phd accounting curriculum

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Our doctoral program in the accounting field offers broadly based, interdisciplinary training that develops the student’s skills in conducting both analytical and empirical research.

Emphasis is placed on developing a conceptual framework and set of skills for addressing questions broadly related to accounting information. While issues of financial reporting, managerial accounting, corporate governance and taxation are the ultimate concern, special emphasis is given to applying basic knowledge of economics, decision theory, and statistical inference to accounting issues.

Spectrum of Interests and Research Methods

Faculty research represents a broad spectrum of interests and research methods:

• Empirical and analytical research on the relation between accounting information and capital market behavior examines the characteristics of accounting amounts, the effect of accounting disclosures on the capital market, the role of analysts as information intermediaries, and the effects of management discretion. Issues examined also include the impact of financial information on stock and option prices, earnings response coefficients, market microstructure, earnings management, voluntary disclosures, and the effect of changes in accounting standards and disclosure requirements.
• Problems of information asymmetries among management, investors, and others are currently under study. This research investigates, analytically and empirically, the structure of incentive systems and monitoring systems under conditions of information asymmetry. Research on moral hazard, adverse selection, risk sharing, and signaling is incorporated into this work.
• Other ongoing projects include research on the economic effects of auditing and regulation of accounting information, and analysis of tax-induced incentive problems in organizations.
• Additional topics of faculty interest include analytical and empirical research on productivity measurement, accounting for quality, activity-based costing for operations and marketing, and strategic costing and pricing.

Preparation and Qualifications

It is desirable for students to have a solid understanding of applied microeconomic theory, econometrics and mathematics (linear algebra, real analysis, optimization, probability theory) prior to the start of the program. Adequate computer programming skills (e.g. Matlab, SAS, STAT, Python) are necessary in coursework. A traditional accounting background such as CPA is not required.

Faculty in Accounting

Christopher s. armstrong, jung ho choi, george foster, brandon gipper, ron kasznik, john d. kepler, jinhwan kim, rebecca lester, iván marinovic, maureen mcnichols, joseph d. piotroski, kevin smith, emeriti faculty, mary e. barth, william h. beaver, david f. larcker, charles m. c. lee, stefan j. reichelstein, recent publications in accounting, diversity washing, buy now pay (pain) later, elpr: a new measure of capital adequacy for commercial banks, recent insights by stanford business, big investors say they use esg to reduce risk (but mostly focus on the e and g), more time to trade isn’t a good thing for many retail investors, nine stories to get you through tax season.

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• Wharton Online

Wharton’s doctoral program in Accounting takes a multidisciplinary approach (including economics, operations management, and statistics) to meet the needs of today’s complex markets, integrating finance and economics with broader perspectives on organizational issues and the corporate regulatory environment.

The Accounting PhD program trains students to do rigorous research in accounting, a specialized area of financial economics. The program is highly analytical and quantitative. We look for strong undergraduate preparation in microeconomics and mathematics, while some prior accounting or finance training at the undergraduate or graduate level is an advantage. Institutional understanding of how accounting information is used by capital market participants and/or within firms is useful and best obtained through relevant work experience, but is not required of applicants.

Close working relationships with faculty members provide an excellent learning experience while at Wharton and can continue throughout the student’s career. Our program provides students with opportunities to interact with faculty and get started on relevant research early in the program. Required research elements include the accounting workshop colloquium, the first-year research assistantship, and the first and second year summer research papers.

For more information on courses and sample plan of study, please visit the University Graduate Catalog .

Get the Details.

Visit the Accounting Department website for details on program requirements and courses. Read faculty and student research and bios to see what you can do with an Accounting PhD.

About / Departments

Department of Accounting | Ph.D. Overview

Ph.d. overview.

• Stern’s accounting faculty has a wide range of research interests and continuously publishes works in all major academic accounting research journals such as the Journal of Accounting Research, Journal of Accounting and Economics, the Accounting Review, the Review of Accounting Studies, and Contemporary Accounting Research. Furthermore, Stern’s accounting faculty has published in such major Finance journals as the Journal of Finance, the Journal of Financial Economics, and the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis.
• The Department boasts a large and diverse body of Ph.D. students, who assist faculty with research projects early on in their doctoral program and often become co-authors to papers published in prestigious accounting journals.
• The admissions process is a rigorous one and important criteria are: an interest in doing research and teaching in accounting, strong quantitative skills, and an ability to communicate effectively. There are no formal education requirements  other than possession of a bachelor's degree - an MBA is not required.
• The quality of our Ph.D. program (ranked 7th in the United States by U.S. News and World Report) manifests itself by, among other things, our success in placing our graduates.

Click here to learn more about the PhD admissions process.

Accounting, Ph.D. Program Coordinators

NYU Stern Henry Kaufman Management Center 44 West 4th Street Suite No. 10-77 Phone:  212-998-0025 Email: [email protected]

Xiaojing Meng

NYU Stern Henry Kaufman Management Center 44 West 4th Street Suite No. 10-84 Phone:  212-992-6812 Email:   [email protected]

Explore Stern PhD

• Meet with Us

before you go

Help us keep in touch — it won’t take long.

The Accounting PhD program is designed to produce great scholars and educators by providing a solid foundation in both the theoretical and empirical tools of accounting research. Your program of study will be personalized to leverage your background and research interests.

Through coursework, research seminars, and individual original research, you’ll demonstrate your mastery of accounting through summer papers and your dissertation. The Accounting faculty will both supervise your individual research project and engage in collaborative co-authored research.

Our Accounting PhD program requires you to complete:

• Course requirements as outlined in the Accounting curriculum page
• A first-year summer research paper and a second-year research paper
• Qualifying exams in empirical and analytical accounting research
• Teaching and research assistantship
• Preliminary exam
• Dissertation thesis proposal
• Final dissertation defense exam

Check out the Curriculum

The same Team Fuqua culture that permeates all of Duke’s professional business programs is prominent in the Accounting PhD program.  Innovation through collaboration is our defining characteristic.  Our accounting faculty possesses unmatched topical and methodological span, which we leverage through co-authorships with one another and co-teaching of our PhD seminars.  In addition to involving PhD students in our collaborative research process, students also have access to cutting edge classes in Fuqua’s Finance area, Duke’s Economics department, and the course catalog of our neighboring university, UNC Chapel Hill. 

Our Accounting faculty are engaged with a wide array of accounting research topics.  Some of the more recent topics they are researching include:

• Properties of accounting numbers
• Role of accounting in asset pricing
• Accounting standards
• Compensation and managerial career concerns
• Debt contracting
• Financial analysts
• Real effects of information disclosure
• Accounting and the macro economy
• Firm communication
• Corporate governance
• Managerial traits
• Zeqiong Huang (2016) - Yale University
• Mani Sethuraman (2016) - Cornell University
• Thomas Steffen (2015) - Yale University
• Alex Young (2015) - North Dakota State University
• Dirk Black (2014) - Dartmouth College
• Ning Zhang (2013) - Queens University
• Amanda Gonzalez (2013) - University of Nebraska, Lincoln
• Gianfranco Siciliano (2013) - Bocconi University
• Zhenhua Chen (2012) - Tulane University
• Bin Li (2012) - University of Texas, Dallas

Additional Information about the Accounting Area

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PhD Course Information

Students are required to complete a minimum of 16 graduate level courses, of which eight at most can be transferred from other programs, schools or universities. Up to four courses per semester may be counted toward the overall requirement of 16 courses. The eight courses taken in the first year usually consist of five required core courses in economics, finance, and econometrics courses (see below), two or three required accounting core courses (ACCT9300, ACCT9400, ACCT9410, ACCT9420, ACCT9430 depending on which courses are being offered that year), and sometimes one elective. In the second year, students take the remaining required accounting core courses (from the above list), and additional elective courses in economics, statistics, finance, management, or law . In the third year, students take any remaining electives, one of which can be the workshop colloquium (ACCT9810). Some students also occasionally construct individualized independent studies with faculty (ACCT9990), but only one independent study is allowed to count toward the 16 required CUs.

Required Courses

Course Descriptions

Course Schedule

Additional PhD Information

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• Doctoral Programs

The PhD specialization in Accounting prepares students to become accounting scholars engaged in research and teaching at the highest levels in the general areas of financial information and contracting within and across organizations. 

Yale SOM’s specialization in accounting is designed to develop strong theoretical and empirical skills. There is a heavy emphasis on original research to form a base for sustained scholarship. Co-authored research, with both faculty and fellow PhD students, is encouraged and supported.

Yale’s accounting program is small (matriculating one to two students each year), and involves informal and spontaneous frequent interactions with faculty. The program maintains a 1:1 faculty-to-student ratio. Students interact with emerging research in a host of ways, from conferences held on campus to weekly seminars where faculty and fellow PhD students present and discuss their work.

Candidates tend to pursue a broad range of research interests, helped by courses in accounting as well as in various areas of management, Department of Economics, Yale Law School, and other parts of the University. They develop fruitful relationships with other Ph.d. students, especially from the Finance PhD program.

Examples of research submitted as dissertations by students in the program:

• Intended Benefits and Unintended Consequences of Improved Performance Disclosure
• Asymmetric Inefficiency in Market Response to Non-earnings 8-K Information
• Real Earnings Management in Nonprofit Organizations
• How Does More Frequent Reporting Reduce Information Asymmetry?
• Real Earnings Management in the Financial Industry
• Accruals and price crashes
• Customer-base concentration: Implications for firm performance and capital markets
• The Treatment of Special Items in Determining CEO Cash Compensation
• Strategic Decentralization, Bargaining, and Transfer Pricing in Supply Chain Efficiency
• Keynesian Beauty Contest, Accounting Disclosure, and Market Efficiency
• Labor Unions and Management’s Incentive to Signal Declining Profitability
• Investor Expectations, Earnings Management, and Asset Prices
• Limiting Outside Directors' Liability through Charter Provisions: An Empirical Analysis
• Nickels Not Pennies: Explanations and Implications of Granularity in Analysts’ EPS Forecasts
• Auditor’s Pre-Negotiation Information, Accuracy of Financial Reports and Consulting Services
• Taxes, Debt, and Firm Value: New Evidence

Examples of research co-authored with faculty and other students:

Publications.

• Management of reported and forecast EPS, investor responses, and research implications (Management Science
• Placebo Tests of Conditional Conservatism (The Accounting Review)
• Orphans Deserve Attention: Financial Reporting in the Missing Months When Corporations Change Fiscal Year (The Accounting Review)
• Why do EPS forecast error and dispersion not vary with scale? Implications for analyst and managerial behavior (Journal of Accounting Research)
• More Evidence of Bias in the Differential Timeliness Measure of Conditional Conservatism (The Accounting Review)
• The Effect of Litigation Risk on Management Earnings Forecasts (Contemporary Accounting Research)
• Friction in Related Party Trade when a Rival is also a Customer (Management Science)
• The Joint Determination of Audit Fees, Non-audit Fees and Abnormal Accruals (Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting)

Working Papers

• Rethinking Determinants of Trading Volume at Earnings Announcements
• Auditor Change Disclosures as Signals of Earnings Management and Risk
• Individual Investor Overextrapolation
• The Value and Information Effects of Initial Loan Contract Strictness
• The Information Quality Effect of Accruals-Based Benchmark Beating: Evidence from the CDS Market
• On the Contemporaneous Reporting of Income Increasing and Income Decreasing Special Items: Initial Evidence
• Conditional conservatism: the case of goodwill impairments under SFAS 142
• The power of firm fundamentals in explaining stock returns

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Accounting & Management

• Business Economics
• Health Policy (Management)
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Program Requirements

• Program Requirements →

Accounting & Management

A minimum of 13 semester courses at doctoral level are required. Each semester students will consult with the Accounting & Management faculty coordinators to receive approval of their course selections.

Microeconomics Theory : A comprehensive two semester sequence on economic theory:

• Microeconomic Theory I (HBS 4010/Economics 2020a)
• Microeconomic Theory II (HBS 4011/Economics 2020b)

All Accounting and Management students are required to have completed one undergraduate or graduate course in introduction to Econometrics. If this requirement has not been fulfilled prior to matriculation, then an equivalent course will be required in the first term of the student's doctoral program.

