Program Overview
Program Description
The Master of Accountancy ("MAcc") program, offered by the AACSB-accredited Department of Accounting at the College of Business, develops strong technical and professional accounting skills considerably beyond the introductory courses presented to undergraduates. Students completing the program receive a well-rounded business education. In addition to graduate accounting courses, students are exposed to basic courses in the functional area of business. The MAcc program emphasizes the skills needed to succeed in the business community, including teamwork, leadership, and the ability to communicate effectively.
Student Learning Outcomes
The Master of Accountancy program is designed to provide the foundations students will need to adapt and excel in the rapidly changing environment of the accounting profession. The accounting faculty at the University of Nevada, Reno are dedicated to presenting students with solid fundamentals, along with state-of-the-art tools and techniques in auditing, financial reporting, and taxation. Career options for students graduating with a MAcc degree include financial analyst, certified public accountant, controller, or CFO.
Degree Requirements
The core MAcc degree comprises ten courses (30 credits). Depending on students' backgrounds, several pre-requisite courses may be required.
Core MAcc Curriculum (10 courses; 30 credits)
- Required Courses (5 courses; 15 credits)
- ACC 604 Advanced and International Accounting
- ACC 611 Taxation of Flow-Through Entities
- ACC 750 Accounting Seminar
- ACC 759 Accounting Theory
- ACC 780 Accounting Research
- Accounting Electives (select 3 courses; 9 credits)
- ACC 607 Governmental & Not-for-profit Accounting
- ACC 611 Taxation of Business Entities
- ACC 675 Ethics and Professional Responsibility for Accountants
- ACC 789 Federal Income Taxation: Policy Issues
- ACC 794 Special Topics: Forensic Accounting
- Non-Accounting Electives (select 2 courses; 6 credits)
- BADM 726 Personal Branding
- BADM 729 Seminar in Management Issues
- BADM 750 Information & Communication in Organizations
- BADM 772 Changing Environment of Business
- BADM 780 Business and Public Policy
- ECON 703 Advanced Macroeconomics
- FIN 610 Financial Derivatives
- IS 645 Introduction to Project Management
- IS 670 Computer Security & Control
- IS 701 Information Management & Visualization
- IS 788 Change Management
Background Courses
Students who do not have a background in accounting and/or international students may be required to take some or all of the following background courses.
- Required:
- ACC 401 or ACC 601 Financial Reporting I
- ACC 402 or ACC 602 Financial Reporting II
- ACC 403 or ACC 603 Financial Reporting III
- ACC 405 or ACC 605 Cost Management and Control
- ACC 410 or ACC 610 Federal Taxation
- ACC 460 or MGT 325 Business Law
- ACC 470 or ACC 670 Auditing
- Statistics (BADM 700 or similar)
- Macro and/or Micro Economics (BADM 730 or similar)
- Corporate Finance (BADM 741 or similar)
- Recommended but not required:
- ACC 201 Principles in Accounting I
- ACC 202 Principles in Accounting II
- BADM 701 or similar (Supply Change Management)
- BADM 720 or similar (Management)
- BADM 760 or similar (Marketing)
Graduate School Academic Requirements
All graduate students must maintain a cumulative graduate GPA of 3.0. If their GPA drops below 3.0, they are either placed on probation or dismissed. Undergraduate courses will not count towards graduate GPA.
Probation
Students whose cumulative graduate GPA is between 2.99 and 2.31 are put on probation. Students are placed on academic probation for one semester. If they fail to raise their cumulative GPA to 3.0 by the end of one semester, they are dismissed from their graduate program.
Dismissal
Students whose cumulative graduate GPA is 2.30 or lower are dismissed from graduate standing. Dismissed students are no longer in a graduate program but may take graduate-level courses as a Grad Special. Students wishing to complete their degree must obtain approval to take graduate-level courses, raise their graduate GPA to at least 3.0, and then re-apply to a graduate program.
Transfer Credits
Students may transfer credits from institutions to meet the degree requirements. Students can also apply credits from another graduate program at UNR towards the MAcc program. Per graduate school policy, the combined number of courses transferred from another institution and from another UNR graduate program cannot be more than three (nine credits).
Timeline for Degree Completion
The timeline for completion of the program depends on the following:
- Full-time versus part-time student
- Student with an undergraduate degree in accounting from an AACSB-accredited university versus any other student
Sample Timeline for Full-Time Student with Background in Accounting
- Fall Semester (5 courses; 15 credits)
- ACC 611
- One accounting elective (ACC 750 recommended)
- ACC 780
- One accounting elective (ACC 794 recommended)
- One non-accounting elective
- Spring Semester (5 courses; 15 credits)
- ACC 604
- ACC 759
- One accounting elective (ACC 675 recommended)
- One non-accounting elective
- Summer Semester (1 course; 3 credits)
- One accounting elective
Committee Selection Guideline
No formal thesis committee is required for this program.
Comprehensive Exams
No comprehensive exam is required for this program.
Thesis Requirements (and/or Non-Thesis Option)
No thesis or non-thesis option is required for the program.
Graduate Assistantships
The Accounting Department hires between two and three graduate assistants to support faculty with teaching and research tasks. When a new person is hired, all individuals eligible for the position (current and incoming MAcc Students) will be informed via email and encouraged to apply, if interested. Hiring decisions are made by a committee.
Health Insurance
All domestic degree-seeking graduate students, who are enrolled in six or more credits (regardless of the course level) in a semester, will be automatically enrolled and billed for the University-sponsored health insurance for each term they are eligible (fall & spring/summer).
Leave of Absence
Students in good standing may request a leave of absence by completing a Leave of Absence Form. Usually, a leave of absence is approved for one or two semesters. The leave of absence request may be extended by the student filing an additional leave of absence form.
Reinstatement
When a student has been absent for one semester or more without an approved leave of absence, he or she may request reinstatement via the Reinstatement form. This form allows the program the option to recommend the student be re-admitted to their graduate program based on their previous admission OR require the student to re-apply for admission, which would require students to submit a new application for admission and pay the application fee.