Mar 28, 2024  
2015-2016 Graduate Studies Bulletin 
    
2015-2016 Graduate Studies Bulletin [ARCHIVED BULLETIN]

Accounting, MS


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In most states, candidates for the CPA examination are required to have completed 150 semester hours of course work in order to be eligible for licensure. New York state currently requires 69 s.h. in business, of which 33 must be in accounting. This program, which is offered by the Department of Accounting, Taxation and Legal Studies in Business , should enable students who have taken 39 undergraduate credits in business from an accredited institution, including at least six credits in accounting, to meet this requirement. Students without the equivalent of 39 credits in business are advised to consider the MBA in Professional Accountancy , which will satisfy all educational eligibility requirements for licensure. Students are advised to check with other state boards of accountancy for eligibility requirements outside of New York state.

The following program requirements may be modified based upon 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.

Requirements for MS Programs


Residency Requirements


Residency workshops cover library information resources, calculus for business applications, information technology, and statistics for business applications respectively. Full-time students must complete them during the first semester in which they begin. Part-time students must complete them within the first two semesters. Documentation of completion must be submitted to the Graduate Programs Office in order for students to register for the subsequent semester. The calculus for business applications, information technology, and statistics for business applications workshops may be satisfied through previous equivalent undergraduate or graduate course work taken within a specific time frame with a B or better grade at an accredited college or university or through satisfactory performance on a proficiency examination administered by the appropriate department within the Frank G. Zarb School of Business . Students will receive with their letter of admission information about which residency requirements, if any, have been met through prior course work.

The following resource is required of all students:


The following Workshops may be required depending upon academic preparation: (No credit)


*English Proficiency Requirement is 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.

Program Requirements - Semester Hours: 30


Students must complete 30 credits in this program in addition to the prerequisite courses. Students who have taken undergraduate accounting or tax courses substantially equivalent to any of the listed courses in this program may substitute graduate accounting or taxation electives, and in some cases graduate business electives, for up to four such equivalent courses, subject to evaluation of prior course work and approval of the Graduate Programs Office of the Zarb School of Business and the chairperson of the Department of Accounting, Taxation, and Legal Studies in Business .

Business Law Requirement:
Some knowledge of business law in the United States is required in addition to the particular courses listed below. Students may satisfy this requirement in one of three ways. Students in the BBA/MS dual-degree program * will be considered to have satisfied this requirement as part of their BBA curriculum. Other MS in Accounting students who have taken six or more undergraduate credits in business law, with grades of B or better, will also be considered to have satisfied this requirement. All other students must take LEGL 200  in addition to the courses listed below. See requirements for MS programs (above).

Prerequisite Accounting Knowledge Requirement:
Because the courses in this program all assume a working knowledge of financial and managerial accounting, the program requires students to take ACCT 203  in addition to the listed courses, unless students have 12 or more undergraduate credits in accounting. ACCT 203  must be taken in the first semester of the MS in accounting program. Students with 12 or more prior credits in accounting are considered to have fulfilled this requirement.

Footnotes (*/**)


*Students in the joint BBA/MS program  must take ACCT 218  and 250 . They must also take two courses in both auditing and taxation, at either the undergraduate or graduate level.

**Students with no prior tax courses must take both ACCT 214  and 215 . Students are not permitted to take ACCT 216 .

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