Business Administration Concentration in Accounting, MBA

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This program qualifies students for general and public accounting careers in business and satisfies in full the educational requirements for licensure as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in New York State. New York, and most other states, require 150 semester hours of coursework for licensure as a CPA. Students planning to obtain CPA licenses in states other than New York should review individual state requirements.

Please read the below in full for all information regarding pre-program competencies and prior coursework requirements. The following program requirements may be modified based on a student’s prior academic course work. Previous course work is evaluated by the Graduate Programs Office of the Frank G. Zarb School of Business upon a student’s admission.

Department of Accounting - Advisement & Guidance

For more information about the accounting major and determining which program is the best fit for you, please refer to our department page.

Program Prerequisites

Incoming students must have either earned a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or a Bachelor’s degree in business (non-Accounting) from a college or university that is an NYS Licensure Qualifying Registered Program or accredited by one of the accreditation agencies listed below.

Association for the Advancement of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International)
Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJS)
Western Association of Schools and Colleges
Higher Learning Commission (HLC)
Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE)
New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE)
Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU)
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SASCOC)
WASC Senior College and University

Within their prior course work, incoming students must have already completed at least 39 undergraduate semester hours in business, inclusive of a minimum of 3 semester hours of coursework in each of the following areas:

Business Analytics
Finance
Economics
Business Law

In addition to the above, students who have earned a Bachelor’s degree in business (non-accounting) must complete the following accounting coursework, as deemed necessary, based on a review of prior coursework:

ACCT 101 Financial Accounting AND ACCT 102 Managerial Accounting (or equivalents)

ACCT 203 Accounting & Financial Reporting (or equivalent)
ACCT 123 Financial Accounting Theory & Practice I (or equivalent);
ACCT 124 Financial Accounting Theory & Practice II (or equivalent);
ACCT 125 Accounting Entities (Advanced) (or equivalent);
ACCT 133 Auditing (or equivalent);
ACCT 115 Accounting Applications with Spreadsheets and Databases OR BBA 002 Microsoft Excel Expert Certification (or equivalent);
ACCT143 Income Tax Accounting I (or equivalent);

Students who have earned a Bachelor’s degree in a field outside of business are not eligible for admission into the program. Students can matriculate into the program when they have 9 or fewer semester hours of prerequisites to fulfill. Previous coursework is evaluated by the Graduate Programs Office of the Frank G. Zarb School of Business upon a student’s admission. If it is determined that the student will be accepted into the program, upon completion of such evaluation, the student will be notified of any program prerequisites that must be satisfied so that they have the information before deciding whether they want to enroll in the program. Students will need to earn a minimum overall 2.0-grade point average for all prerequisite courses taken outside of the graduate program to matriculate into the program.

The admission requirements and program prerequisites, combined with the Master’s curriculum, ensure students who complete the MS in Accounting program satisfy the specific educational requirements necessary for CPA licensure in New York State. Students interested in obtaining CPA licensure in a state other than New York should refer to the state board of accountancy for the state that they are interested in seeking licensure.

Requirements for MBA Program

Pre-program Competencies (Zarb School of Business) – No Credits

Pre-program competencies evaluate the readiness of admitted students to start the program with the appropriate level of skills in certain areas. Specific skills are evaluated for all MBA majors in the following areas –

Economics – Students are expected to have an understanding of basic concepts in microeconomics and macroeconomics. Demonstration of this proficiency can be satisfied either through previous coursework or by completing an online, self-paced module for students with no previous academic background or courses in Economics. There is no cost associated with this module.
Statistics – Students are expected to have an understanding of the basic statistics concepts. Demonstration of this proficiency can be satisfied either through previous coursework in statistics or by completing an online, self-paced module covering basic concepts in statistics. There is no cost associated with this module.
Spreadsheet Skills – student are expected to register for an online module and complete an assessment exam. There is no cost associated with this module.
Business Presentations – students are expected to complete an initial evaluation session to evaluate individual speaking skills, followed by additional sessions as required based on the student’s performance in the evaluation session. There is no cost associated with the initial evaluation session. A tuition charge equivalent of 0.7 credits will apply if students require additional sessions, or if students do not participate in the initial evaluation session.

Additionally, Calculus skills are evaluated for Finance, Information Systems and Business Analytics majors. This is evaluated through an online, proficiency exam. Those students who do not complete the calculus proficiency exam with a satisfactory score and others who feel a need to refresh their knowledge of calculus (finance, information systems and business analytics majors only) are encouraged to take appropriate course to help them gain needed knowledge.

The competencies in Statistics and Calculus can be satisfied by previous equivalent undergraduate or graduate course work taken within the preceding period of five years, with a B or better grade at an accredited college or university. Students will receive, with their letter of admission, information about which skillsets have been met through prior course work. Proficiency in Economics can be satisfied if a student completed two undergraduate courses or one graduate course inclusive of both microeconomics and macroeconomics with an average grade of at least B within the previous five years.

English Proficiency Requirement for International Students

In addition, newly admitted international students are required to take an English placement exam during fall and spring orientation. The exam consists of a short writing task on a topic of general interest and a standardized test including listening comprehension, grammar and reading comprehension. Results are reviewed by the Hofstra English Language Program (ELP) faculty, who make the determination if students must take ELP 235 (2.0 s.h.). All international students who are placed in ELP 235 (2.0 s.h.) must complete the course during the first semester in which they begin an MBA/MS program and must receive a grade of P (Pass). ELP 235 (2.0 s.h.) will carry no degree credit. A grade of P (pass) is required or the course has to be repeated the following semester.

GMAT Waiver Policy

The GMAT will be waived for Zarb School of Business undergraduate students earning a minimum 3.2 GPA in their BBA program. The GMAT will also be waived for Hofstra Honors College Graduates and Associates with a minimum GPA of 3.2. Consideration will also be given to waiving the GMAT scores for business undergraduates who have earned a minimum 3.2 GPA from another AACSB school. Eligibility for such waivers will be evaluated upon request.

The GMAT requirement may also be waived for candidates with significant years of progressive work experience. Eligibility for such work experience based waivers would be evaluated on a case by case basis for qualified applicants under this category.

Program Requirements – Semester Hours: 36

36 semester hours are required for the MBA degree in all majors.

The MBA in Business Administration with a concentration in accounting program is composed of the following requirements (excluding Professional Accountancy MBA):

Core Competencies (21 s.h.)
The Major Concentration (12 s.h.)
Accounting Capstone Course (3 s.h):

Core Competencies - Semester Hours: 21

The core competencies requirement provides the breadth of knowledge focusing on functional areas of business, such as accounting, management information systems, finance, operations management, marketing, and quantitative analysis. In addition to these, global business decision-making, contemporary organizations and leadership skills, and business ethics are also included in the core competencies component. This component is presented within a framework that emphasizes analytical and problem-solving skills and focuses on the professional perspectives in the management of business organizations, as well as the importance of written and oral communication skills.

If a student majors at the graduate level in the same discipline as the undergraduate major/minor, he/she may request a waiver of the 203-level Core course in that discipline. Students pursuing an MBA in Business Administration with a concentration in accounting cannot be waived from ACCT 203, which is a prerequisite to the program. If a student majors at the graduate level in a discipline different from his/her undergraduate major/minor, he/she may request a substitution for the 203-level Core course in his/her undergraduate discipline and replace it with another elective in that discipline. To be eligible for a waiver/substitution, a student must have earned a minimum of 18 credits with a B average or above in the specific discipline (accounting, finance, information technology, management, marketing, or statistics) at an AACSB-accredited school within five years prior to admission to the Hofstra MBA program.

A student with significant work experience in a functional and/or discipline area may request a waiver of the corresponding 203-level Core course. The granting of the waiver is based on advisement, and work experience must span multiple years in the discipline across various roles in organizations with significant responsibilities. No waiver or substitution will be granted for MBA 214 and MGT 207 .