| Thank you for your interest in the Master of Professional Accountancy
program at Montana State University-Bozeman. Our successful program
will give you the opportunity to prepare for professional careers in
accounting and business. When you enter our program, you will have the
opportunity to work closely with our nationally-recognized accounting and
business faculty, using state-of-the-art technology. Our graduates are in
high demand by international public accounting firms, regional and local
public accounting firms, and a variety of corporations and governmental
entities. We will work with you to design a program of study to prepare
you for the career path of your choice.
Our website contains much of the
information you need to learn about the program. Also, read the
MPAc FAQs
for the answers to the most frequently-asked questions. Please feel free
to contact me via email or phone for further information.
Sincerely,
Bonita Peterson Kramer
Director, Master of Professional Accountancy
429 Reid Hall
(406) 994-4620
bonitap@montana.edu
The Master of Professional Accountancy (MPAc) degree is designed to
prepare students for professional careers in the field of accounting.
With the assistance of an advisor, students will formulate a graduate
program which will integrate their educational background, areas of
interest and career path.
Our accounting program has a long history of
success. For over twenty-five years the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy has
often included this program among the top ten in the nation for our students' pass rate on the CPA exam.
This emphasis on excellence has created an increasing
demand for our accounting graduates. Companies from most states in the
western United States recruit on campus.
Our graduates are employed by public accounting firms,
industry, and federal and state government entities.
Mission & Goals
The mission
of the Master of Professional Accountancy program is to prepare students
for professional careers in accounting. Candidates for the degree
will build on the broad general and business education obtained at the
undergraduate level to gain more advanced competencies in the practice
and theory of financial accounting, auditing, taxation, law, and other
business and professional areas. Students will also be introduced
to research methods and resources used by accounting professionals.
Goals include:
-
To
produce graduates who will have long-term success
in their accounting careers.
-
To
prepare our graduates to meet the educational
requirements recommended by the American Institute of Certified Public
Accountants.
-
To
provide our students with access
to professional opportunities through career placement services
Admission Requirements
A
baccalaureate
degree in accounting from an accredited college or university provides
the best foundation for this program. Students who have
undergraduate course deficiencies may be provisionally admitted while
attending to subject matter deficiencies.
Admission to the program requires a review of the applicant by the College of Business
and acceptance to the university by the Division of Graduate Education after the recommendation
for admission is reached by the College of Business. For details
on admission requirements for applicants who do not have a baccalaureate
degree in accounting, see below.
For a list of the
materials needed to complete your application, see
below.
The Curriculum
All students meet with the graduate program director during their
first semester of graduate study. This conference is intended to assist
the student in formulating a graduate program that integrates the
student's background and areas of interest.
The master's program
requires a minimum of 30 semester hours of acceptable course work beyond a
bachelor degree. A minimum of 21 credits of course work must be taken on
campus at Montana State University-Bozeman. The number of required credit
hours may vary, depending on prior course work. Students with a degree in
accounting generally complete their course work in one full year (two or
three semesters).
Required
Courses:
| ACCT
521 |
Advanced Auditing |
| ACCT 525 |
Accounting
Theory & Complex Issues in Accounting |
| ACCT 526 |
Advanced Taxation |
| ACCT 528 |
Legal
Issues for Accountants |
| ACCT 529 |
Survey of Research in Accounting |
| ACCT 536 |
Advanced Accounting |
In addition, students are required to complete
12 semester credit hours of
approved electives in accounting and business; consideration is given to
400/500 level courses in: accounting, agricultural economics, business
education, computer science, economics, education, finance, industrial &
management engineering, management, marketing, psychology, public
administration and statistics.
Accounting Electives (recently offered*):
| ACCT 514 |
Fraud Examination |
| ACCT 515 |
Professional Services Management |
| ACCT 524 |
International Accounting |
| ACCT 527 |
Estate and Gift Taxation |
| ACCT 530 |
Tax Research and Planning |
| ACCT 531 |
Tax Practicum |
| ACCT 532 |
Governmental and Nonprofit Accounting II |
*Specific electives offered may vary from year to year
Academic Requirements
Students are required to achieve a 3.0
GPA each semester and maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 at all times while in
the Master of Professional Accountancy program. Additionally, students
with provisional admittances will be required to adhere to the
provisions of their admittance.
Applicants
With Non-Accounting Bachelor Degrees
In addition to meeting the requirements listed above, applicants who
do not have an undergraduate degree in accounting may have to complete
additional course work. Depending on the number of prerequisite courses
to be taken, a student may have to remain in non-degree graduate status
until the prerequisite course work is completed. Completion of the
prerequisite courses does not guarantee admission into the MPAc program.
