Taxation, MS

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

Program Prerequisites:

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
Information Technology

Incoming students must have earned either 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 other accredited programs. Before beginning the MS in Taxation program, students who have earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business (non-accounting) must complete the following coursework, as 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
ACCT 124 Financial Accounting Theory & Practice II
ACCT 125 Accounting Entities (Advanced)
ACCT 131 Cost Accounting and Advanced Managerial Accounting Topics
ACCT 133 Auditing Theory & Practice
ACCT 139 Introduction to Strategic Accounting Technologies
ACCT 143 Income Tax Accounting I

Previous coursework is evaluated by the Graduate Programs Office of the Frank G. Zarb School of Business upon a student’s admission.

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

Pre-program competencies evaluate the readiness of admitted students to start the M.S. program with the appropriate level of essential business skills. Full-time students must complete these requirements during the first semester in which they begin their program. Part-time students must complete these requirements within the first two semesters of enrolling in the program. Documentation of completion must be submitted to the Graduate Programs Office in order for students to register for the subsequent semester. Specific skills are evaluated for MS Programs in the following areas –

Statistics (for students in all MS Programs) – Students are expected to have an understanding of the basic statistical 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.
Spreadsheet Skills (for students in all MS Programs) – students are expected to register for an online module and complete an assessment exam.
Calculus (for students in the MS Business Analytics, Finance, and Information Systems programs only) – Students are expected to demonstrate proficiency through an online, proficiency exam as part of a self-paced module. 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 are encouraged to take an appropriate course to help them gain the needed knowledge.
Economics (for students in the MS Finance program only) – Students are expected to have an understanding of basic concepts in microeconomics and macroeconomics. Demonstration of this proficiency can be satisfied by completing an online, self-paced module. The module will be available as a knowledge base to all students in the MS Finance program.

No costs are associated with any of the above modules. 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 skill sets have been met through prior course work.

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 decision 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 fee equivalent to 2.0 s.h. is charged for this course. A grade of P (pass) is required, or the course has to be repeated the following semester. The same fee equivalent will be charged for the repeated course.

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 case-by-case for qualified applicants under this category.

Prerequisite Evaluations for International Course Work

Students who have completed the above accounting prerequisite coursework at institutions outside of the United States must have their coursework reviewed by NASBA International Evaluation Services to determine if these courses will be accepted for CPA Examination purposes. When applying for the service online, students must make sure to select that they would like an examination evaluation for New York State. This process takes about six (6) weeks after receiving all required documents.

Program Requirements - Semester Hours: 30

The following program requirements may be modified based on a student’s prior academic coursework. Previous coursework is evaluated by the Graduate Programs Office of the Frank G. Zarb School of Business upon a student’s admission

TAX 220 - Tax Practice and Procedures Semester Hours: 3
TAX 221 - Income Tax Problems of Partnerships Semester Hours: 3
TAX 222 - Federal Income Taxation of the Corporation and Its Shareholders Semester Hours: 3
TAX 228 - Tax Research Semester Hours: 3
TAX 230 - Tax Considerations in Personal Financial Planning Semester Hours: 3
TAX 235 - Communication in a Digital Tax Environment Semester Hours: 3
TAX 245 - Strategic Tax Technologies Semester Hours: 3
TAX 310 - Applied Research Capstone in Digital Tax Technology Semester Hours: 3

Elective(s) to Complete the 30 Semester Hour Requirement:

Any two TAX courses.

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 statistical 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 – Students 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 the appropriate courses 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. Students, who do not meet the requirements for English proficiency based on the outcomes of the placement exam, must take ESL 235 (2.0 s.h.). All international students who are placed in ESL 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). ESL 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.

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