Courses meeting this requirement include:

• Introduction to Econometrics (Econ 1123)

Students must take four research methods courses, including one course in research design.

Courses that fulfill this requirement include, but are not limited to:

• Introduction to Applied Econometrics (Econ 2120); (Econ 2110. Introductory Probability and Statistics for Economists may be a required prerequisite)
• Econometric Methods (Econ 2140)
• Topics in Applied Econometrics (MIT 14.387)
• Advanced Applied Econometrics (Econ 2144)
• Computational Economics (Econ 2149)
• Time Series Analysis (Econ 2142)
• Seminar in Applied Statistical Methods (HBS 4809)

Research methods courses that meet the research design course requirement include, but are not limited to:

• Advanced Quantitative Research Methodology (Gov 2001)
• Empirical Methods in Corporate Finance (HBS 4220)
• Matched Sampling and Study Design (Stat 240); (Stat 140 or Econ 1127 are strongly recommended as prerequisites)
• Design of Field Research Methods (HBS 4070)
• Experimental Methods (HBS 4435)

Accounting and Management students are required to take seven additional doctoral courses.

• Management Control and Performance Measures (HBS 4403)
• Empirical Research in Financial Reporting and Analysis (HBS 4250)
• Doctoral Seminar in Accounting (MIT 15.539)
• Two breadth courses
• Two elective doctoral courses

All students without an MBA degree are required to complete two case-based HBS MBA courses.

Students are strongly encouraged to attend and participate in seminars throughout their program. In the third year, students are required to attend Accounting & Management Unit Seminars .

Good Academic Standing

Teaching requirement.

Students must teach or assist with teaching in a formally offered course for one full academic term. This engagement should include, at least, 8 hours of front-of-class teaching and 16 hours of teaching preparation time. The requirement may be fulfilled by completing a teaching fellow or instructor assignment at a Harvard University

Special Field Exam

Students are required to pass the Special Field Exam at the end of the second year or beginning of the third year. This exam has two parts: a written exam and an oral exam based on the course syllabi from any relevant doctoral research seminars in financial or managerial accounting undertaken by students in the course of their studies.

Dissertation Proposal

By the end of their third year, all students are required to obtain approval of their dissertation proposal by their Dissertation Chair.

Dissertation

Students are required to write a dissertation, which typically takes the form of three publishable papers, to the satisfaction of their Dissertation Committee. The dissertation defense is oral and open to the public.

Research Skills to Advance Accounting Knowledge

Get Your PhD in Accounting

The PhD in Accounting program focuses on a broad base of knowledge and research skills so you can enjoy a robust career as a university educator and researcher.

In this program, you study issues in two areas: the role of financial information in facilitating the operations of capital markets and assistance for managers planning and controlling the way institutions operate.

Accounting Faculty and Research

Olin’s accounting faculty members conduct world-class research focused on analysis and preparation of financial statements, auditing and managerial accounting. Some faculty members focus on disclosure issues related to the role of financial information in capital markets, both domestic and international. Others examine the effects of legal institutions on the credibility of information produced and used in such markets and the resulting effects on economic performance.

Here are just some of the important journals in which our Accounting faculty have been published:

• Journal of Accounting Research
• The Accounting Review
• Journal of Accounting and Economics
• Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory
• Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance
• Contemporary Accounting Research

Read about collaboritve research by Accounting faculty and PhD students.

PhD Accounting

WashU Olin’s accounting program focuses on infusing students with a broad knowledge base to enjoy a robust career as a educator and researcher.

Collaborative Research

The Wells Fargo Advisors Center for Accounting Research is dedicated to the dissemination of cutting-edge research in finance and accounting.

PhD in Accounting Curriculum

Prior to the first year—mandatory attendance at math camp (offered through the Economics department)

Recommended Course Sequence

First semester.

MEC 610 Microeconomics I (3 credits)  Econometrics course*  Olin PhD Accounting courses  

Second Semester

• MEC 611 Microeconomics II (3 credits)
• L11 Quantitative Methods II (3 credits)
• Econometrics course*
• Olin PhD Accounting courses
• L11 5161 Applied Econometrics
• B52 620 Empirical Methods in Finance
• B53 620 Empirical Methods in Business
• Attend Accounting seminars.
• Begin research collaborations.
• First-year summer paper
• Complete annual progress report
• Improvisation Course B53 660 Seminar in Presentation Skills (fall semester, required)
• Attend accounting seminars
• Paper presentations (brown bag seminars and conferences)
• Dissertation research
• Attend Accounting seminars
• Dissertation Proposal—Students must be able to assemble a Research Advisory Committee for the proposal of their dissertation and must submit a Title, Scope and Procedure Form as the committee’s approval of the proposed dissertation by September 30 after the fourth year.
• In the summer, students must meet with the faculty coordinator to discuss progress and complete a progress report to be submitted to the PhD Office by August 1.
• Paper presentations (job market paper presentations with faculty and at conferences)
• Intent to Graduate (complete form online)
• Job market and placement
• Oral defense of dissertation
• Submission of Examination Approval form, which signifies committee’s approval
• Upload of final, approved Dissertation to Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
• Submission of documented teaching requirements to PhD office

Download Accounting PhD course descriptions

Meet the Accounting Faculty

Jared Jennings

Associate Professor

• [email protected]
• 314.935.8115

Richard Frankel

Full Professor

• [email protected]
• 314.935.6431

Doctoral Programs

Campus Box 1133-124-05 One Brookings Drive St. Louis, MO 63130-4899

• [email protected]
• 314-935-6340

Office Hours: Monday–Friday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Quick Links

• PhD & DBA Admissions
• PhD Bulletin
• Greater St. Louis
• Pre-Doctoral Program

ACCOUNTING PhD

The nation’s top accounting program.

Texas McCombs boasts the most prestigious accounting doctoral program in the country and has graduated more than 300 PhD students since its inception in 1934. Are you ready for the best?

Your Future In Accounting

• PhD Program
• Why McCombs
• Department of Accounting

ACADEMIC LIFE AT McCOMBS

Mentorship and practice, application deadline.

The application deadline for the Accounting Doctoral Program is December 15.

AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION

If you are a practicing accountant, these topical areas will be familiar to you. However, we welcome students with backgrounds in Mathematics, Economics, Engineering, Finance, Psychology, or other disciplines to apply. We can remedy any lack of accounting knowledge through additional coursework. Most students enter our accounting doctoral program with some knowledge in these areas:

Financial Accounting

Financial accounting researchers are interested in the use of accounting information by investors, creditors, analysts, and other decision-makers. We are also interested in the preparation of accounting information by managers who may respond to economic incentives and use discretion to manage earnings. Finally, we are also interested in the regulation of accounting information by standard setters and other regulators who are evaluating the relevance and reliability of current and potential accounting information.

Auditing researchers are interested in questions of independence, governance, compliance, auditing processes, and biases. This research helps global standard-setters and regulators adopt standards and policies that protect the integrity of our accounting information. 

Managerial accounting research topics include optimal employee compensation and governance, using information for efficiency management, motivating creativity, etc.

Taxation research covers economic incentives, transfer pricing, compliance with tax enforcement, multistate taxation, and numerous topics about accounting for income taxation, where tax rules overlap with financial reporting standards.

RANKINGS & RESEARCH

Academic leadership, research methodologies.

When you earn a doctorate, most of your time is spent developing deep expertise in research methods. Accounting researchers use three main approaches. In all cases, your doctoral studies will involve a firm grounding in statistics and typically a choice of either economics or psychology as an additional foundation.

Archival research involves the statistical analysis of historical data to examine relevant research questions based on economic theory for its predictions. Thus, archival research requires a strong background in statistics and economics, which we provide through rigorous coursework in the business school and the economics department.

Experimental

Experimental or survey methods are commonly used to obtain data to conduct what is broadly known as behavioral research. Behavioral research relies on psychology for its theories. Because this research is interested in what people do and why they do it, it is often necessary to conduct controlled experiments or survey participants. Using experiment or survey methods, researchers in accounting and finance have provided compelling alternative explanations where economic theories fall short.

Analytical research uses quantitative mathematical models to explain and predict behavior. This research is grounded in game theory from economics. Students wanting to conduct analytical research should have even stronger mathematical backgrounds than other applicants. We will design a program of study that builds on those initial strengths with additional coursework in mathematics and economics.

GET READY TO APPLY

Preparation and qualifications, career placement, the world needs you, career destinations.

The primary goal of the Texas McCombs PhD program is to prepare students for exceptional academic careers. Over the last five years, McCombs Accounting PhD alumni have excelled at top institutions globally.

Recent Graduate Placements

Jesse Chan   |  2022  |  Boston University

Cassie Mongold   |  2022  |  University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Ryan Hess   |  2021  |  Stanford University (postdoc); Oklahoma State University

Ryan Ballestero   |  2021  |  Kent State University

Dan Rimkus   |  2021  |  University of Florida (October 2021 graduation)

Shannon Garavaglia  |  2020  |  University of Pittsburgh

Jakob Infuehr  |  2019  |  University of Southern Denmark

Antonis Kartapanis  |  2019  |  Texas A&M University

Kristen Valentine   |  2019  |  University of Georgia

Colin Koutney   |  2018  |  George Mason University

Zheng Leitter  |  2018  |  Nanyang Technological University

Brian Monsen   |  2018  |  The Ohio State University

Xinyu Zhang   |  2018  |  Cornell University

Jeanmarie Lord   |  2017  |  University of Montana

Ben Van Landuyt  |  2017  |  University of Arizona

Shannon Chen   |  2017  |  University of Arizona

Prasart Jongjaroenkamol   |  2017  |  Singapore Management University

Ying Huang  |  2017  |  University of Texas - Dallas

Current Students and *Job Market Candidates

Mary adenle, yiying chen, dorothy dickmann, mandy ellison*, kenzie feinberg, michael gonari, nathan herrmann, sean kemsley, minjae kim*, kaitlyn kroeger, jingpei shi, albert wang, are you ready to change the world.

The Texas McCombs Doctoral Program is seeking individuals who are interested in transforming the global marketplace. Are you one of these future thought leaders?

• Undergraduate
• Master of Accounting
• Full Time MBA
• Evening Executive MBA
• Weekend Executive MBA
• Charlotte Executive MBA

PhD in Accounting

Accounting and UNC Kenan-Flagler’s international reputation makes us one of world’s top academic centers of innovative accounting thought and research. We are widely recognized as a leading center of research on financial reporting, tax, international accounting, accounting standard setting, managerial accounting, and the role of accounting information in decision making.

We pride ourselves on frequent and successful student-faculty collaboration and encourage our students to work with, and seek advice, from every one of our faculty. We believe this frequent interaction with our faculty, who themselves work in many diverse areas, creates well-rounded graduates who can think creatively and deeply about important problems.

Typical Course Schedule by Year

• Seminar in Empirical Accounting Research
• Seminar in Corporate Governance
• Students in Accounting are required to complete two semesters of Statistics/Econometrics and select the level at which they qualify.
• Many Accounting students select Corporate Finance Theory I & II taught by our Finance faculty.
• Microeconomics
• Capital Markets – your first and second year
• A research paper is required for presentation and critique during the fall semester of your second year.
• Seminar in Corporate Finance: Financial Economics and Asset Pricing
• Seminar in Managerial Accounting (may be completed your first or second year.)
• Investment Finance
• Game Theory
• Econometrics
• Professional Communication Skills
• Seminar in Executing Research
• Comprehensive written examination which covers all of the Accounting courses you take in your first two years of the PhD Program
• An oral presentation of your current research
• Secure an advisor prior to your third year.  Historically, students and advisors have gravitated towards one another naturally as we ensure students and faculty frequently interact. However, we will assign an advisor based on student and faculty preferences and interest, if necessary.
• Full-time research
• With consent of your advisor, you may attend/participate or present at external national or international conferences after your second year, which are frequently done by our PhD students.
• Your Dissertation and Oral Defense are expected prior to the end of your fifth year.
• Preparing for the job market
• You may take any elective course offered by UNC Kenan-Flagler or other UNC (or Duke) departments with guidance from your advisor.

View our current Accounting PhD students .

