Graduate-level accounting program inquiry

College Majors Business Major
1

Hello all,

I’m interested in taking the CPA exam one day because, to my knowledge, it is the best way to distinguish oneself among other accountants and more career paths are available to those who pass the exam.

Where’s the problem/question? I’m a junior studying “Energy Business and Finance” (a major that focuses on energy economics and decision making) with a minor in Economics. Seeing as how I have one course in accounting under my belt (Financial and Managerial Accounting for Decision Making) and I’m told the exam requires a minimum of 150 credit hours to be eligible to take, I was wondering if there really was any way for me to become a Certified Public Accountant without staying an extra two or three semesters to take accounting courses. I want to be applying to graduate schools and attend one after I finish my B.S.

So with that said, I’m also wondering how much graduate programs value a core accounting curriculum. If I had a 3.4 GPA, high 600’s / low 700’s GMAT, and one solid letter of recommendation from an Accounting professor, could I realistically attend a competitive program like Stanford, U Mich, UNC Chapel Hill, etc.?

Thanks in advance.

2

You should talk to your advisor and/or make an appointment with someone in the accounting department to see how long it would take you to fulfill the classes needed for a CPA. It could well be more than one or two semesters (first of all some classes are sequential so you can’t pile them all in on one semester, second in many states you need other business core classes like finance, economics, etc. to get a CPA).

You can also look into Master’s programs. For most Master’s programs you’d have to go 2 years to fulfill the requirements of the program and have the classes to get a CPA. You can also look for schools that offer concentrated accounting MS programs geared for non-accounting majors – a couple I know of are William and Mary and Rutgers bit believe that there are others. You are likely not a candidate for the very top MBA programs due to your GPA, GMAT, and lack of work experience.