Master of Professional Accounting

Bruce Koch, PhD, MPAC Program Director

The master of professional accounting program is designed to prepare graduates for leadership responsibilities in professional accounting. The program is constructed with the following objectives:

To transmit, in-depth knowledge and broaden the understanding of the fundamental disciplines, techniques and ethical dimensions involved in providing professional accounting services in the public, private, and governmental sectors of accounting. Depth of knowledge is developed in the cost, financial, tax, information systems, and auditing disciplines. Breadth of understanding is enhanced through the study of financial statement analysis, management control systems, and additional graduate business course work.
To develop leadership and management skills essential for taking direction of the accounting function across a broad range of enterprises.
To develop student awareness of the needs of communities beyond the boundaries of their profession.
To sharpen essential professional skills including critical thinking, effective written and oral communication, working effectively in teams, and a proficiency in the use of the computer for information search, retrieval, problem solving, and communication.

Admission Requirements

Students seeking admission to graduate programs should contact the Albers School of Business and Economics at (206) 296-5700 or Seattle University Graduate Admissions at (206) 220-8010 for admission materials. Documents required for admission to the master of professional accounting program includes the following:

Completed Application for Graduate Admission and non-refundable $55 application fee (waived for Seattle University alumni)
Official transcripts of all post-secondary education institutions attended in the last 90 quarter/60 semester credits of the bachelor’s degree, including any transfer credits earned during this time, and any post-baccalaureate course work
Official scores from the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT)
If English is not the applicant’s native language, official English proficiency scores meeting the University entrance requirements are necessary. See policy 2008-01 in Admissions Policies for details.

Degree Requirements:

The MPAC degree requires 46 graduate credit hours (14 three-credit courses and 1 four-credit course) beyond the undergraduate degree and any of the basic business and accounting prerequisites.

I. Preparatory Work

Business Calculus
Business Communications

The calculus requirement must be completed by the end of the first year in the program. The communications requirement must be completed within the first quarter.

II. Fundamental Business Courses*

27 credits, including:

NOTE:

*Students with previous comparable course work with a B (3.00) or better have the option of waiving these classes based on self-assessment materials regarding their proficiency. Students without previous course work are required to take these classes.

III. Fundamental Accounting Requirements**

15 credits, including:

NOTE:

**Students with previous comparable course work completed in the past five years with a B- (2.70) or better have the option of waiving these classes.

IV. Management and Technical Core

19 credits, including:

V. Other Required Accounting Courses

12 credits. Complete four from the five courses listed below:

VI. General Electives

15 credits:

Graduate business courses (15)*

NOTE:

* With the permission of the chair of the accounting program, students may earn up to 9 credits for an approved internship.

With the permission of the chair of the accounting program, students with an undergraduate degree from Seattle University, who have taken ACCT 436/ACCT 539 and/or ACCT 431/ACCT 533 may waive six credits for the MPAC program, and thus may have 40-88 credits. These courses will satisfy course requirements toward both the undergraduate degree in accounting and the master of professional accounting.

Minimum credits required for degree: (46 to 88)

Graduate students must have a minimum 3.00 cumulative GPA in order to earn a master’s degree.

Business Valuation Specialization

A formal specialization is available in business valuation and is noted on official transcripts. To receive the specialization a student must complete 10 courses listed below. With department approval, students with previous comparable course may be able to waive courses, in which case the specialization will be completed with fewer required courses.

Specialization Courses:

Complete the following courses: