ACCOUNTING MAJOR

David L. McKenna Hall
206-281-2970
spu.edu/sbe/accounting

Ross E. Stewart, Contact Person

For a complete overview of degree requirements in the School of Business and Economics, visit the School of Business and Economics main page in this Undergraduate Catalog.

Graduates with majors in Accounting have careers in private industry, not-for-profit organizations, and in public accounting. The program balances sound theoretical foundations with relevant applications. This provides the necessary current knowledge for the student to launch a career, and it also prepares the student to respond to the changing future environment and needs for accounting information.

Students who successfully complete the program will be eligible to take both the certified public accountant (CPA) and the certified management accountant (CMA) examinations.

Requirements for the Major
104 credits
Students desiring to major in Accounting must apply to the major following this application process. To be awarded a degree with a major in Accounting, students must meet the major requirements in effect at the time of admission to the major and have a minimum of 45 credit hours in the major at SPU.

Students who plan to obtain any of the professional designations such as certified public accountant (CPA), certified management accountant (CMA), or certified internal auditor (CIA) should contact an accounting faculty member for advising.

Students who plan to take the CPA exam must have completed 225 quarter hours (equivalent to five years) of college coursework. Students may meet this requirement by earning a second bachelor’s degree, or by taking 45 additional undergraduate credits (which may be in any discipline and do not necessarily lead to a degree).

However, CPA-bound students are encouraged to apply for admission to a graduate program in the School of Business and Economics, either the Master of Business Administration (MBA) or the Master of Science in Information Systems Management (MS-ISM). Students interested in this program should do the following:

• Participate in a cooperative education program with an accounting firm for at least one year.
• Take the GMAT exam (for the MBA) or the GRE exam (for the MS-ISM) in Autumn Quarter of their senior year.
• Apply for admission to the graduate program in the Winter Quarter of their senior year.
• Commence taking three graduate courses per quarter in the summer following completion of their senior year, and four more quarters (five quarters in total).

Note: ACCT 3353 "Advanced Accounting" is strongly recommended for students intending to take the CPA exam.

Additional Requirements

In addition to the curricular requirements for the major, students must also attend the New Majors Orientation, and fulfill both a writing and a computer competency requirement before graduation.

New Majors Orientation. Newly admitted students will be welcomed to the SBE community at an orientation evening held in early spring. The orientation will include information on the SBE mission and practical tips on succeeding in SBE majors. All newly admitted majors are required to attend this event.

Writing Competency Requirement. All SBE majors (i.e., Accounting, Business Administration, and Economics) must meet the writing competency requirement outlined below:

• SBE majors who fulfill the University writing competency requirement based on pre-college indicators, or who have earned a C (2.0) or better in a college-level composition course are not required to take ENG 2201 Intermediate College Writing, and have satisfied the SBE writing competency requirement.
• SBE majors who are required to take ENG 2201 Intermediate College Writing, must earn a grade of B (3.0) or better in ENG 2201 in order to satisfy the SBE writing competency requirement.
• SBE majors with a grade of B- (2.7) or below in ENG 2201 must complete BUS 2601 Business Writing Tutorial and earn a grade of B (3.0) or better.
• Transfer students who have not previously taken a college composition course must take the English Placement exam, and they must meet the same requirements outlined above.

Computer Competency Requirement. Demonstration of computer competency is required of all students graduating with an SBE major.  This is documented by passing CSC 1123 or by passing a competency exam covering the equivalent.

Need to know when a course is being offered? Check the 2014-15 Time Schedule.

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