Ms accounting.

[Pats20]

Here’s a pathway to the CPA exam For non accounting as well as non business Majors. https://onlinedsa.merrimack.edu/master-o...ccounting/

[bjcheung77]

LOL... I don't know what I was thinking or if I was a bit tired when I read this, I was thinking that was a last name! You know, Ms. Lastname...

[RiverM]

Interesting program, but I'm sure there's got to be a more affordable option than $20k.

[freeloader]

Maybe I am the only one who feels this way, but this program (and others like it) feel a little dishonest. If you look at the curriculum for non-accounting majors and non-business majors, the majority of the coursework is undergraduate material. The accounting curriculum in the United States is, on the whole, standardized. The non-business major degree requires “foundations of accounting” (which is a combination of financial and managerial), 2 courses in financial reporting/intermediate accounting, assurance services/auditing, federal tax, accounting ethics, business law, accounting information systems, and finance (link 1). Yes, the courses in this program have 5000-level course codes, but those are undergraduate courses.

I thought about programs like this one when I decided to go back to school for accounting. The one I most seriously considered was the University of North Dakota, which is about the same price as the Merrimack degree and, I would note, is AACSB accredited (note 2).

Beyond having something of an ethical issue with getting a graduate degree for doing undergraduate coursework, I kind of felt like I would be “wasting” my masters degree in accounting. I plan to get a graduate degree in accounting, mainly because I want to really start to develop some expertise in the field.  I want to use my master’s to build on the undergraduate coursework, not to complete it…

Yes, it is more work and takes longer, but I thought it made more sense to take the core undergraduate accounting courses/get an accounting certificate/earn a second bachelor’s degree and then get an accounting masters (or MBA-Accounting) that actually teaches advanced-level content.  By the time it’s all said and done, I will have spent around $8,500-$9,000 to get my second bachelor’s (BA in Accounting and BABA, Management and Leadership concentration from UMPI). If I then spend $10,000-$15,000 for a master’s degree, I will have spent the same total as if I earned the Merrimack or North Dakota degree, but I think I will have a better education and knowledge base, if only because I will have spent more time, taken more classes, and been exposed to more content, including higher level content in the master’s program.

My 2 cents.

1: https://onlinedsa.merrimack.edu/master-o...ss-degree/

2. https://onlinedegrees.und.edu/master-of-...urriculum/

[sanantone]

Maybe I am the only one who feels this way, but this program (and others like it) feel a little dishonest. If you look at the curriculum for non-accounting majors and non-business majors, the majority of the coursework is undergraduate material. The accounting curriculum in the United States is, on the whole, standardized. The non-business major degree requires “foundations of accounting” (which is a combination of financial and managerial), 2 courses in financial reporting/intermediate accounting, assurance services/auditing, federal tax, accounting ethics, business law, accounting information systems, and finance (link 1). Yes, the courses in this program have 5000-level course codes, but those are undergraduate courses.

I thought about programs like this one when I decided to go back to school for accounting. The one I most seriously considered was the University of North Dakota, which is about the same price as the Merrimack degree and, I would note, is AACSB accredited (note 2).

Beyond having something of an ethical issue with getting a graduate degree for doing undergraduate coursework, I kind of felt like I would be “wasting” my masters degree in accounting. I plan to get a graduate degree in accounting, mainly because I want to really start to develop some expertise in the field.  I want to use my master’s to build on the undergraduate coursework, not to complete it…

Yes, it is more work and takes longer, but I thought it made more sense to take the core undergraduate accounting courses/get an accounting certificate/earn a second bachelor’s degree and then get an accounting masters (or MBA-Accounting) that actually teaches advanced-level content.  By the time it’s all said and done, I will have spent around $8,500-$9,000 to get my second bachelor’s (BA in Accounting and BABA, Management and Leadership concentration from UMPI). If I then spend $10,000-$15,000 for a master’s degree, I will have spent the same total as if I earned the Merrimack or North Dakota degree, but I think I will have a better education and knowledge base, if only because I will have spent more time, taken more classes, and been exposed to more content, including higher level content in the master’s program.

