<p>Are accountants supposed to get an MBA or an MS in accounting? Which is better? There aren't many schools I know that offer an MS in accounting. All the schools that do offer it are ones I never heard of. (I'm not even in undergrad school yet, just wanted to know for the future.)</p>
<p>A lot of states upped the amount of hours of school required for a student to take the state's CPA exam. It's 150 hours in many states I think. Therefore, a lot of colleges are starting to offer an MS in accounting program to undergrad. accounting students. If the student follows the recommended course plan for the program, they can usually finish the MS in accounting one year after the normal 4 years it takes for their bachelor's degree. So basically, there are some universities offering an MS in accounting degree that is only 30 credit hours, which will enable accounting students to take the state's CPA exam. </p>
<p>Three universities I know for positive that offer this type of MS in accounting program is the University of Illinois, UT Austin, and Northern Illinois University But I'm sure many others do as well.</p>
<p>I get the feeling that an MBA is considered much more valuable than the sort of MS in accounting that I'm talking about. I think that an MBA degree will be much more thorough and management oriented, while the MS in accounting is based on advanced accounting.</p>
<p>If you plan to become a CPA, then I think ideally what you could do is get an MS in accounting prior to taking the CPA exam. Then later on after you've gotten some work experience, you can go back to school and get an MBA. But if you never plan to become a CPA, then getting an MBA with a concentration in accounting is probably a good route.</p>
<p>USC offers this. My son took it after double-majoring in music and economics. It's 15 months. He is thinking about going for an MBA later, but clearly the accounting MS is desired because he already has a job lined up with one of the Big Four after graduation, and they payed half his tuition.</p>