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• Dissertation Areas and Joint PhD Programs
• PhD Career Outcomes
• PhD Proposals and Defenses
• PhD Job Market Candidates
• PhD Research Community
• 100 Years of Pioneering Research
• Rising Scholars Conference
• Yiran Fan Memorial Conference
• Frequently Asked Questions

PhD in Accounting

• PhD in Behavioral Science
• PhD in Econometrics and Statistics
• PhD in Microeconomics
• PhD in Finance
• PhD in Management Science and Operations Management
• PhD in Marketing
• Joint Program in Financial Economics
• Joint Program in Psychology and Business
• Joint PhD/JD Program

Chicago Booth has one of the preeminent PhD accounting programs. Our faculty conduct groundbreaking scholarly work, and our graduates have played a central role in the evolution of modern accounting research.

As a PhD student in accounting at Booth, you’ll have the freedom to explore and cultivate your research interests from day one—wherever they lead.

You’ll join a collaborative research community and work with prominent scholars whose groundbreaking research is recognized for its impact on the academic literature, accounting practice and policymaking, securities regulation, and elsewhere. In addition to your stipend, you may apply for research and conference travel funding from our research centers and the Stevens Doctoral Program. In research workshops and conferences, you’ll present your work and hear about the work of fellow researchers. 

Our Distinguished Accounting Faculty

As measured by research productivity and impact, Chicago Booth has one of the best accounting faculty groups in the world. The group includes Philip G. Berger, Hans B. Christensen, Merle Erickson, Christian Leuz, Michael Minnis, Valeri Nikolaev, Haresh Sapra, Douglas J. Skinner, and Abbie J. Smith, as well as an outstanding group of research-active junior faculty. The school is committed to maintaining the quality of this group.

These distinguished scholars are also teachers and mentors who will advise you, coauthor papers with you, supervise your thesis, help you find an outstanding job, and serve as colleagues throughout your career.

Philip G. Berger

Wallman Family Professor of Accounting

Hans B. Christensen

Chookaszian Family Professor of Accounting and David G. Booth Faculty Fellow

Anna Costello

Professor of Accounting and David G. Booth Faculty Fellow

Merle Erickson

Professor of Accounting

Joao Granja

Associate Professor of Accounting and Jane and Basil Vasiliou Faculty Scholar

Christian Leuz

Charles F. Pohl Distinguished Service Professor of Accounting and Finance

Bradford Levy

Assistant Professor of Accounting

Charles McClure

Michael Minnis

Professor of Accounting and Charles E. Merrill Faculty Scholar

Maximilian Muhn

Valeri Nikolaev

James H. Lorie Professor of Accounting and FMC Faculty Scholar

Madhav Rajan

Dean and George Pratt Shultz Professor of Accounting

Thomas Rauter

Assistant Professor of Accounting and IBM Corporation Faculty Scholar

Amoray Riggs-Cragun

Assistant Professor of Accounting and Kathryn and Grant Swick Faculty Scholar

Delphine Samuels

Associate Professor of Accounting and James S. Kemper Foundation Faculty Scholar

Haresh Sapra

Charles T. Horngren Professor of Accounting

Douglas J. Skinner

Deputy Dean for Faculty and Sidney Davidson Distinguished Service Professor of Accounting

Abbie J. Smith

Boris and Irene Stern Distinguished Service Professor of Accounting

Christopher Stewart

Assistant Professor of Accounting and William S. Fishman Faculty Fellow

Associate Professor of Accounting and Kathryn and Grant Swick Faculty Scholar

Anthony Welsch

Anastasia A Zakolyukina

Associate Professor of Accounting

Alumni Success

The American Accounting Association periodically awards a prize for seminal contributions to the accounting literature. Graduates of the PhD Accounting Program are regular winners of this prestigious prize.

Our PhD graduates in accounting go on to faculty positions  at some of the world's most prestigious institutions.

Kalash Jain, MBA '23, PhD '23

Assistant Professor of Business, Accounting Division Columbia Business School, Columbia University His research examines the impact of information processing frictions and investor decision making on asset prices and firm investment. His dissertation area is in accounting.

Sinja Leonelli, MBA '23, PhD '23

Assistant Professor of Accounting Stern School of Business, New York University Sinja's research primarily examines misconduct reporting, regulation and enforcement, and the use of ESG information by stakeholders such as regulators, employees, and consumers. Her dissertation area is in accounting.

Shirley Lu, MBA ’21, PhD ’21 

Assistant Professor of Business Administration Harvard Business School, Harvard University Shirley Lu studies Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) disclosure, with a focus on climate change and gender diversity. Her dissertation area is in accounting.

Spotlight on Research

Chicago Booth Review frequently highlights the work of accounting PhD students, faculty, and alumni.

One Way Discrimination Creeps into the Supply Chain

A Q&A with Chicago Booth’s Anna Costello about how the pandemic affected which suppliers got paid on time.

AI Reads between the Lines to Discover Corporate Risk

“Corporate risk exposures are often subtly implied in conference call discussions rather than explicitly stated,” write Chicago Booth PhD student Alex G. Kim and Booth’s Maximilian Muhn and Valeri Nikolaev.

Civilization is Based on Accounting

A Q&A with Chicago Booth’s Ray Ball on accounting’s past and future.

Financial Data Privacy Could Help Fight Poverty

Historical data can shape future outcomes, helping to determine whether a prospective borrower has access to a home, car, or other opportunities, write University of Utah’s Mark Jansen, Chicago Booth PhD student Fabian Nagel, and Booth’s Constantine Yannelis and Anthony Lee Zhang.

A Network of Support

Doctoral students at Booth have access to the resources of several research centers  that offer funding for student work, host workshops and conferences, and foster a strong research community.

The Chookaszian Accounting Research Center The Chookaszian Accounting Research Center coordinates accounting research at Chicago Booth and hosts research brown bags and workshops. It also publishes the Journal of Accounting Research , one of the top accounting research journals in the world.

George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State Dedicated to examining issues at the intersection of politics and the economy, the Stigler Center supports research in the political, economic, and cultural obstacles to better working markets.

Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation Chicago Booth’s destination for people committed to tackling social and environmental problems, the Rustandy Center supports the work of PhD students and others who are focused on transforming the social sector.

Inside the Student Experience

For Andrew Sutherland, PhD ’13, coauthoring research with Booth faculty was a highlight of the Stevens Program.

Video Transcript

Andrew Sutherland, ’13: 00:09 In accounting, there's tons and tons of research on these big public firms that have an army of investor relations people and they constant disclosing things. That's where most of the research was happening, but there's this whole other half of the economy, these private firms, that we didn't really know a lot about. We didn't know a lot about how they got credit. What was interesting to me is that a lot of time, firms are able to get credit without even providing any financial statements or any information whatsoever to the bank. The reason they're able to get credit is that they have a credit score. So in other words, the information is coming, not from the form itself, but from another bank who had dealt with them in the past. What really struck me was there wasn't really a lot of research out there on this information channel. That's when I decided I wanted to learn a little bit more about what this reporting channel does to contract and help firms get credit and how it changes banks' incentives to lend.

Andrew Sutherland, ’13: 01:01 Basically, the firms that have a good credit record or a long track record of borrowing successfully were the ones that were able to shop around. We would think that's a good thing, that giving firms more choice about who to borrow from kind of increases social welfare, you get better matching between lenders and firms. Kind of the dark side is that the firms that have had payment trouble that have defaulted or missed some payments on loans sort of get shut out of the credit part. You have a harder time starting any new relationships with outside lenders. That's kind of a cost.

Andrew Sutherland, ’13: 01:34 The second cost is that information sharing changes the game for lenders. So, if participating in this credit bureau basically allows outside lenders to pick off the firms that are doing better, then that destroys the incentive for lenders to kind of invest in relationships to begin with. That's sort of the second dark side of information sharing, if you will.

Andrew Sutherland, ’13: 01:54 So, I coauthor on a number of projects with the junior faculty member here named Mike Minnis. I probably talked to Mike more than I talk to my wife. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. But, I mean, as a PhD student, there's only so much you can learn in class, and having a faculty member to work with that's kind of gone through the ropes and understands the review process, that's done something on their own, it gives you a really good opportunity to learn. That's something, I think that was absolutely instrumental in my success

Current Accounting Students

PhD students in accounting come to Chicago Booth with a wide range of interests and goals. Recent dissertations have focused on everything from machine learning to the impact of fiscal monitoring, and graduates have gone on to positions at some of the world’s preeminent institutions, including Columbia Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business, and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Current Students

Samuel Chang Jonas Dalmazzo Jewel Evans Lingyu Gu Yanzi (Yvonne) Han Grant Hayes Roope Keloharju Maria Khrakovsky Alex Kim Ginha Kim Andrew McKinley Fabian Nagel Pietro Ramella Hristiana Vidinova Hanbyul Yoon Jingyu Zhang

Program Expectations and Requirements

The Stevens Doctoral Program at Chicago Booth is a full-time program. Students generally complete the majority of coursework and examination requirements within the first two years of studies and begin work on their dissertation during the third year. For details, see General Examination Requirements by Area in the Stevens Program Guidebook below.

Download the 2023-2024 Guidebook!

Accounting PhD Specialization

General information.

Accounting is an interdisciplinary area, combining study of financial information with areas such as economics, finance, decision theory, and cognitive psychology.

The Ph.D. curriculum in accounting encompasses two major streams of research. The first stream examines the role of accounting information in contracting and capital markets. This first stream is economics-and-finance based and relies heavily on empirical research methods using archival data. The second stream is judgment and decision making in accounting (also known as behavioral decision theory research). This second stream is primarily psychology-based and relies heavily on controlled experiments with human subjects. The accounting Ph.D. program is designed to prepare students to publish research in top-tier accounting journals including The Accounting Review, Journal of Accounting and Economics, and Journal of Accounting Research and to take positions at leading research-based universities.

The Department of Accounting offers both major and minor areas in accounting. The remainder of this page first describes the policies for a major in accounting. This is followed by a description of the policies for a minor in accounting.

Department web site Accounting Faculty

Admission Requirements

Applicants must have completed an undergraduate degree at an accredited university and should have reasonable training in mathematics and economics. An admission committee of faculty members reviews all completed applications. While the committee considers all relevant factors in its recommendations, important factors include past academic performance, GMAT scores (the GRE exam can be substituted for the GMAT but the GMAT is strongly preferred), personal statements, and letters of recommendation. Evidence of quantitative aptitude, creativity, commitment to completing a Ph.D., and collegiality are all important.

Recommended Preparation Prior to Entry

In the summer preceding arrival at UW, new doctoral students are strongly encouraged to review important concepts in basic tool areas (e.g., economics, statistics, calculus, and linear algebra). Knowledge of financial and managerial accounting is required. The Ph.D. curriculum is extremely rigorous, so students greatly benefit from getting a head start on key skills important to completing the initial coursework.

Accounting Area Faculty Coordinator

Assistant Prof. Darren Bernard, Accounting Area Faculty Coordinator, would be glad to answer your questions. You can contact him by email .

The Accounting Area Faculty Coordinator advises new students until they establish a supervisory committee by the end of the Spring quarter of their first year. The supervisory committee assists the student in choosing appropriate courses, approves the course of studies, and monitors the student’s progress.

Course Requirements for Accounting Major

All accounting majors must complete the following requirements. The number of credits for each course is indicated in parentheses after the course number.

*Offered periodically. **Offered every second year.

Accounting majors are expected to register for ACCTG 599 each year in which they are enrolled in coursework (minimum two years). All Accounting majors are expected to attend ACCTG 599 each year they are in residence.

Occasionally, optional special topics classes will be offered reflecting instructor and student interest (for example, empirical research in taxation).

Research Methods Minor Area Requirements

In addition to the major area, students are required to choose three additional areas as minors. Doctoral students in accounting must select Research Methods as one minor area. Coursework in Research Methods should include ECON 580 (or equivalent courses in probability and/or statistical inference), ECON 581, and FIN 585. ECON 580 and 581 are within the econometrics series the UW Department of Economics offers, and FIN 585 is a research methods course the UW Department of Finance and Business Economics offers. These requirements are viewed as minimal background for conducting doctoral level research.