My 2 cents.

1: https://onlinedsa.merrimack.edu/master-o...ss-degree/

2. https://onlinedegrees.und.edu/master-of-...urriculum/

I noticed that the accounting program is mostly undergraduate content. I noticed the same thing about their MS in Computer Science for non-CS majors.

[Pats20]

Maybe I am the only one who feels this way, but this program (and others like it) feel a little dishonest. If you look at the curriculum for non-accounting majors and non-business majors, the majority of the coursework is undergraduate material. The accounting curriculum in the United States is, on the whole, standardized. The non-business major degree requires “foundations of accounting” (which is a combination of financial and managerial), 2 courses in financial reporting/intermediate accounting, assurance services/auditing, federal tax, accounting ethics, business law, accounting information systems, and finance (link 1). Yes, the courses in this program have 5000-level course codes, but those are undergraduate courses.

I thought about programs like this one when I decided to go back to school for accounting. The one I most seriously considered was the University of North Dakota, which is about the same price as the Merrimack degree and, I would note, is AACSB accredited (note 2).

Beyond having something of an ethical issue with getting a graduate degree for doing undergraduate coursework, I kind of felt like I would be “wasting” my masters degree in accounting. I plan to get a graduate degree in accounting, mainly because I want to really start to develop some expertise in the field.  I want to use my master’s to build on the undergraduate coursework, not to complete it…

Yes, it is more work and takes longer, but I thought it made more sense to take the core undergraduate accounting courses/get an accounting certificate/earn a second bachelor’s degree and then get an accounting masters (or MBA-Accounting) that actually teaches advanced-level content.  By the time it’s all said and done, I will have spent around $8,500-$9,000 to get my second bachelor’s (BA in Accounting and BABA, Management and Leadership concentration from UMPI). If I then spend $10,000-$15,000 for a master’s degree, I will have spent the same total as if I earned the Merrimack or North Dakota degree, but I think I will have a better education and knowledge base, if only because I will have spent more time, taken more classes, and been exposed to more content, including higher level content in the master’s program.

My 2 cents.

1: https://onlinedsa.merrimack.edu/master-o...ss-degree/

2. https://onlinedegrees.und.edu/master-of-...urriculum/

Yes you make a valid argument. One that could also be made for undergrad as well. Me personally the quicker the better. I have the drive to self learn to fill in the gaps. 
Another point, These particular programs don’t guarantee anything. You still have to sit for the cpa exam and pass. IMO if a person can pass the exam And meet state requirements for licensure  than who’s to say that they or the program were being unethical or dishonest ?

[sanantone]

If someone doesn't have a background in accounting, they may not know that they're paying graduate tuition rates for an undergraduate education. This program, alone, will not qualify one to sit for the CPA exam.

[freeloader]

The point about it being intellectually dishonest is purely my opinion. I have an ethical issue with getting graduate credit for undergraduate work. This is an accredited university, there are LOTS of programs that do substantially the same thing, and clearly there is a demand in the marketplace for this type of education, but I guess it’s not for me. That’s all. Just my opinion.

[Pats20]

I understand where you are coming from. It would be nice if Masters degrees were more standardized like most bachelor programs. It’s really difficult for a person to compare programs. A lot of these programs are cash cows so people really have to do their homework. Will this program teach me what I need to know ? Will I have to supplement it with some self learning Along the way ? Questions that bachelor degree holders should be able to ask , research , and answer for themselves.

[s19concrete]

I'll be honest, getting a masters degree in accounting may not be the best use of time anyway. Especially if with this program it seems to just be undergraduate level courses with graduate level tuition rates. When I went back to school to become a CPA after having a bachelors degree in accounting I found that it honestly was just simplest to just get another bachelors degree in accounting from TESU. What employers and people generally care about is the CPA license. Not masters degree.
Personally, I am glad looking back just having gotten a bachelors degree as I saved quite a bit of money and was able to pass the CPA exam using Uworld Roger CPA Review. Because of that I am loving what I do right now as a CPA.