Advisors:

Jerry G. Kreuze, 3162 Schneider Hall
Sheldon Langsam, 3160 Schneider Hall
Jagjit Saini, 3186 Schneider Hall
Thomas Schultz, 3122 Schneider Hall

The Master of Science in Accountancy prepares students for professional careers in public accounting, industry, commerce, finance, and government.  A graduate of the Haworth College of Business with a Master of Science in Accountancy will be qualified to take many of the professional certification examinations.

The MSA program is designed to provide greater breadth and depth in accounting and business than that delivered in the undergraduate accountancy program. The curriculum helps students further develop their technical expertise, communication skills, and understanding of the role of accountants in organizations. Course work will be selected from the areas of financial accounting, cost and managerial accounting, auditing, taxation, not-for-profit accounting, accounting fraud, and accounting systems.

Admission Requirements

To be eligible for admission to the Master of Science in Accountancy (MSA) program, an applicant must meet one of the following:

• A total score of at least 1100, which is the sum of the GMAT score and (200 x the GPA for the last 60 hours in an accredited undergraduate degree program)
• a minimum GMAT score of 480
• a minimum GPA of 2.75 for the last 60 hours in an accredited undergraduate degree program.  
• A Western Michigan University accountancy major with an average grade point of 3.0 or higher in the following eight courses (or equivalents) is not required to take the GMAT or GRE: ACTY 3100, 3110, 3130, 3220, 3240, 4160, and two of the electives (4110, 4130, 4140, 4220, 4240, and 4310).
• Students who don’t meet these requirements may be eligible for waivers based on professional or previous academic experience. Students need to contact the chair of the Department of Accountancy to inquire about waivers for the program.

Recent scores of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) are acceptable. Equivalent GRE test scores can be used to meet minimum GMAT score requirements and can be used in formula calculations for admission purposes. See www.ets.org for information on conversion of a GRE score to a predicted GMAT score.

Additional English Language Requirements for International Students Admissions

An applicant whose native language is not English must meet the following:

• Graduate students whose native language in not English and who do not have a degree from a U.S. institution must take the Academic Communication Placement Test at the beginning of their first semester of enrollment. This test is administered by the Haworth College of Business Communication Center. It must be taken in addition to the TOEFL, which is taken as part of the admissions process. A student who does not pass this examination is assigned to the Academic Communication for Business Purposes course. This course must be completed during the first semester of study.
• Graduate students whose native language is not English but have an undergraduate degree from a U.S. institution will not be required to take a placement test or the Academic Communication for Business Purposes course.
• Applicants to the MSA program will be required to show TOEFL results of 90 Internet Based Total (IBT) or 577 Paper Based Total (PBT) for unrestricted admission.
• Applicants with 61-89 Internet Based Total (IBT) or 500-576 Paper Based Total (PBT) will be admitted with the restricted policy. Students in this test range will be required to enroll in ENGL 3600 or ENGL 3610. The English class appropriate for the student will be determined by the IAS.
• Enrollment of new international students will be limited to fall semester except for students with above 90-577 IBT/PBT scores who may begin their enrollment in fall, spring or summer I terms.
• Students admitted with the restricted policy will be required to start summer I semester in order to fulfill the English class before fall semester. They will be allowed to enroll in academic courses their first semester as determined by the MSA faculty.

Prerequisites to Graduate Study

The required preparation is an undergraduate degree in accounting, or its equivalent, and a 3.0 grade point average in accounting and business courses.  Basic Skills:  Quantitative Analysis, Computer Literacy, Academic Communications. Graduate students whose native language in not English and who do not have a degree from a U.S. institution must take the Academic Communication Placement Test at the beginning of their first semester of enrollment. This test is administered by the Center for English Language and Culture for International Students. It must be taken in addition to TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), which is taken as part of the admission process. A student who does not pass this examination is assigned to the Academic Communication for Business Purposes course. This course must be completed during the first semester of study. Graduate students whose native language is not English but have an undergraduate degree from a U.S. institution will not be required to take the placement test or the course.  Basic Core: Corporate Finance; Legal, Regulatory, and Political Aspects of Business; Basic Economic Analysis.  Accountancy Course Prerequisites: ACTY 2100, Principles of Accounting I; ACTY 2110, Principles of Accounting II; ACTY 3100, Financial Accounting I; ACTY 3110, Financial Accounting II; ACTY 3130, Accounting Information Systems; ACTY 3220, Managerial Accounting Concepts and Practices; ACTY 3240, Introductory Tax Accounting; ACTY 4160, Auditing.