Online Accounting Master's Degree
Overview
Accounting is all about crunching numbers, and an online master’s in accounting can mean more job opportunities and more money for graduates who continue their education beyond a bachelor’s degree. A master’s program can also help students rack up the 150 educational hours required to test for certification as a public accountant.
Coursework
| Prerequisites | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Introduction to financial accounting | |||||||||
| Introduction to managerial accounting | |||||||||
| Quantitative methods | |||||||||
Many online master of accounting programs have prerequisite courses to ensure students have a basic accounting foundation, such as introduction to financial accounting, management accounting, and quantitative methods. Students will also take courses that delve into an ever-changing regulatory field, learning how policies set by Congress or the Securities and Exchange Commission impact the accounting profession.
Forensic accounting, for example, teaches students about the legal and business implications of fraudulent financial practices and how to detect this type of unethical behavior in the workplace. Recent corporate financial scandals have increased the demand for forensic accountants, and several online programs allow students to focus their master’s in accounting on the forensics side.
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Job Outlook
| Median salaries* | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accountant | $62,000 | ||||||||
| Personal financial adviser | $64,500 | ||||||||
| Budget analyst | $68,000 | ||||||||
| Financial analyst | $74,000 | ||||||||
| Actuary | $87,600 | ||||||||
| Financial manager | $100,000 | ||||||||
*per the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook
Graduates with an online master’s degree in accounting can land jobs with private corporations, nonprofit organizations, and the government. Median salaries can range from about $62,000 for accountants and auditors to more than $100,000 for financial managers or top executives—and having a master’s will often boost those wages.
