Penn State Great Valley's Master of Professional Accounting will prepare you for the CPA exam and open doors to career opportunities in public accounting, corporate finance, financial and business analysis, insurance, or auditing. Our low-residency delivery option allows you to earn your master's degree with only two in-person meetings per year.
With this Master of Professional Accounting program, you can:
- Pursue your degree at your own pace, completing in as little as two years if studying part-time.
- Complete on a full-time basis within 12-18 months.
- Engage in courses taught by world-class faculty and industry experts.
- Experience a collaborative and innovative experience rooted in practice—providing you with the skills, experience, and perspective to become a leader in the accounting field.
- Become a part of the more than 800,000 Penn State alumni across the world.
GMAT/GRE scores are not required for admission.
Program Advantages
- Designed to satisfy the additional credit hours and coursework necessary for CPA licensure.
- Complimentary access to Becker CPA Exam Review materials.
- Offers a wide array of electives, including data analytics in the accounting profession, forensic accounting, data visualization, multinational managerial finance, and strategic leadership, among others.
- Participate in educational events offered through the Finance Innovation Research and Education (FIRE) Lab, allowing you to network with industry experts and learn to adapt to the evolving landscape of finance and technology.
- Immerse yourself in small classes and develop meaningful relationships with faculty and classmates who are business professionals and managers in the private and public sectors.
- Partner with leading employers and alumni to foster industry connections, networking, and job opportunities.
- Take advantage of Career Services, which offers a variety of programs, resources, and networking opportunities for students and graduates.
- Ability to simultaneously pursue another degree as part of the concurrent degree program.
Low-Residency Delivery
Low-residency delivery combines a mix of synchronous and asynchronous classes delivered remotely with one in-person, one-day residency per semester, held on a Friday.
Courses are delivered in convenient seven-week sessions.
Note for prospective international applicants: This degree’s instruction mode is more than 50 percent online, which does not meet student visa requirements if you are requesting the I-20 or DS-2019 to obtain a student visa.
Curriculum
- 30 credits (18 core credits, 9 elective credits, 3 capstone credits).
- Fulfills remaining credits and coursework required for CPA exam.
- Customizable program – possibility to have introductory courses waived and choose from a wide variety of electives.
- Coursework examines regulation, financial accounting and reporting, auditing and attestation, data analytics, business environment and concepts, and more.
- Immersive capstone course uses current case studies to delve into investigative, consulting, and forensic accounting.
- Coursework from Financial Accounting and Management Accounting graduate certificates easily transfers to degree program.
Career Changers
This program is ideal for students with an accounting background as well as for newcomers to the field.
Prospective career changers can begin with the Financial Accounting and Management Accounting graduate certificate and transfer coursework into the degree program. After completing all courses with a B or better, you can apply to the Master of Professional Accounting program. Upon acceptance, certificate coursework will transfer. Please apply prior to completion of the second certificate.