Students should also include at least 3 units (e.g., one course) of additional coursework in Research Methods tailored to their specific interests and selected in consultation with the area advisor. The UW Business School also offers behavioral research method courses BARM 590 and 591. Additional econometric and behavioral research method courses are available in the economics and psychology departments, respectively.

Other Minor Area Requirements

Although Economics is highly recommended as a second minor area, students may petition to substitute another minor area in special circumstances. The courses to be included in the Economics minor should include the three-course sequence ECON 500, 501, 508 and at least 3 additional units (e.g., one course) of coursework selected in consultation with the Economics area advisor. The three-course sequence is the microeconomics series economics doctoral students are expected to complete in the economics department.

The third minor area will depend on the student’s interest. For example, students might choose one of the following minor areas: Finance, Information Systems, International Business, Operations Management, Psychology, or Quantitative Methods. It is also possible to design a special minor area, which more directly addresses a student’s interests. Since many students choose Finance as the third minor area, it is also briefly discussed below.

The Finance minor area is recommended for students interested in financial accounting research. Students can either complete the 4 course doctoral seminar sequence FIN 580, 590, 591, 592 or they can take three courses from this sequence and at least 3 additional units (e.g., one course) of coursework selected in consultation with the Finance area advisor. The four-course sequence includes coursework in financial economics, capital market theory, corporate finance, and advanced finance research.

Typical Course Schedule

Accounting Doctoral Student Planned Courses (as of July 2022) The summer before you begin, you will be expected to do preparatory math and programming work. You will then arrive to campus in early September to begin on-campus math, economics, and programming camps. We will have a “welcome” barbeque sometime in September. This is a way to get to know everyone and have some fun before the semester gets underway, and families/significant others are welcome.

Classes typically begin the last week of September and in the first year all students will have the same course schedule:

Second Year

Fourth Year

Course Requirements for Accounting Minor

Doctoral students minoring in accounting must meet the following requirements:

ACCTG 510 and ACCTG 511 or equivalents ACCTG 580, Introduction to Accounting Research

In addition, students minoring in accounting are required to successfully complete one of the following:

*Offered every second year.

Other Requirements

Written Area Examination After completing all coursework required for a major area in accounting, the student takes a written area examination offered each year during late July or early August. The accounting area examination tests students on coursework as well as on topics of current research. The exam consists of a closed book eight-hour exam.

General Examination It is expected that students will complete all coursework and area exam and begin working on a dissertation proposal by the end of their second year. However, students are encouraged during their third and fourth years to attend the accounting doctoral research seminar in their area of interest (ACCTG 596 for financial accounting empiricists, ACCTG 597 for behavioral or experimental researchers). When the supervisory committee believes that the dissertation proposal is well defined, a general exam is scheduled. During the general exam, the student presents the dissertation proposal and answers questions related to the proposal and/or to courses taken. Members of the supervisory committee, a representative of the Graduate School, and any other interested faculty and students, attend the general exam. The chair of the supervisory committee determines the precise format of the general exam.

Students who have passed their area examination but not their general exam are required to present an accounting research workshop on their research in progress each Spring quarter until they have passed their general exam (and thus have an approved thesis topic). Students are required to present their research paper in the research workshop before sending it out to schools to interview. This presentation should be in early October to allow time for revision before sending the paper out in early November.

Dissertation After passing the general exam, students complete the proposed research and write the dissertation guided by a reading committee. The reading committee may consist entirely of members of the supervisory committee or may include one or more members not previously on the supervisory committee. When formation of the reading committee introduces new members, a new chair of the reading committee would ordinarily become chair of the supervisory committee and new members of the reading committee would ordinarily be placed on the supervisory committee.

Final Examination The supervisory committee administers the final defense of the dissertation.

• Curriculum/Program Requirements

Duke's Fuqua School of Business

Overview of Program Requirements

Our Accounting PhD program requires you to complete:

• Course requirements as outlined in the Accounting curriculum page
• A first-year summer research paper and a second-year research paper
• Qualifying exams in empirical and analytical accounting research
• Teaching and research assistantship
• Preliminary exam
• Dissertation thesis proposal
• Final dissertation defense exam

The same Team Fuqua culture that permeates all of Duke’s professional business programs is prominent in the Accounting PhD program.  Innovation through collaboration is our defining characteristic.  Our accounting faculty possesses unmatched topical and methodological span, which we leverage through co-authorships with one another and co-teaching of our PhD seminars.  In addition to involving PhD students in our collaborative research process, students also have access to cutting edge classes in Fuqua’s Finance area, Duke’s Economics department, and the course catalog of our neighboring university, UNC Chapel Hill. 

15 Courses required for an Accounting PhD

You will develop a strong foundation in accounting and related disciplines through our Accounting curriculum, and complement that knowledge with elective courses designed to meet your individual needs and interests.  Our program includes opportunities to take some courses at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to maximize your course options.

Course Requirements

The Accounting curriculum requires the following courses as part of your degree requirements:

• 2 PhD courses covering foundational papers in the archival accounting literature
• 2 PhD courses covering papers in agency theory and information economics as used in the accounting literature
• 2 PhD courses in current topics and methods in accounting
• 2 PhD level courses in micro-economics
• 2 PhD level courses in econometrics
• 2 PhD level courses in finance
• Electives to meet your specific needs or interests, which can include additional classes in economics, econometrics, mathematics, computer science, finance, public policy, or psychology
• 3 MBA courses
• Ungraded boot camp courses that are not part of your degree requirements

First and Second-Year Summer Research Paper

Each student is required to write a summer paper following both the first year and second year of coursework.

• First-year summer paper .  The first-year summer paper requirement has two components. The first is that each student must provide a replication of the main results of an existing paper so as to illustrate a minimum level of proficiency with statistical programming. Whatever paper is replicated must be specifically referenced. If a student has replicated a paper during first-year coursework of another class, the student may turn in or reference that replication to satisfy the first requirement. The second component is to turn in a completed research paper, the topic of which is approved by either the PhD coordinator or supervising faculty member that the student selects. The paper need not be fully original research, but it can be. As an example of the former, a student may replicate an existing paper and extend it to a new time period. The extension must be well motivated, such as articulating why existing results may not generalize to a new time period. For a student executing this type of “replication and extension” research, both the first and second parts of the first-year summer paper criteria would be satisfied. As an example of the latter, the student can undertake a completely original idea, and prepare the paper individually, with another non-first-year doctoral student, or with a faculty member. (Collaboration with faculty or another non-first-year doctoral student is permitted if the student has played a major role in the generation and development of the core idea and takes the lead in writing the paper.) Students must turn in their first-year summer paper by the first day of the Fall 1 term of the Fuqua Academic Calendar and schedule a 1 hour workshop to present the research paper to the faculty. The workshop presentation must be completed no later than the end of the Fall 2 of the Fuqua Academic Calendar.
• Second-year summer paper .  At the end of the second year during the summer, students should have made substantial progress on an original single-authored research study. Each student must select two additional faculty members (one from accounting, one not from accounting) beyond his/her primary advisor to serve as readers and committee members. The role of the four-person committee is to advise and provide feedback from conception to completion of the paper. The formal satisfaction of this requirement is to present the curriculum paper in the accounting workshop series (regular 1.5 hour presentation slot) no later than the end of Spring Term 2 of the Fuqua Academic Calendar in the third year, with the research paper provided to all faculty one week prior to the presentation. Students are encouraged to complete the paper and presentation before the end of Fall Term 2. The committee, with input from the rest of the accounting faculty, will evaluate both the presentation and the paper, and determine what actions are required (e.g., dismissal from the program, additional coursework, etc.).

Qualifying Exams

Students must exhibit satisfactory performance on a written comprehensive examination that tests the student’s understanding of the research discussed in the doctoral seminars and workshops (part 1) and the student’s ability to read and evaluate accounting research (part 2). The comprehensive examination is written by a committee of the accounting faculty, appointed by the accounting area coordinator. The examination committee will grade the exam and determine what actions, if any, are required. Depending on performance on the examination, students may be dismissed from the program or asked to retake the examination. Students are not permitted to take the comprehensive exam more than twice. The examination committee will determine any additional qualifications for a student to retake the exam and when the timing of that exam will occur. Components of part 1 of the comprehensive exam may be taken at different times depending on the timing and sequencing of courses offered. For example, the empirical component of part 1 of the comprehensive exam can take place at a different time than the analytic component of part 1 of the comprehensive exam, with timing varying based upon course offerings. Typically course schedules dictate students will take a portion of part 1 following the second year of coursework and an additional portion of part 1 following the first semester of the third year.

Teaching and Research Assistantship

A critical part of the accounting doctoral program is forming professional relationships with faculty members and learning about the research and teaching processes. All students are expected to help faculty with research and teaching as needed, with the general expectations of 10 hours per week for students in years two through five, and 4 hours per week during year one. Hours worked above these amounts generally qualify for hourly compensation at pre-specified rates established by Fuqua, with the specifics of the work arrangement determined with consultation of the faculty member needing assistance. Work on co-authored projects does not qualify as research assistance.

Preliminary Exam

This requirement is satisfied through the second-year summer requirements outlined above.

Dissertation Proposal

We suggest students form a dissertation committee in the Fall of their fourth year, with the proposal occurring in the Spring of the fourth year. Students have until the end of the summer of the fourth year to complete this requirement.

Dissertation Defense

We expect students to defend their dissertation by the end of their fifth year in the program.

Sample Program Schedule

Course selection will be determined based on your prior experience with mathematics and economics or with accounting.

* Ungraded boot camp course – not part of degree requirement ** Partial PhD course equivalent *** Course taken at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill # MBA course as part of three course requirement ## Satisfies graduate school preliminary examination requirement

PhD Program

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Accounting serves a critical role in communicating information about individuals and organizations. Leeds’ PhD students strive to inform as well as influence this communication process through academic research, teaching and professional service. The Accounting PhD program provides students the opportunity to work in collaborative relationships with faculty and gain the skills necessary to conduct research that contributes to knowledge in corporate disclosure, information intermediaries (e.g., financial analysts, media, etc.), market microstructure, corporate governance, executive compensation, corporate social responsibility, and standard setting. The accounting group specializes in empirical financial research, which relies heavily on econometric methods.

Become a leading expert

Accounting PhD students are trained to be successful academic researchers and teachers. They develop their own research ideas and implement appropriate research methods. The accounting doctoral courses tap into faculty research and expertise on a wide range of topics that are of particular interest to accounting academics, practitioners and standard-setters.

Accounting students build their teaching portfolio by first acting as a teaching apprentice (TA) for three sections of a semester-long class and subsequently teaching their own two sections of a semester-long class.

Additional  information about our Accounting faculty  can be found here.

General details about the curriculum, requirements, and structure of the  program can be found here . Please be aware this document is not an exhaustive list of the requirements for the Program.

