Master of Science in Taxation & Accelerated MBA Dual Degree

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 Accounting (MSA) or Master of Science in Taxation (MST) and Summer Intensive Program. Applicants to the MSA or MST 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 or MST 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. Although MST students must complete advanced taxation in the summer, 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 or MST 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.

Course List

Code	Title	Credit Hours
ACC 632	Intermediate Accounting I	2
ACC 633	Intermediate Accounting II	2
ACC 634	Cost Accounting	2
ACC 635	Auditing	2
ACC 636	Accounting Systems	2
ACC 673	Taxation for Business and Investment Decisions	2

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. The licensure requirements for the State of Florida can be viewed 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.

For the CPA requirements in other states, you should consult the State Board of Accountancy for your state.

Admission Requirements

For admission to the MST, 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 Taxation + Accelerated MBA (MST/MBA) 

  Master of Science in Taxation

This program affords the accounting major or equivalent the opportunity to specialize in the area of taxation. Through electives, students are able to expand their areas of expertise, so that they may adequately prepare themselves for careers requiring a high degree of specialized tax knowledge in public accounting, private industry, and government. The program requires 30 semester hours consisting of six 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 and has completed ACC 403 Fundamentals of Taxation and ACC 404 Advanced Taxation , or their equivalents. Students who have taken only one tax course should plan to take an advanced taxation course (such as ACC 639 Income Taxation and Business Entitles which is offered following the Summer Intensive Program in an intersession format in August before the start of the fall semester).  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 MST degree. Unless otherwise noted, courses in the program are two semester hours (two credits).

  Accelerated MBA

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

Course List

Code	Title	Credit Hours
MASTER OF SCIENCE IN TAXATION REQUIREMENTS
Required Courses		15
ACC 610	Capstone: Financial Reporting Research
ACC 628	Introduction to Accounting Analytics
ACC 630	International Financial Reporting Standards
ACC 640	Corporate Taxation I
ACC 643	Tax Research
ACC 645	Partnership Taxation
ACC 648	Accounting for Income Taxes
BUS 610	Communicating for Career Success
Additional Courses 1		15
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:
ACC 603	Cases in Financial Reporting Issues
ACC 604	Seminar in Cost Accounting
ACC 606	Internal Auditing
ACC 611	Auditing Seminar
ACC 620	Accounting Controls in Information Technology
ACC 622	Advanced Issues in Auditing (3 credits)
ACC 623	International Accounting and Taxation
ACC 624	Accounting for Governmental and Not-for-Profit Entities
ACC 626	Litigation and Advisory Services
ACC 627	Accounting Regulations and Complliance
ACC 641	Corporate Taxation II
ACC 642	Seminar in Taxation
ACC 662	Taxation of Multinational Corporations
ACC 664	Financial Reporting Regulatory Issues in Complex Deals
ACC 672	Financial Statement Analysis
ACC 677	Forensic Accounting
ACC 699	Directed Readings (Internal Auditing Internship )
BSL 675	Advanced Business Law
BSL 691	The Public Corporation: Legal Perspectives
FIN 650	Financial Investment
FIN 670	Corporate Finance
MAS 637	Applied Regression Analysis I
MAS 639	Data Acquisition, Preparation, and Visualization
MAS 648	Machine Learning for Data Analytics I
ACCELERATED MBA REQUIREMENTS
Required Courses
BSL 690	Responsible Business	2
BTE 610	Digital Transformation	2
BUS 628	Applied Career Experience Projects	3
FIN 641	Valuation and Financial Decision Making	2
FIN 642	The Financial Environment	2
MAS 632	Management Science Models for Decision Making	2
MGT 622	High Performance Teams	2
MGT 623	Human Resource Systems	2
MGT 677	Corporate Strategy and Organization	2
MKT 641	Marketing Research and Decision Making	2
MKT 650	Strategic Marketing	2
Additional Required Courses 2
Electives		8
Total Credit Hours		61

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.

Plan of Study

Plan of Study Grid

Year One
Fall		Credit Hours
SESSION 1
ACC 610	Capstone: Financial Reporting Research	2
MAS 637	Applied Regression Analysis I	2
MAS 639	Data Acquisition, Preparation, and Visualization	2
ACC 640	Corporate Taxation I	2
SESSION 2
ACC 628	Introduction to Accounting Analytics	2
MAS 648	Machine Learning for Data Analytics I	2
ACC 645	Partnership Taxation	2
ACC 643	Tax Research	2
	Credit Hours	16
Spring
SESSION 1
ACC 630	International Financial Reporting Standards	1
ACC 622	Advanced Issues in Auditing	3
ACC 662	Taxation of Multinational Corporations	2
ACC 623	International Accounting and Taxation	2
SESSION 2
ACC 677	Forensic Accounting	2
ACC 642	Seminar in Taxation	2
ACC 664	Financial Reporting Regulatory Issues in Complex Deals	2
	Credit Hours	14
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 Hours	12
Year Two
Fall
SESSION 1
BUS 628	Applied Career Experience Projects	3
MAS 632	Management Science Models for Decision Making	2
MKT 650	Strategic Marketing	2
Electives		4
SESSION 2
MGT 677	Corporate Strategy and Organization	2
MKT 641	Marketing Research and Decision Making	2
Electives		4
	Credit Hours	19
	Total Credit Hours	61