The requirements
listed below assume no prior background in business or accounting.
An applicant with a degree in a business area other than
accounting may have fulfilled several of the courses. The MPAc
Advisory Council will assess the applicant's transcript and determine
which prerequisite courses have been fulfilled. An applicant with
a non-business degree must complete all of the required
prerequisite courses before he or she will be considered for admission into
the MPAc program.
Prerequisite Courses
| BUS
221 |
Principles of Accounting I |
| ACCT 223 |
Principles of Accounting II |
| ACCT 325 |
Accounting Information Systems |
| ACCT 327 |
Intermediate Accounting I |
| ACCT 328 |
Intermediate Accounting II |
| BUS
301 |
Management
& Organization |
| BUS
311 |
Information
Systems |
| BUS
341 |
Marketing |
| BUS
351 |
Finance |
| BUS
361 |
Introduction
to Law |
And nine (9)
credits from the following*
| ACCT 421 |
Principles of Auditing |
| ACCT 425 |
Income Tax Accounting |
| ACCT 432 |
Governmental Accounting |
| ACCT 433 |
Cost/Management Accounting I |
| ACCT 434 |
Cost/Management Accounting II** |
| ACCT
444 |
Advanced Accounting Systems** |
* Nine hours of 400-level accounting credit may be used as elective credit
for the MPAc program. Students must meet academic requirements and
complete paperwork in advance of taking these classes in order to
reserve the credits for the MPAc program.
** Students
satisfying an undergraduate accounting degree equivalency should expect
to complete all 400 level accounting courses except ACCT 434
Cost/Management Accounting II and/or ACCT 444 Advanced Accounting Information Systems.
Length of
Program
Students having a baccalaureate degree in business, but not accounting,
must complete course work equivalent to that for an undergraduate
accounting degree at Montana State University, which averages
approximately 1 year of additional study.
Students with a baccalaureate degree in a non-business area must
complete a common body of knowledge in business courses (finance,
information systems, law, management, and marketing) in addition to the
undergraduate accounting courses, which averages approximately 2 years
of additional study.
Transfer Credits
A maximum of nine
(9) graduate credits taken at another accredited four-year
college or university may be transferred and accepted toward a degree at
Montana State University. For further details, please consult the
Graduate Catalog.
Program Load
Nine (9) to
fifteen (15) semester
credits is considered a full graduate load for a student in
the Master of Professional Accountancy program.
Application
Deadlines
| Starting term |
U.S. Applicants |
International Applicants |
Fall
Spring
Summer |
June 30
November 15
March 15 |
March 1
August 15
January 1 |
Application
Process
Students
interested in applying to the MPAc program must fill out either an
online or paper
Application for Graduate Admission.
The following documents are required in order for your application to
be considered complete and eligible for review:
-
Application and
application fee
- GPA calculation sheet
- Official transcripts from each university
attended
- Official entrance exam scores (GRE or GMAT)
- Three letters of recommendation
- One page essay about your motivations for entering the program
- International students must also submit
official TOEFL or IELTS scores, financial certificate with supporting
documents, and degree certificates
Return paper application materials to:
Office of Student Services
College of Business
338 Reid Hall
P.O. Box 173040
Montana State University
Bozeman, MT 59717-3040
U.S.A.
The professional program in accountancy is a selective program with a
limited number of openings available to qualified students. The MPAc
Advisory Council will admit those students whose previous academic
performance and/or work experience indicate a desire and ability to
excel. Test scores and records of academic performance are evaluated
individually in the admissions procedure. Of equal importance, however,
are the applicant's personal qualifications, accomplishments and letters
of recommendation. The applicant's entire file is reviewed in order to
ensure the admission of those with the highest aptitude, motivation and
qualifications.
Financial
assistance
The College of
Business offers scholarships for graduate students.
Application is made during the month of November only and is an
electronic application (no paper copy). Students who wish to be
considered for a scholarship should contact
Halina Rickman in the Dean's office.
Graduate teaching
assistantships are also available to fully admitted graduate
students and are awarded on a competitive basis.
Graduate teaching assistantships are normally semester assignments.
Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) provide support to faculty and
tutoring services for students. In exchange, the GTAs receive some
tuition waiver credits and a small monthly stipend.
International students: please read
about the
Financial Certificate.
For more details
on financial aid, please see Financial
Aid Services
homepage.
Other Resources
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