2024 - 2025 Graduate Catalog 
    
    Nov 21, 2024  
2024 - 2025 Graduate Catalog

Master of Accountancy (M.Acc.)


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The online Master of Accountancy program is designed for recent graduates as well as working professionals who need to balance family, work, and classes. The online master of accountancy program is designed to provide students with strong graduate-level preparation in accounting that will allow them to enter the accounting profession and achieve certification as certified public accountants (CPA). MAcc graduates will be able to build significant accounting careers in public accounting, industry, financial institutions, government, and not-for-profit organizations; as CPAs they may also seek out opportunities for entrepreneurship. In recognition of the fact that accounting is a five-year program of study, the 30-hour MAcc degree program allows students to earn the 150 hours required by most state boards of accountancy for licensure as CPAs while focusing on value-added accounting knowledge and skills useful in the workplace.

The goals of the program are achieved through coursework delivered in an online format in which students are actively engaged in learning. Instruction builds on a foundation of business and pedagogical technology, CPA review, internship opportunities, and the development of leadership and other skills. Content areas include 18 hours in financial and governmental accounting, auditing, income taxation, financial statement analysis, and law; students must also select 12 additional hours from a variety of master’s-level accounting, information systems, and business electives. Full-time students who enter the program with a strong undergraduate preparation in accounting and business will be able to complete the program in one year of full-time study.

Student Learning Outcomes


  1. Students should demonstrate a broad understanding of topics in financial and cost accounting, taxation, auditing, and other related content areas. Emphasis is placed on preparation for the CPA exam.
  2. Students should be able to carry out applied accounting research.
  3. Students should be able to effectively express accounting knowledge and ideas through technical written and oral communication.
  4. Students should demonstrate technological skills in solving accounting problems.

Admission to Study

Applications for graduate study should be directed to the Office of Graduate Studies at Coastal Carolina University.

Admission Requirements

Regular admission to the Master of Accountancy is met by satisfying the following criteria:

  1. Evidence of having received a baccalaureate degree with an overall 3.0 grade point average from a regionally accredited institution in this country or its equivalent at a foreign institution based on a four-year degree.
  2. Completion of the Graduate Management Admissions Test [GMAT] within the last five (5) years. Applicants may apply for a GMAT waiver if they (1) have five or more years of accounting experience or (2) meet the following educational requirements: (a) have completed at least twelve semester hours of upper-division accounting courses, (b) their overall GPA is 3.0 (4.0 scale) or higher, and (c) their upper-division accounting GPA is 3.0 (4.0 scale) or higher. Students wishing to receive a GMAT waiver should send their unofficial transcript(s) and an email requesting consideration for the GMAT waiver to the Director of the Master of Accountancy program.
  3. Citizens of countries other than the United States of America who apply to Coastal Carolina University graduate programs must meet the University’s graduate admission requirements, including a process to document English proficiency for admission. For more information, international applicants should consult the International Admissions in the Center for Global Engagement.
  4. Submission of two letters of recommendation from individuals familiar with the academic ability, level of responsibility, and work ethic of the applicant.
  5. Completion of 18 hours of business courses with a grade of B or better in each, to include economics, business law, statistics, finance, marketing, and management.
  6. Applicants without an undergraduate accounting degree must also meet the following requirements: (a) complete 6 credit hours of accounting principles; and (b) complete at least 12 credit hours with a GPA of 3.0 or higher in the following upper-level accounting courses:  intermediate accounting, cost accounting, auditing, and accounting systems/analytics.

An admission decision is made when all evidence of the applicant’s ability to succeed in graduate studies has been submitted.

Provisional Admission

Applicants may receive provisional admission to the Master of Accountancy if they do not meet the stated admission requirements. The decision to offer provisional admittance to the program is made by the Department Chair in Accounting and the Graduate Director of the E. Craig Wall Sr. College of Business Administration. Students who are provisionally admitted are limited to 12 hours of course work. Upon satisfactory completion of this coursework with a B or better in each course, provisional status may be lifted.

Degree Requirements

The Master of Accountancy degree requires:

  1. Successful completion of an approved program of study with a minimum of 30 graduate hours.
  2. A minimum grade point average of 3.0 (B) in all course work.
  3. A maximum of 6 credit hours may be completed below the grade of B before dismissal from the program.
  4. Completion of all requirements for the degree during a six-year period.
  5. A record of professional performance and integrity during all phases of the program of study.

Non-Degree Students

Students classified as non-degree graduate students must receive approval from the Department Chair of the Department of Accounting and the Graduate Director of the E. Craig Wall Sr. College of Business Administration in order to take more than 12 credit hours in the M.Acc. program.

Transfer Credits

A maximum of twelve (12) transfer credit hours from an AACSB-accredited institution may be applied to a student’s program of study subject to the approval of the Chair of the Department of Accounting. Exceptions may be made by the Chair of the Department of Accounting. All transfer course work must have been completed with a minimum grade of B.

Degree Requirements (30 Graduate Credit Hours)


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