How to Apply

PhD in Accounting Program Flyer

PhD Graduates' Publications

• When are concurrent quarterly reports useful for investors? (2023) Review of Accounting Studies Jesse Glaze – University of Colorado Boulder (PhD 2022) Nikki Skinner – University of Georgia (PhD 2019) Andrew Stephan – University of Colorado Boulder
• Facilitating tacit collusion through voluntary disclosure: Evidence from common ownership (2022) Journal of Accounting Research Andrea Pawliczek – University of Colorado Boulder (PhD 2017) Nikki Skinner – University of Georgia (PhD 2019) Sarah L.C. Zechman – University of Colorado Boulder
• The usefulness of corporate income tax accounting: Evidence from pension returns (2022) The Accounting Review Marc Cussatt – Clemson University (PhD 2014) Paul Demere – University of Georgia
• Forecast withdrawals and reporting reputation (2022) The Accounting Review Nathan Marshall – University of Colorado Boulder Nikki Skinner – University of Georgia (PhD 2019)
• Income smoothing through R&D management and earnings Informativeness (2022) The Accounting Review Bok Baik – Seoul National University Katherine Gunny – University of Colorado Denver Boochun Jung – University of Hawaii at Manoa (PhD 2007) Duri Park – Sogang University
• Organized labor and inventory stockpiling (2022) The Accounting Review Sophia Hamm – Tulane University Boochun Jung – University of Hawaii at Manoa (PhD 2007) Woo-Jong Lee – Seoul National University Daniel Yang – The Ohio State University
• A new take on voice: The influence of BlackRock's "Dear CEO" letters (2021) Review of Accounting Studies Andrea Pawliczek – University of Colorado Boulder (PhD 2017) Nikki Skinner – University of Georgia (PhD 2019) Laura Wellman – Pennsylvania State University
• Performance-vesting share award outcomes and CEO incentives (2021) The Accounting Review Andrea Pawliczek – University of Missouri (PhD 2017)
• Legal expertise and the role of litigation risk in firms' conservatism choices (2021) The Accounting Review Jonathan Black – Purdue University (PhD 2015) Chad Ham – Washington University in St. Louis Michael Kimbrough – University of Maryland
• Manager perception and proprietary investment disclosure (2021) Review of Accounting Studies Caleb Rawson – University of Arkansas (PhD 2018)
• Does the media help or hurt retail investors during the IPO quiet period? (2020) Journal of Accounting and Economics Brian Bushee – University of Pennsylvania Matthew Cedergren – University of Pennsylvania Jeremy Michels – University of Pennsylvania (PhD 2014)
• Discretionary disclosure and management horizon: Evidence from patenting (2020) Review of Accounting Studies Stephen Glaeser – University of North Carolina Jeremy Michels – University of Pennsylvania (PhD 2014) Robert Verrecchia – University of Pennsylvania
• The debt-equity choice when regulatory thresholds are based on equity values: Evidence from SOX 404 (2020) The Accounting Review David P. Weber – University of Connecticut (PhD 2005) Yanhua Sunny Yang – University of Connecticut (PhD 2006)
• The association between SFAS No. 157 fair value hierarchy information and conditional accounting conservatism (2018) The Accounting Review Jonathan Black – Purdue University (PhD 2015) Jeff Zeyun Chen – Texas Christian University Marc Cussatt – Washington State University (PhD 2014)
• Bridging the gap: Evidence from externally hired CEOs (2018) Journal of Accounting Research Yonca Ertimur - University of Colorado at Boulder Caleb Rawson - University of Colorado at Boulder (PhD 2018) Jonathan L Rogers - University of Colorado at Boulder Sarah L.C. Zechman - University of Colorado at Boulder
• Risk-based forecasting and planning and management earnings forecasts (2017) Review of Accounting Studies Christopher Ittner – University of Pennsylvania  Jeremy Michels – University of Pennsylvania (PhD 2014)
• Disclosure versus recognition: Inferences from subsequent events (2016) Journal of Accounting Research     Jeremy Michels - University of Pennsylvania (PhD 2014)
• Shell games: the long-term performance of Chinese reverse-merger firms (2015) The Accounting Review     Kevin K Li - University of Toronto Charles M.C. Lee - Stanford University Ran Zhang - Peking University, Guanghua (PhD 2006)
• Does SOX 404 Have Teeth? Consequences of the Failure to Report Existing Internal Control Weaknesses The Accounting Review     Sarah C. Rice - Texas A&M University at College Station David P. Weber - University of Connecticut (PhD 2005) Biyu Wu - University of Connecticut
• Issuer operating performance and IPO price formation (2015) Journal of Accounting Research     Michael Willenborg – University of Connecticut Biyu Wu - University of Nebraska at Lincoln Yanhua Sunny Yang - University of Connecticut (PhD 2006)
• National culture and corporate investment (2013) Journal of International Business Studies          Liang Shao - Hong Kong Baptist University Chuck C Kwok - University of South Carolina at Columbia Ran Zhang - Peking University, Guanghua (PhD 2006)
• Financial Reporting Quality and Labor Investment Efficiency (2013) Contemporary Accounting Research Boochun Jung – University of Hawaii (PhD 2007) Woo‐Jong Lee – The Hong Kong Polytechnic University David P. Weber – University of Connecticut
• Audit quality and the trade-off between accretive stock repurchases and accrual-based earnings management (2012) The Accounting Review     Brian M Burnett - Indiana University at Bloomington (PhD 2011) Bradrick M. Cripe - Northern Illinois University  Gregory W. Martin - Indiana University at Bloomington (PhD 2009) Brian P. McAllister - University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
• Earnings smoothing activities of firms to manage credit ratings (2012) Contemporary Accounting Research Boochun Jung – University of Hawaii (PhD 2007) Naomi Soderstrom – University of Colorado Boulder Yanhua Sunny Yang – University of Connecticut (PhD 2006)
• Do unverifiable disclosures matter? Evidence from peer-to-peer lending (2012) The Accounting Review Jeremy Michels – University of Colorado at Boulder (PhD 2014)
• Do financial analysts' long-term growth forecasts matter? Evidence from stock recommendations and career outcomes (2012) Journal of Accounting and Economics     Boochun Jung – University of Hawaii at Manoa (PhD 2007) Philip B. Shane – University of Virginia, McIntire Yanhua Sunny Yang - University of Texas at Austin (PhD 2006)
• How effective is internal control reporting under SOX 404? Determinants of the (non-)disclosure of existing material weaknesses (2011) Journal of Accounting Research     Sarah C. Rice - University of Connecticut David P. Weber - University of Connecticut (PhD 2005)
• Earnings management using real activities: evidence from nonprofit hospitals (2011) The Accounting Review Leslie G. Eldenburg - The University of Arizona Katherine A. Gunny - University of Colorado at Boulder Kevin W. Hee - San Diego State University (PhD 2008) Naomi Soderstrom - University of Colorado at Boulder
• PhD in Finance
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Best Accounting Programs

Ranked in 2024, part of Best Business Schools

An accounting MBA readies students for the CPA exam and

An accounting MBA readies students for the CPA exam and jobs in business accounting administration. Students gain skills to become accountants, financial managers, auditors and more. These are the top business schools for accounting. Read the methodology »

For full rankings, GMAT scores and employment data, sign up for the U.S. News Business School Compass .

See online MBA rankings.

Here are the Best Accounting Programs

University of texas--austin (mccombs), university of pennsylvania (wharton), university of illinois urbana-champaign (gies), university of michigan--ann arbor (ross), brigham young university (marriott), university of chicago (booth), stanford university, boston college (carroll), ohio state university (fisher).

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Austin , TX

• # 1 in Accounting
• # 16 in Best Business Schools  (tie)

$51,238 per year (in-state, full-time) TUITION AND FEES

$56,814 per year (out-of-state, full-time) TUITION AND FEES

454 ENROLLMENT (FULL-TIME)

The McCombs School of Business at University of Texas--Austin (McCombs) offers these departments and concentrations... Read More »

Business school

Tuition and fees.

$51,238 per year (in-state, full-time)

$56,814 per year (out-of-state, full-time)

ENROLLMENT (FULL-TIME)

Average gmat (full-time).

Philadelphia , PA

• # 2 in Accounting
• # 1 in Best Business Schools  (tie)

$79,800 per year (full-time) TUITION AND FEES

1,754 ENROLLMENT (FULL-TIME)

The Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) offers these departments and concentrations: accounting... Read More »

$79,800 per year (full-time)

Champaign , IL

• # 3 in Accounting
• Unranked in Best Business Schools

N/A TUITION AND FEES

N/A ENROLLMENT (FULL-TIME)

The Gies College of Business at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Gies) offers these departments and... Read More »

Ann Arbor , MI

• # 4 in Accounting
• # 12 in Best Business Schools  (tie)

$70,392 per year (in-state, full-time) TUITION AND FEES

$75,392 per year (out-of-state, full-time) TUITION AND FEES

734 ENROLLMENT (FULL-TIME)

The Stephen M. Ross School of Business at University of Michigan--Ann Arbor (Ross) offers these departments and... Read More »

$70,392 per year (in-state, full-time)

$75,392 per year (out-of-state, full-time)

• # 5 in Accounting
• # 37 in Best Business Schools

$15,076 per year (full-time) TUITION AND FEES

207 ENROLLMENT (FULL-TIME)

The Marriott School of Business at Brigham Young University (Marriott) offers these departments and concentrations... Read More »

$15,076 per year (full-time)

Chicago , IL

• # 6 in Accounting
• # 3 in Best Business Schools  (tie)

$80,961 per year (full-time) TUITION AND FEES

1,307 ENROLLMENT (FULL-TIME)

The Booth School of Business at University of Chicago (Booth) offers these departments and concentrations: accounting... Read More »

$80,961 per year (full-time)

Stanford , CA

• # 7 in Accounting

$79,860 per year (full-time) TUITION AND FEES

873 ENROLLMENT (FULL-TIME)

The Graduate School of Business at Stanford University offers these departments and concentrations: accounting... Read More »

$79,860 per year (full-time)

Chestnut Hill , MA

• # 8 in Accounting
• # 46 in Best Business Schools

$62,280 per year (full-time) TUITION AND FEES

161 ENROLLMENT (FULL-TIME)

The Carroll School of Management at Boston College (Carroll) offers these departments and concentrations: accounting... Read More »

$62,280 per year (full-time)

Columbus , OH

• # 9 in Accounting
• # 30 in Best Business Schools  (tie)

$30,231 per year (in-state, full-time) TUITION AND FEES

$57,960 per year (out-of-state, full-time) TUITION AND FEES

98 ENROLLMENT (FULL-TIME)

The Max M. Fisher College of Business at Ohio State University (Fisher) offers these departments and concentrations... Read More »

$30,231 per year (in-state, full-time)

$57,960 per year (out-of-state, full-time)

Indiana University (Kelley)

Bloomington , IN

• # 10 in Accounting  (tie)
• # 20 in Best Business Schools  (tie)

$28,992 per year (in-state, full-time) TUITION AND FEES

$54,602 per year (out-of-state, full-time) TUITION AND FEES

219 ENROLLMENT (FULL-TIME)

The Kelley School of Business at Indiana University (Kelley) offers these departments and concentrations: accounting... Read More »

$28,992 per year (in-state, full-time)

$54,602 per year (out-of-state, full-time)

University of Southern California (Marshall)

Los Angeles , CA

• # 18 in Best Business Schools  (tie)

$76,131 per year (full-time) TUITION AND FEES

384 ENROLLMENT (FULL-TIME)

The Marshall School of Business at University of Southern California (Marshall) offers these departments and... Read More »

$76,131 per year (full-time)

New York University (Stern)

New York , NY

• # 12 in Accounting
• # 7 in Best Business Schools  (tie)

$84,180 per year (full-time) TUITION AND FEES

639 ENROLLMENT (FULL-TIME)

The Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University (Stern) offers these departments and concentrations... Read More »

$84,180 per year (full-time)

See all 55 Ranked Schools

Get the U.S. News Grad Schools School Compass and start finding the grad schools school that's right for you. You'll have access to expanded data including GMAT scores, financial aid information, graduate salary and employment statistics and more!

