Degree Requirements

Students must complete at least thirty semester hours in courses carrying graduate credit, with a minimum of 21 semester hours in accounting courses. The MSACC degree requirements are:

1. Minimum of 21 semester hours of accounting courses, of which at least 15 semester hours must be in courses numbered at the "600" level.

2. Minimum of 21 semester hours must be in courses reserved exclusively for graduate students (i.e., 600 level courses).

3. At least nine semester hours must be outside of Accounting.

4. All graduate-level elective courses require approval in advance by the Director of the Master of Science Accounting program.

5. A minimum average GPA of 3.0 in all courses attempted for graduate credit after being admitted to The Graduate School.

6. Successful completion of a comprehensive final examination.

The MSACC program provides a lock-step course sequence for each of the seven required accounting classes.  The graduate electives can be taken in approved courses as they best fit into students' schedules.

All students must complete the following courses:

• ACC 507: Advanced Topic in Taxation
• ACC 516: Advanced Topics in Financial Reporting
• ACC 601: Research in Accounting Theory
• ACC 603: Attest Function
• ACC 617: Selected Topics in Taxation
• ACC 621: Understanding Financial Statements
• ACC 624: Enterprise Information and Control Systems
• Three graduate-level elective courses (at least two at the 600 level) outside the field of accounting.

CPA Exam

An innovative feature of the MSACC program is the ability for students to integrate their course work with preparing for, and taking, the CPA examination.  Complete requirements to sit for the CPA examination for the State of Kentucky can be found at Kentucky Board of Accountancy.  Recent changes to these requirements for the State of Kentucky allow individuals with a degree from an accredited college or university with a concentration in accounting (defined as a minimum of 39 semester hours in business-related subjects, of which at least 27 semester hours consists of accounting courses) to sit for the CPA examination.  Most often this will be a student with an undergraduate degree in accounting; however, any degree is acceptable with the required courses for the concentration in accounting completed. 

Students can elect and are strongly encouraged to integrate the MSACC program with a CPA exam review course. The MSACC courses will be scheduled to facilitate this integration as presented in this chart.

This schedule allows completion of all MSACC requirements in 12 months while allowing students the opportunity to study for and sit for the CPA exam.  The MSACC courses are offered in the Spring and Summer semesters to integrate with the Becker coursework and study materials.  Note that this requires the Spring semester to begin before, and end after the normal dates.

This program requires students to dedicate significant effort to their studies and preparation over the 21 week integration period to achieve the highest levels of learning and success. 

Compliance with Regulations

The University of Kentucky is committed to a policy of providing educational opportunities to all qualified students regardless of social status, and will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, marital status, beliefs, age, national origin, or handicap.

Policy Changes