Undergraduate Business Major: UCLA or USC?

<p>Columbia.. well, it was in fact founded as a teacher's college (the role the Cal State Schools play now). Something about that water in Westwood... or is it the Playboy mansion nearbye... has transformed the southern campus into a legitimate Top 20 research university :)</p>

<p>go CAL. it's hands down now that you throw that into the equation. only downside is that' it's not in the LA area</p>

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only downside is that' it's not in the LA area

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Shouldn't that be a positive?</p>

<p>Re: UCLA biz econ vs. USC Marshall
One downside is that you don't get the b-school placement services. If you are sure about accounting, I'd say USC. USC's Master of Accounting is also very good.</p>

<p>Sorry guys, couldn't find my own thread...
I got into UCB economics major...
So, according to most of you, UCB seems to be a good choice.
I am going to visit UCB on Friday</p>

<p>If you are sure about CPA, go to USC. Neither UCLA nor UCB would prepare you for CPA. This is about eligibility. You will be required to take additional courses somewhere if you graduate with econ-biz from UCLA or biz degree from Hass.</p>

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If you are sure about CPA, go to USC. Neither UCLA nor UCB would prepare you for CPA.

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<p>So wrong... You ahve no idea how wrong you are. All you need are 36 units of accounting courses and 36 units of business-related courses as core courses requirement, and then you need to have a B.A./B.S. to sit for CPA. UCLA offers 13 courses (each worth 4/5 units) in Accounting and it's easy to fill up 36 business-related courses (Calculus, Stats, Econ, Computer Science, etc.)</p>

<p>All you need to do is take 9 accounting courses (basically accounting minor at UCLA) and major Econ/Math/Computer Science or whatever to be eligible for CPA. I'm sure this can be accomodated in any schools.</p>

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If you are sure about accounting, I'd say USC. USC's Master of Accounting is also very good.

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</p>

<p>Except I'm sure the OP wouldn't want to spend additional money just to fulfill CPA requirement by getting Master's in it. Why waste your time doing extra months/years of education if you can do it as undergrad?</p>

<p>^I admit that I didn't know UCLA apparently has an accounting "minor" (a 9-course one!). UCB apparently also offers accounting courses though it doesn't gaurantee the courses will be offered regularly. Are you sure there are enough people minoring in it so that the courses are offered regularly at UCLA? I still think USC is better for accounting; it's a well-ranked and more established program.</p>

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Except I'm sure the OP wouldn't want to spend additional money just to fulfill CPA requirement by getting Master's in it. Why waste your time doing extra months/years of education if you can do it as undergrad?

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You mean California doesn't have a 150-credits (180 quarter credits) requirement for CPA? Most other states do; that's why the Master of Accounting degree is so popular now.</p>

<p>You need 180 quarter credit to graduate from UCLA so you would have fulfilled that requirement automatically when you get your B.A./B.S. then why go for Master of Accounting? I was always under the notion that Master of Accounting degree is for those who did not have any chance to take classes as undergrad. and wants to become CPA. If you've already take accounting classes as undergrad, why waste money on doing Masters of Accounting?</p>

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Are you sure there are enough people minoring in it so that the courses are offered regularly at UCLA? I still think USC is better for accounting; it's a well-ranked and more established program.

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<p>Yes. although it is a minor, it's pretty competitive to get in there (you need a 3.5 GPA to have a good shot and there's a cutoff). It is one of the most established department at UCLA and the courses are offered regularly. So you won't have any trouble taking those.</p>

<p>It's true that USC has one of the best Accounting Program in the nation, but as you said earlier, it's all about eligibility. The Big 4 Firms (which is pretty much as prestigious as you can get in the Accounting Industry) recruits HEAVILY in all three schools as well as in the CSUs. Accounting is one of those areas where prestige of the program doesn't matter as much as IBanking or Consulting as long as you have good knowledge of the basics of financial accounting. And I'm sure that all three schools will do a good job in preparing you for any of the accounting firms.</p>

<p>CPA</a> Requirements</p>

<p>"The California Board of Accountancy (Board) at its meeting on November 16,
2007, voted to pursue law changes to make the requirements for obtaining a
California CPA license more consistent with the Uniform Accountancy Act(UAA) and with the licensure requirements of most other states.</p>

<p>Currently, California applicants have two options for licensure – Pathway 1 and Pathway 2. On March 21, 2008, the Board will consider proposed statutory changes to eliminate the Pathway 1 licensure option effective January 1, 2012.</p>

<p>Pathway 1 educational requirements include a conferred baccalaureate degree, a minimum of 24 semester units in accounting-related subjects, and a minimum of 24 semester units of business-related subjects. Pathway 1 applicants have a 24-month experience requirement and may be licensed with general accounting or attest experience.</p>

<p>Pathway 2 educational requirements include 150 semester units of education, a conferred baccalaureate degree, a minimum of 24 semester units in accountingrelated subjects, and a minimum of 24 semester units of business-related subjects. Pathway 2 applicants have a 12-month experience requirement and may be licensed with general accounting or attest experience."</p>

<p>I'm well aware of the requirement. My point still holds.</p>

<p>"The earliest date proposed changes eliminating Pathway 1 could be signed into law is January 2009. Updates to this information, as it becomes available, will be provided on the Board’s web site at <a href="http://www.dca.ca.gov/cba."&gt;www.dca.ca.gov/cba.&lt;/a&gt;"
<a href="http://www.dca.ca.gov/cba/misc_notices/appl1.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.dca.ca.gov/cba/misc_notices/appl1.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>sorry, 150 semester credits = 225 quarter credits.</p>

<p>225 quarter credits can be easily fulfilled at community college. You can take whatever class you want - art, physical education, history - as long as you fulfill that 225 quarter credits. Why waste money and time doing Masters if you can easily fulfill it at local college with substantially cheaper expense?</p>

<p>On that same thought why bother going to UCLA/USC/UCB, CSUF and CSLB are definitely cheaper for accounting degree.</p>

<p>Because there's a difference between getting a B.A./B.S. and taking couple more classes to fulfill the requirement. </p>

<p>I honestly think CPA is much more valuable than Masters in Accountancy. I actually see the sole purpose of Masters of Accountancy is to get a CPA, and if can get CPA license without going through Masters, why bother go through it?</p>

<p>My relative has a CPA and undergraduate degree. After her CPA she got a MBA specialized in Taxation. This is one of the reasons why you need to go for a Master, you get into more depth.</p>

<p>MBA and Masters in Accountancy are two totally different programs.</p>

<p>I was arguing the idea of getting both the CPA and Masters in Accountancy, not MBA.</p>