More Schools in this List (Alphabetical)

Arizona State University (W.P. Carey)

• in Accounting
• # 32 in Best Business Schools  (tie)

$29,376 per year (in-state, full-time) TUITION AND FEES

$51,290 per year (out-of-state, full-time) TUITION AND FEES

115 ENROLLMENT (FULL-TIME)

The W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University (W.P. Carey) offers these departments and... Read More »

$29,376 per year (in-state, full-time)

$51,290 per year (out-of-state, full-time)

Bentley University (McCallum)

Waltham , MA

$50,310 per year (full-time) TUITION AND FEES

133 ENROLLMENT (FULL-TIME)

The McCallum Graduate School of Business at Bentley University (McCallum) offers these departments and concentrations... Read More »

$50,310 per year (full-time)

Columbia University

$84,496 per year (full-time) TUITION AND FEES

1,512 ENROLLMENT (FULL-TIME)

The Columbia Business School at Columbia University offers these departments and concentrations: accounting, business... Read More »

$84,496 per year (full-time)

Cornell University (Johnson)

Ithaca , NY

• # 15 in Best Business Schools

$79,910 per year (full-time) TUITION AND FEES

577 ENROLLMENT (FULL-TIME)

The Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University (Johnson) offers these departments and... Read More »

$79,910 per year (full-time)

Creighton University (Heider)

0 ENROLLMENT (FULL-TIME)

The Heider College of Business at Creighton University (Heider) offers these departments and concentrations... Read More »

CUNY Bernard M. Baruch College (Zicklin)

• # 53 in Best Business Schools  (tie)

$16,130 per year (in-state, full-time) TUITION AND FEES

$29,970 per year (out-of-state, full-time) TUITION AND FEES

57 ENROLLMENT (FULL-TIME)

The Zicklin School of Business at CUNY Bernard M. Baruch College (Zicklin) offers these departments and concentrations... Read More »

$16,130 per year (in-state, full-time)

$29,970 per year (out-of-state, full-time)

Duke University (Fuqua)

Durham , NC

$75,000 per year (full-time) TUITION AND FEES

787 ENROLLMENT (FULL-TIME)

The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University (Fuqua) offers these departments and concentrations: accounting... Read More »

$75,000 per year (full-time)

Emory University (Goizueta)

Atlanta , GA

$71,900 per year (full-time) TUITION AND FEES

237 ENROLLMENT (FULL-TIME)

The Goizueta Business School at Emory University (Goizueta) offers these departments and concentrations: accounting... Read More »

$71,900 per year (full-time)

About the Program

Accountants help businesses and organizations solve problems and succeed in a rapidly changing, globally competitive environment. Accountants prepare and interpret financial information that is used in a variety of settings. Companies use accounting information in strategic planning and performance evaluation. Investors, lenders and venture capitalists use accounting information when deciding whether and where to invest their funds. Government regulators, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission and even the FBI, use accounting information to detect fraud.

With a Daniels School accounting degree, you can pursue a career in public, corporate, tax, non-profit or government accounting. Our graduates join a network of Purdue alumni who hold important positions in organizations around the world.Our graduates place nationally with Big 4 accounting firms, regional public accounting firms, Fortune 1000 companies, consulting firms, small corporations, not-for-profits and government agencies across the U.S. and internationally.

You can also prepare for the highly valued Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or Certified Management Accounting (CMA) professional certifications. The Accounting Area offers specialized courses in forensic and international accounting, two of the most important growth areas in accounting today.

In addition to your accounting classes, you will take courses in other management areas, such as operations management, finance, marketing and human resource management as you complete your accounting degree. As a result, you will leave the business school with a solid understanding of both accounting and overall business operations.

Not majoring in Accounting? You can develop valuable accounting skills by concentrating or minoring in Accounting in conjunction with other majors by taking 12 credit hours of upper division accounting classes. For more information, please check with an undergraduate advisor.

While studying at Purdue, accounting students have ample opportunities for professional development and networking. Check out our  undergraduate accounting clubs  (Beta Alpha Psi and the Purdue Accounting Association). There are lots of ways to get involved!

For Purdue undergraduates interested in pursuing a career in accounting, our MSA Pathway Program offers an optimal route to completing the 150 hours of college credit work required to sit for the CPA exam. With conditional admission starting as early as sophomore year, eligible students can streamline their undergraduate experience and transition seamlessly into our master’s program.

The Accounting Area is committed to Purdue’s mission of creating and disseminating knowledge. Over the last several years, our faculty members and recent PhD graduates published their research in top academic journals and presented at conferences around the world.

Two Outstanding Programs:

• Our undergraduate accounting major is a 120 credit hour program that provides students with the foundation for successful careers in accounting and business or for graduate study.
• Our Masters of Science (Accounting) degree is a two-semester, 30 credit hour program that features a flexible curriculum with field consulting opportunities with start-ups and non-profits. Students tailor their coursework to their career goals while becoming CPA-exam ready.

Accounting Website

Accounting Major Change (CODO) Requirements      

Degree Requirements

120 credits required, department/program major courses (74-75 credits), required major courses (63 credits).

• ECON 25100 - Microeconomics Credits: 3.00 ♦ (satisfies Human Cultures: Behavioral/Social Science for core)
• ECON 25200 - Macroeconomics Credits: 3.00
• MGMT 19700 - Careers In Accounting & Finance Credits: 1.00 ♦
• MGMT 20000 - Introductory Accounting Credits: 3.00 ♦
• MGMT 20100 - Management Accounting I Credits: 3.00 ♦
• MGMT 25400 - Legal Foundations Of Business I Credits: 3.00
• MGMT 25500 - Foundations Of Business Ethics Credits: 1.00
• MGMT 29500 - Career Readiness & Exploration Credits: 1.00
• MGMT 30500 - Business Statistics Credits: 3.00
• MGMT 31000 - Financial Management Credits: 3.00
• MGMT 32400 - Marketing Management Credits: 3.00
• MGMT 33500 - Strategic Business Writing Credits: 3.00 ♦ or
• ENGL 42000 - Business Writing Credits: 3.00 ♦ or
• ENGL 42100 - Technical Writing Credits: 3.00 ♦
• MGMT 34900 - Accounting Analysis & Modeling Credits: 3.00
• MGMT 35000 - Intermediate Accounting I Credits: 3.00 ♦
• MGMT 35100 - Intermediate Accounting II Credits: 3.00 ♦
• MGMT 36100 - Operations Management Credits: 3.00
• MGMT 37300 - Accounting Information Systems & Data Analytics Credits: 3.00
• MGMT 38200 - Management Information Systems Credits: 3.00
• MGMT 50300 - Advanced Accounting Credits: 3.00 ♦
• MGMT 50400 - Tax Accounting Credits: 3.00 ♦
• MGMT 50500 - Management Accounting II Credits: 3.00 ♦
• MGMT 50600 - Auditing Credits: 3.00 ♦
• OBHR 33000 - Introduction To Organizational Behavior Credits: 3.00

Major Selectives - Choose Three (8-9 credits)

• MGMT 35200 - Strategic Management Credits: 3.00
• MGMT 41100 - Investment Management Credits: 3.00
• MGMT 41300 - Corporate Finance Credits: 3.00
• MGMT 41500 - International Financial Management Credits: 3.00
• MGMT 41601 - Corporate Mergers And Acquisitions Credits: 3.00
• MGMT 44500 - Introduction To Investments And Portfolio Management Credits: 3.00
• MGMT 47200 - Advanced Spreadsheet Modeling And Simulation Credits: 3.00
• MGMT 47900 - Data Visualization Credits: 2.00 or 3.00
• MGMT 50900 - International Accounting Credits: 3.00
• MGMT 53100 - Government/Not-For-Profit Accounting Credits: 3.00

Cultural Competency Selectives (3 credits)

•   Cultural Competency Selectives I & II for the Daniels School of Business    - Credit Hours: 3.00 

Other Departmental/Program Course Requirements (23-35 credits)

Calculus Selective - Credit Hours: 3.00 - 5.00 (satisfies Quantitative Reasoning for core) ♦

• MA 16010 - Applied Calculus I Credits: 3.00
• MA 16100 - Plane Analytic Geometry And Calculus I Credits: 5.00
• MA 16500 - Analytic Geometry And Calculus I Credits: 4.00

Statistics Selective - Credit Hours: 3.00 ♦

• STAT 30301 - Probability And Statistics For Business Credits: 3.00
• STAT 35000 - Introduction To Statistics Credits: 3.00
• STAT 35500 - Statistics For Data Science Credits: 3.00

Oral Communication Selective  - Credit Hours: 3.00 (satisfies Oral Communication for core) ♦

• SCLA 10200 - Transformative Texts, Critical Thinking And Communication II: Modern World Credits: 3.00
• COM 11400 - Fundamentals Of Speech Communication Credits: 3.00
• COM 21700 - Science Writing And Presentation Credits: 3.00
• EDPS 31500 - Collaborative Leadership: Interpersonal Skills Credits: 3.00

Written Communication Selective - Credit Hours: 3.00-4.00 (satisfies Information Literacy & Written Communication for core) ♦ 

• SCLA 10100 - Transformative Texts, Critical Thinking And Communication I: Antiquity To Modernity Credits: 3.00
• ENGL 10600 - First Year Composition With Conferences Credits: 4.00
• ENGL 10800 - First Year Composition Credits: 3.00
• HONR 19903 - Interdisciplinary Approaches In Writing Credits: 3.00

Human Cultures: Behavioral/Social Sciences Selective - Credit Hours: 3.00 (satisfies Human Cultures: Behavioral/Social Sciences for core)

• PSY 12000 - Elementary Psychology Credits: 3.00 or
• SOC 10000 - Introductory Sociology Credits: 3.00
• Human Cultures: Humanities Selective - Credit Hours: 3.00-4.00 (satisfies Human Cultures: Humanities for core)
• Science #1 Selective - Credit Hours: 2.00-5.00 (satisfies Science #1 for core)
• Science #2 Selective - Credit Hours: 2.00-5.00 (satisfies Science #2 for core)
• Science, Technology & Society Selective - Credit Hours: 1.00-3.00 (satisfies Science, Technology & Society for core)

Electives (10-23 credits)

• Electives - Credit 10.00-23.00

Optional Concentrations for Accounting, BS

• Data Analytics Concentration in the Daniels School of Business    
• Hospitality and Tourism Management Concentration in the Daniels School of Business    
• Innovation Management Concentration in the Daniels School of Business    
• International Business Concentration in the Daniels School of Business    
• Larsen Leaders Academy - Leadership Concentration in the Daniels School of Business    
• Management Consulting Concentration in the Daniels School of Business    
• Management Information Systems Concentration in the Daniels School of Business    
• Marketing Concentration in the Daniels School of Business    
• Operation & Supply Chain Management Concentration in the Daniels School of Business    

School of Business Requirements

Mai requirements.

• To be admitted to upper level, a student must complete all Management Admissions Index (MAI) courses with a 3.00 or above MAI GPA AND a 2.50 cumulative GPA, have a C- or higher in all MAI AND any Management, Economics, and OBHR courses (M/E/O), and not be on academic notice.
• University Policy states students may only attempt a course 3 times and grades of W are included in this limit. Per the School of Business, no more than three different MAI courses, or their equivalents, may be taken two times for a grade. Students are responsible for consulting their advisor about re-take options available to them.
• Previous enrollments in MA 16100, 16200, 16500, 16600 do not count against the retake policy for the MAI.

The following are Management Admissions Index courses:

• MA 16100 or MA 16010 or MA 16500
• SCLA 10100 or ENGL 10600 or ENGL 10800 or HONR 19903
• SCLA 10200 or COM 11400 or COM 21700 or EDPS 31500

GPA Requirements

• Graduation Index: 2.00 minimum
• Major Index: 2.00 minimum

Course Requirements and Notes

• MGMT, OBHR and ECON courses numbered 30000-level or higher can only be taken after being admitted to Upper Division, with the exception of OBHR 33300. Students may take this course during their sophomore year.

The following gateway courses (listed by major) should be taken soon after you are admitted to Upper Division as they are pre-requisites for all Major Selectives :

Courses taken on approved School of Business study abroad programs may be used to satisfy degree requirements. Students participating in a Purdue approved study abroad program are registered as full-time Purdue students during their semester abroad. Schedule an appointment with your advisor to discuss study abroad opportunities.

Pass/No Pass Policy

• The pass/no pass option  MAY NOT  be selected for MAI, EAI, MGMT, ECON or OBHR (MEO) courses (even if selected as a general elective) required for a major, required minor or concentration, or core requirements.
• Only courses taken for general electives that are not required major, minor or concentration courses may be taken pass/no pass.
• The total credit hours selected under the pass/no pass option in the student’s baccalaureate program may not exceed 15.
• The option cannot be adopted for more than one course per semester.
• A student who elects this option must be classified as at least a sophomore 45-59 credits or higher.
• Students who are repeating a course must repeat it using the same grade mode as the original attempt.
• Students on academic notice must complete at least 12 hours of coursework for a letter grade during the semester. Those students on academic notice for a second consecutive semester may not elect the pass/no pass option until they are removed from academic notice.
• See your advisor for Study Abroad Pass/No Pass Policy

Transfer Credit Policy

• The number of general electives will vary for each student and can include AP credit, transfer credit, and/or Credit by Exam.
• Transfer credit for upper level MGMT, OBHR and ECON will only be considered if taken at a 4-year  AACSB  accredited school.
• More information can be found at Transfer Credit Guidlines

Summer Courses

Information on summer courses is available here .

