Department of Accountiing
Department of Account ng
College of Business Administration
University of Illinois at Chicago
SA33
Planning the MSA program - UIC Accounting Students Many of you
may be planning to graduate with BS in Accounting degree soon. As you know, you need to have 150
hours to write the CPA examination in the state of Illinois. Assuming you have 120 hours from your
undergraduate degree, you have various options to get the additional 30 hours. A related document
"Dealing with the 150 Hour Requirement" describes the various options and their pros and cons.
Basically the options are
1. An undergraduate degree with a double major - a B. S. in Accounting and another field at UIC.
2. B. S. in Accounting and a Masters of Science in Accounting (MSA) completed on full or part-
time basis at UIC,
3. B. S. in Accounting and a Masters of Science in Accounting (MSA) completed later.
4. B. S. in Accounting and a Masters of Business Administration or another Masters degree.
Here we will describe option 2, and the best way for you get your MSA degree at
UIC. The MSA degree requires you take 32 hours of graduate courses in eight 4-
hour courses. The courses required are (Full details are in "What is the MSA?")
515 Accounting Thoughts and Paradigms
593 Accounting Research: Methodology and Communication
Three or four accounting electives out of 516*, 525*, 465*, 484*, 485/585, 417,
446,456, 475 (at least one *)
Two or three non-accounting graduate electives
You can complete this program in two semesters of full-time study. If you cannot dedicate two full
semesters to the MSA, you can also complete this program while working full-time. You could take up
a full-time job after your undergraduate degree, and this may be a good option as many employers
have graduate tuition support programs. In addition, employers may allow you to take classes full-time
in the summer term, which lasts eight weeks. You can take upto three courses in summer if you are a
full-time student. Employers may also want you work full-time with them in the busy spring term.
Depending on what you and your employer agree to, you can tailor the program and finish the degree
requirements fast.
Various options are available to complete the program by combining full-time (FT) and part-time (PT)
study:
1. Three courses (FT) in two summers and two courses (PT) in fall.
2. Three courses (FT) in the first summer and four in fall (FT) and one course (PT) later.
3. Four courses (FT) in the first fall and spring.
4. Three courses (FT) in the first summer and two courses (PT) in fall and spring and one in the
second summer.
If you are taking a job with an employer, you may want to show all the options to them and see what
works best for you and them. You should also discuss other important details:
1. When will the employer put you on their full payroll?
2. What kind of tuition support will they provide?
3. Will they let you go back to school full-time especially in summers for 8-9 weeks? We do not
recommend that you take more than one course in summer and two in fall or spring on a part-
time basis.
4. What obligation do you have (promising to be with the company for certain number of years) if
you accept the firm's offers of tuition and time-off?
The best offer a firm could make is to put you on their full-time payroll from May after you graduate,
pay full tuition support and allow you to go to school full-time for two summers and part-time in fall
(option 1).
Important: Undergraduate students planning to graduate soon
If you are planning to graduate at the end of next term and thinking of joining the MSA program
immediately after that, there may be some benefits to joining the MSA program at the end of this term
even before you graduate. You can take MSA classes (up to 2) even as an undergraduate which can be
counted for your MSA degree. You can choose this option if you will be within eight hours of graduation
by the end of this term. For full details see "Graduate Study by UIC Undergraduate Seniors". This
option is advantageous if you are otherwise planning to take less than the full load of classes in the last
term of your undergraduate degree. You must apply be February 1 or April 1 or October 15 to join the
MSA as an undergraduate in summer or fall or spring terms. You may even have the GMAT and
reference letters waived under certain conditions. See the related document "Guaranteed Admission
to the MSA program with GMAT or GRE Waiver "
http://accounting-net.actg.uic.edu/MSA/graduate_programs.htm 2011-11-07