Master of Professional Accounting

Niranjan Chipalkatti, PhD, MPAC Program Director

The Master of Professional Accounting (MPAC) program is designed to prepare graduates for leadership responsibilities in professional accounting. The program is constructed with the following objectives:

To build technical competencies in financial reporting and analysis, tax compliance and planning, and in risk assurance and advisory services. The curriculum has been mapped with the requirements of the CPA certification as well as the CIA and the ACCA.
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 (Note: fee waived through fall 2022)
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). Students with an undergraduate degree in accounting and a 3.00 cumulative GPA with a “B” grade in Intermediate Financial Accounting I (or equivalent) from an AACSB-accredited university may be eligible for a GMAT waiver. Note: the GMAT and GRE are optional through fall 2022.
Current résumé
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 is a cohort program that requires 54 graduate credit hours beyond the undergraduate degree and any of the basic business and accounting prerequisites. The degree has been designed for students who have an undergraduate degree in a major other than accounting. The program requires 54 credits, including seventeen 3-credit courses and a 3-credit service practicum. The MPAC is a STEM-designated program.

I. Preparatory Work

Professional Writing

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

II. Prerequisites

A bachelor’s degree
Basic Statistics
Basic Finance
Micro or Macro Economics
Introduction to Financial Accounting
Excel Certificate, Spreadsheet course or equivalent

III. Required Courses

All students are required to undertake a zero credit Leadership Orientation¹fall quarter. Students who begin the program winter quarter may participate in the Leadership Orientation the fall quarter before they start the program, or the fall quarter at the end of their program.

45 credits², including:

ACCT 5050 - Corporate Financial Management 3 credit hours
ACCT 5110 - Intermediate Financial Accounting I 3 credit hours
ACCT 5120 - Intermediate Financial Accounting II 3 credit hours
ACCT 5125 - Intermediate Financial Accounting III 3 credit hours
ACCT 5130 - Managerial Cost Accounting 3 credit hours
ACCT 5140 - Auditing I 3 credit hours
ACCT 5150 - Federal Taxation I 3 credit hours
ACCT 5300 - Financial Statement Analysis and Security Valuation 3 credit hours
ACCT 5330 - Advanced Financial Accounting 3 credit hours ²
ACCT 5350 - Advanced Federal Income Tax II 3 credit hours ²
ACCT 5355 - Service Practicum 3 credit hours
ACCT 5385 - Corporate Governance 3 credit hours
ACCT 5390 - Not-for-Profit Accounting 3 credit hours
ACCT 5395 - Law for Accounting and Finance Professionals 3 credit hours
RSKA 5360 - IT Risk Advisory and Assurance 3 credit hours ²

IV. Electives

9 credits chosen from:

ACCT 5100 - Predictive Analytics in Accounting 3 credit hours
ACCT 5145 - Emerging Technologies in Audit 3 credit hours
ACCT 5240 - Fraud Analytics and Forensic Accounting 3 credit hours
ACCT 5345 - Data Analytics and Visualization in Accounting 3 credit hours
RSKA 5340 - Business Risk Data Analytics 3 credit hours
MSF courses with permission

Notes:

The Leadership Orientation requires the payment of a minimal lab fee.
With the permission of the Program Director of the MPAC program, students may earn up to 12 credits for an approved internship. Courses being replaced by internship will be decided by program director and program advisor. Students are advised to consider the requirements of the certification exams before they make their decision.
With the permission of the program director and the program advisor, students may substitute an MPAC course with a Master of Science in Accounting and Analytics (MSAA) course provided they have successfully completed the required pre-requisites.
Students with comparable coursework (grade of B-/2.70 or better required) may substitute an alternate ACCT/RSKA, MSF, or MSBA-designated course for any course from the above list (exception: ACCT 5330 - Advanced Financial Accounting and ACCT 5350 - Advanced Federal Income Tax II , unless explicit permission is granted by the MPAC Program Director.) Please note: MSBA and MSF courses may carry pre-requisites and will be charged at the per-hour credit rate required by the MSF and MSBA programs.