University Requirements

University core requirements, for a complete listing of university core course selectives, visit the provost’s website ..

• Human Cultures: Behavioral/Social Science (BSS)
• Human Cultures: Humanities (HUM)
• Information Literacy (IL)
• Oral Communication (OC)
• Quantitative Reasoning (QR)
• Science #1 (SCI)
• Science #2 (SCI)
• Science, Technology, and Society (STS)
• Written Communication (WC) 

Civics Literacy Proficiency Requirement

The civics literacy proficiency activities are designed to develop civic knowledge of purdue students in an effort to graduate a more informed citizenry. for more information visit the civics literacy proficiency  website..

Students will complete the Proficiency by passing a test of civic knowledge, and completing one of three paths:

• Attending six approved civics-related events and completing an assessment for each; or
• Completing 12 podcasts created by the Purdue Center for C-SPAN Scholarship and Engagement that use C-SPAN material and completing an assessment for each; or
• Earning a passing grade for one of  these approved courses (or transferring in approved AP or departmental credit in lieu of taking a course).

Upper Level Requirement

• Resident study at Purdue University for at least two semesters and the enrollment in and completion of at least 32 semester hours of coursework required and approved for the completion of the degree. These courses are expected to be at least junior-level (30000+) courses.
• Students should be able to fulfill most , if not all , of these credits within their major requirements; there should be a clear pathway for students to complete any credits not completed within their major.

Sample 4-Year Plan

Fall 1st year.

Calculus Selective - Credit Hours: 3.00 - 5.00 ♦

• MGMT 19700 - Careers In Accounting & Finance Credits: 1.00

Human Cultures: Behavioral/Social Sciences Selective - Credit Hours: 3.00

• PSY 12000 - Elementary Psychology Credits: 3.00

Written Communication Selective  ♦ - Credit Hours: 3.00-4.00

• Science #1 Selective - Credit Hours: 2.00-5.00
• Science, Technology & Society Selective - Credit Hours: 1.00-3.00

13-21 Credits

Spring 1st year.

• ECON 25100 - Microeconomics Credits: 3.00

Oral Communication Selective - Credit Hours: 3.00 ♦

• SCLA 10200 - Transformative Texts, Critical Thinking And Communication II: Modern World Credits: 3.00 ♦or
• COM 11400 - Fundamentals Of Speech Communication Credits: 3.00 ♦or
• COM 21700 - Science Writing And Presentation Credits: 3.00 ♦or
• EDPS 31500 - Collaborative Leadership: Interpersonal Skills Credits: 3.00 ♦
• Human Cultures: Humanities Selective - Credit Hours: 3.00-4.00
• Science #2 Selective - Credit Hours: 2.00-5.00

16-20 Credits

Fall 2nd year.

Statistics Selective - 3.00 credit hours ♦ 

• STAT 30301 - Probability And Statistics For Business Credits: 3.00 ♦ or
• STAT 35000 - Introduction To Statistics Credits: 3.00 ♦ or
• STAT 35500 - Statistics For Data Science Credits: 3.00 ♦

Spring 2nd Year

• Elective - Credit Hours: 3.00

Fall 3rd Year

• Major Selective - Credit Hours: 3.00

Spring 3rd Year

• Major Selective - Credit Hours: 3.00
• Cultural Competency I Selective - Credit Hours: 3.00

Fall 4th Year

• Elective  - Credit Hours: 0.00 - 4.00

12-16 Credits

Spring 4th year.

*Taking an internship in this semester is highly recommended - if you are interested in this option please discuss with your advisor. Financial Aid & Visa status may be impacted.

• Elective - Credit Hours: 0.00-3.00

12-15 Credits

Pre-requisite information.

For pre-requisite information, log in to mypurdue.purdue.edu and click here .

World Language Courses

World Language proficiency requirements vary by program. The following list is inclusive of all world languages PWL offers for credit; for acceptable languages and proficiency levels, see your advisor. (ASL-American Sign Language; ARAB-Arabic; CHNS-Chinese; FR-French; GER-German; GREK-Greek(Ancient); HEBR-Hebrew(Biblical); HEBR-Hebrew(Modern); ITAL-Italian; JPNS-Japanese; KOR-Korean; LATN-Latin; PTGS=Portuguese; RUSS-Russian; SPAN-Spanish)

Critical Course

The ♦ course is considered critical.

In alignment with the Degree Map Guidance for Indiana’s Public Colleges and Universities, published by the Commission for Higher Education (pursuant to HEA 1348-2013), a Critical Course is identified as “one that a student must be able to pass to persist and succeed in a particular major. Students who want to be nurses, for example, should know that they are expected to be proficient in courses like biology in order to be successful. These would be identified by the institutions for each degree program.”

The student is ultimately responsible for knowing and completing all degree requirements. Consultation with an advisor may result in an altered plan customized for an individual student. The myPurduePlan powered by DegreeWorks is the knowledge source for specific requirements and completion.

• Business Essentials
• Leadership & Management
• Credential of Leadership, Impact, and Management in Business (CLIMB)
• Entrepreneurship & Innovation
• Digital Transformation
• Finance & Accounting
• Business in Society
• For Organizations
• Support Portal
• Media Coverage
• Founding Donors
• Leadership Team
• Harvard Business School →
• HBS Online →
• Online Business Certificate Courses
• Business Strategy
• Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability

CORe INCLUDES

Credential of readiness (core), key concepts, who will benefit, professionals, mba applicants, recent graduate students.

What You Earn

Credential of Readiness

Prove your mastery of business fundamentals

Earn by: completing the three-course CORe curriculum and passing the exam

Business Analytics

• Describing and Summarizing Data
• Sampling and Estimation
• Hypothesis Testing
• Single Variable Linear Regression
• Multiple Regression

Featured Exercises

Economics for managers.

• Customer Demand: Foundations
• Strategies for Assessing and Increasing Demand
• Suppliers and Cost
• Competition and Differentiation

Financial Accounting

• The Accounting Equation
• Recording Transactions
• Financial Statements
• Adjusting Journal Entries
• The Statement of Cash Flows
• Analyzing Financial Statements
• Accounting for the Future

Your Guide to Preparing for Business School

Advance Your Career with Essential Business Skills

Which Version of HBS Online's Credential of Readiness (CORe) Program Is Right for You?

Our difference, about the professors.

V.G. Narayanan Financial Accounting

Bharat Anand Economics for Managers

Jan Hammond Business Analytics

Dates & eligibility.

No current course offerings for this selection.

All applicants must be at least 18 years of age, proficient in English, and committed to learning and engaging with fellow participants throughout the course.

Applicants who have previously enrolled in Business Analytics, Economics for Managers, or Financial Accounting will not be eligible to enroll in CORe.

Learn about bringing this course to your organization .

Learner Stories

What kind of time commitment is required for CORe?

CORe is offered with multiple durations of study—ranging from 10-week cohorts to extended 17-week cohorts. However, the course content and program requirements are identical regardless of the program length. Our goal in offering different program lengths is to give learners different options to balance the program’s rigors with their particular lifestyle and responsibilities.

The median time required to complete the program is approximately 150 hours, though this learning time varies widely. Some participants spend more time on the platform to enhance their understanding of course concepts and share insights with peers. This time includes all coursework on the platform, including written reflections and quizzes, as well as engagement with peers. This does not include review work outside the platform or preparing for and taking the three-hour CORe final exam.

In the standard versions of CORe—10-week and 12-week cohorts—you should be prepared to spend more time per week on the program. Although we have smoothed out the workload as evenly as possible, you should expect that some weeks will require more work than others.

What is the difference between the undergraduate credit and noncredit versions of CORe?

During the January, May, and September CORe cohorts, we offer an undergraduate credit option through the Harvard Extension School. When you start your application, you can select whether you are seeking admission for the for-credit or non-credit option of CORe. The course content, deadlines, and grading process are all the same whether you choose to enroll in the undergraduate credit ($4,080) or credential-only ($2,500) version of CORe.

By enrolling in the undergraduate credit option of CORe, you will be enrolled at Harvard Extension School (January or September CORe cohorts) or Harvard Summer School (May CORe cohort) and eligible for student privileges like a Harvard University ID number (to access online library resources), free career and academic webinars, a Harvard Gmail account, and education tax credit and loan deferments.

Upon successful completion of CORe, undergraduate credit option participants will earn eight undergraduate credits from Harvard Extension School (January or September CORe cohorts) or Harvard Summer School (May CORe cohort). Harvard Extension School and Harvard Summer School are fully accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges—the same accreditation as all other schools at Harvard. Harvard transfer credit is accepted by institutions around the world, but it is always up to the accepting university to determine transferability. Successful undergraduate credit option participants will also receive a Credential of Readiness certificate from Harvard Business School Online, and an official transcript will be made available to verify your mastery of the program’s content.

The Harvard Extension School graduate program in the field of management or finance offers an accelerated admission pathway for students who pass CORe (in the for-credit or non-credit offering).

Financial aid and financing options available for CORe program participants also vary depending on whether participants have elected the undergraduate credit option or have enrolled in the non-credit version of the program. More information is available on the Payment & Financial Aid page .

Are there grants for CORe? How do I qualify?

CORe participants may be eligible for financial aid based on demonstrated financial need. To receive financial aid, you will be asked to provide supporting documentation. Please refer to our Payment & Financial Aid page.

Will my performance in CORe factor in to my admission to HBS?

Successful completion of CORe will help you prepare for an MBA program. While applicants to the MBA Program at HBS will have an opportunity to inform the Admissions Board of non-degree preparatory coursework (including CORe), this is one of many application elements and will be considered in the larger context of a holistic selection process.

Will my participation in CORe factor in to my admission to other graduate programs?

Can i take core if i've taken financial accounting, business analytics, or economics for managers.

By enrolling in the Financial Accounting, Business Analytics, or Economics for Managers certificate programs, participants will be ineligible to enroll in the CORe program. By enrolling in the CORe program, participants will be ineligible to enroll in Financial Accounting, Business Analytics, or Economics for Managers as individual certificate programs.

In addition, participants currently enrolled in one of the individual courses cannot transfer their enrollment to CORe. If you're interested in earning the Credential of Readiness, you must enroll in the full CORe program.

What are the policies for refunds, deferrals, and withdrawals?

Please refer to our Policies page .

What materials will I have access to after completing the Credential of Readiness program?

You will have access to the materials in every prior module as you progress through the program and prepare for the final exam. Access to course materials and the course platform ends 60 days after the final deadline in the program. At the end of each course module, you will be able to download a PDF summary of the module’s key takeaways. At the end of the program, you will receive a PDF compilation of all of the module summary documents.

How should I list my credential on my resume?

Once you've earned your Credential of Readiness, list it on your resume along with the date of completion like this:

Harvard Business School Online CORe: Credential of Readiness, [Grade] [Cohort Start Month and Year]

List your credential on your LinkedIn profile under "Education" with the language from the Credential Verification page:

School: Harvard Business School Online Dates Attended: [The year you participated in the program] Degree: Other; CORe Credential of Readiness Field of Study: Leave blank Grade: "Pass," "Pass with Honors" or "Pass with High Honors" as applicable Activities and Societies: Leave blank

For the program description on LinkedIn, please use the following:

Description: CORe (Credential of Readiness) is a 150-hour certificate program on the fundamentals of business from Harvard Business School. CORe is comprised of three courses—Business Analytics, Economics for Managers, and Financial Accounting—developed by leading Harvard Business School faculty and delivered in an active learning environment based on the HBS signature case-based learning model.

Related Programs

Apply fundamental data analysis to real business problems.

See the world through the lens of economics and gain the knowledge and skills to craft successful business strategy.

In this accounting fundamentals course, discover what's behind the numbers in financial statements, such as balance sheets and income statements.

Kofi Appiah Okyere, Director of Graduate Accounting Programs, 619 Whitman School of Management, 315-443-3587, [email protected]

Program Description

The Master of Science in Professional Accounting program is a 30 credit program for students with qualified undergraduate degrees in accounting. For students with other educational backgrounds, the program length varies from 30 to 63 credits, depending on the number of qualified accounting and management courses completed as an undergraduate or graduate student. M.S. Accounting students complete six required courses and choose a set of electives based on their professional interest and objectives.

