Master of Professional Accounting

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Niranjan Chipalkatti, 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 extend technical competencies in financial reporting and analysis, management accounting including planning, analysis and control, tax compliance and planning, and in assurance services including internal controls and accounting information systems
To provide flexibility to obtain a certificate in Internal Audit, and/or Business Valuation and/or Data Analytics among others
To develop leadership and cross-functional management skills
To sharpen essential professional competencies including critical thinking skills, effective written and oral communication skills, ability to work effectively in teams, and data analytics skills
To develop student awareness of the needs of communities beyond the boundaries of their profession

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) or the Graduate Records Examination (GRE).
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

Professional Writing

The professional writing requirement must be completed within the first quarter.

II. Prerequisites

Basic Statistics
Basic Finance
Micro or Macro Economics
Introduction to Financial Accounting
Introduction to Managerial Accounting
Intermediate Financial Accounting I
Cost Accounting
Excel Certificate, Spreadsheet course or equivalent

Note:

Students with previous comparable course work with a B- (2.70) or better have the option of waiving these classes. Students without previous course work are required to take these classes at Seattle University or another institution or achieve proficiency through an alternative method with the MPAC Program Director’s approval.

III. Required Core

16 credits, including:

Note:

Students with previous comparable course work with a B- (2.70) or better will need to substitute any relevant classes with other classes from the Accounting Electives course list.

*ACCT 4350 may satisfy ACCT 5140 with department permission

IV. Additional Accounting Courses

Choose any 4 courses from list below for 12 credits. Students are encouraged to consider the Certificate in Internal Auditing and/or the Certificate in Business Valuation :

Note:

With the permission of the Chair of the Accounting Department students who are completing an undergraduate business administration degree with a major in accounting from Seattle University may take ACCT 5330 and/or ACCT 5350 and may waive six credits for the MPAC program, and thus complete the MPAC with an additional 40 credits. These courses will satisfy requirements toward both the bachelor’s degree, and the Master of Professional Accounting.

V. Ethics Component

3 credits:

BETH 5120 - Business Ethics and Social Responsibility

VI. Data Analytics Component

Choose one course from the following for 3 credits:

VII. Business Electives

Choose any 4 business courses* for 12 credits. Students are encouraged to use these electives to complete certificates or apply towards a dual degree.

NOTE:

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

Minimum credits required for degree: (46)*

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

*A student with no business background may have to complete up to 67 credits to earn an MPAC degree. Students who have earned an undergraduate business administration degree with an accounting major at SU, see note under Additional ACCT courses above.