All students must complete a minimum of ten courses (30 credit hours) for the MSA degree. Students must take a total of at least six accounting classes which include the four core MSA classes. The four required core courses use richly detailed business contexts. These enable students to leverage their technical expertise and produce insights into how information can be generated, used and communicated. The courses are:
- Financial Statement Analysis (MA824)
- Assurance and Consulting Services (MA825)
- Taxes and Management Decisions (MA826)
- Strategic Cost and Profitability Analysis (MA827)
*Note - Students planning to take the CPA Exam in New York state must also take EDP Audit to meet state board requirements. This course will count as credit toward the two required Accounting electives in the Program.
The six elective courses allow students to develop strength in accounting-related and other disciplines. Non-accounting electives can be fulfilled from virtually any of Boston College's graduate course offerings, and may include coursework in subjects like finance or marketing. Electives taken within the Carroll School of Management must be at the 600 or 800 level.
Prerequisite/Corequisite Coursework
Undergraduate business/accounting students must complete a minimum of ten courses (30 credit hours) for the MSA degree. Liberal arts students may need to take up to five additional courses (depending on their undergraduate studies) to fulfill the prerequisites listed below. These prerequisites can be taken as MSA electives.
Accounting:
- Intermediate Accounting I (or the equivalent thereof)
- Intermediate Accounting II (or the equivalent thereof)
- Cost Accounting (or the equivalent thereof)
- Financial Auditing (or the equivalent thereof)
- Federal Taxation (or the equivalent thereof)
- Accounting Information Systems (or the equivalent thereof)
Non-Accounting:
- Statistics
- Basic Finance
- Economics
- Business Law
- Organizational Behavior*
- Operations or Production Management*
- Marketing*
*If taken as part of the Program, these prerequisites are satisfied through one course, Foundations for Accounting Professionals (MA819).
NOTE: If you're interested in taking the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam, specific courses required vary by state. Visit the “See Links” section for additional information.
Program Timing
The MSA Program is only offered on a full-time basis. Undergraduate accounting majors enjoy significant flexibility on the timing of courses. These students can pursue a summer/fall schedule or an academic year schedule, fall/spring/summer.
With the summer/fall schedule, students take five courses during the summer and five courses during the fall semester. This is a popular option for undergraduate accounting students that have secured full-time employment before entering the MSA Program.
If you choose the academic year option, please note that two of the core courses are only offered during the summer and therefore you must take classes during the fall, spring and summer semesters.
Students without an undergraduate accounting degree may only begin the Program in September and follow a structured path for coursework which requires taking classes during the summer.
International Students
Students studying at universities outside the United States who wish to pursue the summer/fall program option must meet two qualifications:
-The undergraduate major/concentration must be accounting
-3 credits must have been earned for each accounting and business course taken from the list of accounting and non-accounting courses listed above
If these requirements have not been met then application must be to the September enrollment period.