Accreditation

The Whitman School has been accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International) since 1920.

The M.S. in Professional Accounting degree is registered as a licensure-qualifying program for CPA licensure in New York state and meets the educational requirements for CPA licensure in most other 150 hour states.

Students are recommended to take the GMAT as part of the application process. Applicants will be considered for the program based on their GMAT score, previous academic experience, work experience, professional references, and personal statements.

Financial Support

Merit-based financial support is awarded based on a student’s admission application. These awards are highly competitive and are available to both U.S. and international full-time students. Students may apply for several loan programs to cover the cost of attendance such as the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan, the Federal PLUS Loan, or various alternative/private education loans. Students must be enrolled at least half-time during each term in which they wish to be borrow an educational loan.

Student Learning Outcomes

Have an advanced understanding of the major functional areas of accounting

Be effective, persuasive communicators

Demonstrate skills in accounting research, critical thinking, and problem solving, supported by appropriate analytical and quantitative techniques

Demonstrate the ability to think strategically about the relationship between business decisions and accounting policy implications

1. Analyze financial statements

2. Evaluate the impact of factors affecting major functional areas of accounting

3. Utilize strategies for effective communications

4. Identify business problems and solutions using analytical and quantitative techniques in accounting research

5. Apply concepts, models and tools of strategic analysis to evaluate the relationship between business decisions and accounting policy implications

Degree Requirements & Learning Outcomes

This is a 30 - 63 credit degree leading to a Master of Science in Professional Accounting.

The rigorous Whitman MS in Professional Accounting program is designed for students of all academic backgrounds. Those entering with a bachelor’s degree in business administration with at least 24 credits in accounting courses are eligible for the one-year, 30-credit program. Students without the appropriate coursework in accounting, economics, finance, and quantitative methods may be required to take undergraduate and/or graduate-level foundation courses as part of the program. Total of 30 credits taken in following areas:

• ACC 652 - Accounting Analytics 3 credit(s)
• ACC 677 - International Reporting and Analysis 3 credit(s)
• ACC 725 - Financial Statement Analysis 3 credit(s)
• ACC 747 - Advanced Auditing 3 credit(s)
• ACC 757 - Taxes & Business Strategy 3 credit(s)
• SCM 651 - Business Analytics 3 credit(s)
• Accounting Elective (3 credits)
• Management Selective (3 credits)
• Two Electives (6 credits)

Learning Goal 1:

Whitman MSA graduates will have an advanced understanding of the major functional areas of accounting.

• MSAs will be able to analyze financial statements and understand the impact of accounting and operating decisions on reported financial performance.
• MSAs will understand the impact of business decisions on product and other operating costs and their impact on business performance.
• MSAs will have an understanding of the economic nature of auditing and knowledge of the factors that impact auditor performance.
• MSAs will understand the impact of taxes on business decisions and their strategic implications.

Learning Goal 2:

Whitman MSAs will be effective, persuasive communicators.

• MSAs will be able to utilize effective strategies for communicating with and listening to other individuals and groups.
• MSAs will be able to develop, organize and generate clear and effective professional briefings and reports.
• MSAs will be able to develop and support arguments that are fact-based, conceptually coherent, and compellingly persuasive.

Learning Goal 3:

Whitman MSA graduates will demonstrate skills in accounting research, critical thinking and problem solving, supported by appropriate analytical and quantitative techniques.

• MSAs will be able to research accounting, auditing and tax issues to develop appropriate recommendations and conclusions.
• MSAs will be able to gather, manipulate, and analyze data for purposes of understanding business problems and designing solutions for them.
• MSAs will be able to generate accounting solutions to business problems.

Learning Goal 4:

Whitman MSAs will demonstrate the ability to think strategically about the relationship between business decisions and accounting policy implications.

• MSAs will be able to identify strategic issues and how they are impacted by accounting decisions.
• MSAs will be able to explain and apply concepts, models and tools of strategic analysis.
• MSAs will be able to identify and evaluate the short-term and long-term accounting implications of business decisions.
• MSAs will be able to appraise situations faced by a business organization from a broad perspective that considers economic, legal, ethical, and social factors.
• MSAs will be able to integrate knowledge and concepts from different functional areas of business to analyze accounting decisions.

Transfer Credit

Students can transfer a maximum of 6 credits of coursework. The credits must be graduate level taken from an AACSB accredited business school. A grade of “B” or higher is needed to transfer in the credits. The grade itself does not transfer.

Satisfactory Progress

Students are required to maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher to meet degree requirements.

2024 Minneapolis Graduate Commencement information and recording First year students submit deposit here -->

• Find My Program
• Apply for Admission
• First-Year Undergraduate Student
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• What Can You Do With an Accounting Degree?

by Andrew Buckley

May 31, 2024

University Services Accounting

Careers in accounting involve more than numbers and spreadsheets. If you work in this field, you already know that what you can do with an accounting degree includes making an impactful difference in the lives of others . In the jobs you can get with an accounting degree, you might be responsible for anything from helping a small business maintain a healthy bottom line to assisting a nonprofit in allocating funds to maximize its impact. And if you’re just getting started in accounting or considering the field as part of a career switch, you’ll soon learn that it has much more to offer than many people realize.

As part of the wider finance industry, accounting has a reputation for offering job security and above-average salaries. For each year between 2022 and 2032, the business and finance field is projected to usher in about 911,400 job openings 1 , and 126,500 of those will go to accountants and auditors. 2 The median salary for accountants ($79,880/year) also outpaces the national average, and accounting professionals tend to widen this gap with additional years of experience – the top 10% of accountants earn $137,280 or more per year. 2

Becoming a public accountant is a solid career choice that works well for many people. However, it’s important to remember that there are plenty of other jobs you can get with an accounting degree – especially if you pursue a master’s . For example, many employers value the level of expertise that comes with a master’s degree when making difficult decisions regarding promotions to management roles.

If you’re interested in advancing to management occupations ( median salary: $116,880 3 ), a master’s in accounting might be a worthwhile investment. At Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, you can earn an online Master of Science in Accounting (MSA) whether or not you have an accounting background. You’ll build expertise in finance and business principles and have the option to stack multiple graduate certificates to gain specialized knowledge for the career you want.

For a better understanding of what you can do with an accounting degree, explore the careers below.

Careers in Accounting

Financial manager.

One of the top-earning jobs you can get with an accounting degree is as a financial manager. Professionals who work as financial managers may also be called controllers, finance officers, or treasurers. Their job is to maintain the overall financial health of a business or organization by closely monitoring financial reports and making strategic investment decisions. Financial managers pay attention to market trends and have a solid grasp of effective leadership and management practices. Required skills for this position include:

• Critical thinking
• Data analysis
• Decision-making
• Effective communication
• Employee management
• Market analysis
• Strategic planning

Salary and Career Outlook

Financial managers earn a median salary of $156,100 per year , according to the latest data provided by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS). This occupation is also projected to grow faster than average between 2022 and 2032 at a rate of 16% – about 69,600 job openings per year . 4 Professionals working in this occupation are known to be employed in a range of environments, with those in professional, scientific, and technical services earning the highest salaries.

Required Education

Financial managers need at least a bachelor’s degree, but in many cases, a master’s degree is preferred. Professionals in this role tend to have several years of experience in finance, and many have previously worked as accountants or financial analysts. While not always required, many financial managers also have one or more of the following certifications:

• Certified Public Accountant
• Certified Government Financial Manager
• Chartered Financial Analyst Certification

Find out how the online MSA program at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota can help you prepare for the Certified Public Accountant Exam.

Accounting Director

Accounting directors lead a team of accountants in accurately monitoring the financial transactions related to an organization’s functioning . Responsibilities for those in this occupation include supervising employees, ensuring adherence to financial regulations, auditing financial data, and more. To do their job well, a professional in this role must possess expertise in:

• Accounting software
• Cash flow management
• Financial reporting
• Oral communication
• People management
• Process improvement
• Project management
• Written communication

Accounting director is another high-paying career in accounting, with Payscale reporting a median income of $113,478 per year. Further, the top 10% of experienced professionals in this occupation earn $168,000 or more annually. As of 2024, salaries for accounting directors tend to be most significantly boosted by skills in mergers and acquisitions, auditing, process improvement, and project management. 5

Earning a master’s in accounting is generally recommended for professionals who hope to become an accounting director. This level of education will prepare you with the technical and leadership skills you need to succeed in this role. Passing the CPA exam and maintaining your license is also required for this occupation.

Are You Ready to Move Forward in Your Accounting Career?

Develop advanced expertise in both finance and business with an online MSA from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota.

Personal Financial Advisor

The occupation of personal financial advisor can be one of the most rewarding careers in accounting. Financial advisors use their expertise to assist individuals in planning for significant life events , such as marriage, children, home buying, and retirement. By breaking down complex financial and investment information, these professionals empower clients to make decisions to increase wealth and impact families for generations. It’s essential for personal advisors to possess the following skills:

• Investment evaluation
• Goal setting
• Portfolio assessment
• Retirement planning
• Risk management

The BLS reports a median salary of $99,580 per year for personal financial advisors, and the top 10% of experienced professionals in this occupation earn $239,200 or more. Due to the growing population of people 65 and older, this occupation is also expanding at a faster-than-average pace to meet an increased need for retirement and investment planning. Demand for personal financial advisors is expected to grow 13% between 2022 and 2032 , resulting in about 25,600 openings per year. 6

Common degrees for personal financial advisors include business, accounting, and mathematics. A master’s in accounting can help you both get started and advance in this career by delivering the financial expertise and business acumen that lead to success. You may also need one or more of the following licenses and registrations based on the specific position you pursue:

• State regulator registration (varies by state)
• U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) registration
• North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) license
• Certified Financial Planner designation

Budget Analyst

Organizations rely on budget analysts to plan and monitor their finances . To keep a business financially healthy, people in this occupation collaborate with other team members and departments to create the budget, plan for future expenses, review proposals, analyze plans, and manage spending. Budget analysts must be well-versed in the following areas:

• Budget development
• Budget monitoring
• Cost-benefit analysis
• Financial planning
• Regulatory compliance
• Spending analysis

The budget analyst occupation is a typical career in accounting, with these professionals working across a range of industries. Budget analysts earn a median annual salary of $84,940, with the top 10% of earners making $131,630 or more per year. 7 Professionals in this occupation work in a variety of environments, but the five highest paying employers of budget analysts include 7 :

• Professional, scientific, and technical services
• Federal government
• Local government
• State government
• Education services

A degree in accounting, economics, or statistics is typically required for a career in budget analysis, and many employers prefer candidates with a master’s degree. Earning a master’s in accounting can help you move to a career as a budget analyst or move up the ladder if you already work in this or a similar occupation.

Explore the Human Side of Accounting

At Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, earning an accounting master’s degree means more than becoming an expert in the latest economic trends. As a student in the online Master of Science in Accounting program, you’ll gain the soft skills and business acumen needed to become a trusted and ethical leader. This program is also ideal for career switchers, as it prepares graduates with the financial expertise they need to enter the top master’s in accounting jobs.

No matter where you are on your journey, you can take the next step toward your ideal accounting career today. Learn more about the online master’s in accounting from Saint Mary’s.

• Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook. “Business and Financial Occupations.” April 17, 2024. Retrieved May 6, 2024 from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/home.htm .
• Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook. “Accountants and Auditors.” April 17, 2024. Retrieved May 6, 2024 from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/accountants-and-auditors.htm .
• Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook. “Management Occupations.” April 17, 2024. Retrieved May 6, 2024 from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/home.htm .
• Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook. “Financial Managers.” April 17, 2024. Retrieved May 6, 2024 from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/financial-managers.htm .
• Payscale. “Average Accounting Director Salary.” Retrieved May 23, 2024 from https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Accounting_Director/Salary .
• Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook. “Personal Financial Advisors.” April 17, 2024. Retrieved May 7, 2024 from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/personal-financial-advisors.htm .
• Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook. “Budget Analysts.” April 17, 2024. Retrieved May 7, 2024 from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/budget-analysts.htm .

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