On-line Advising for
Accounting Graduate Students
Undergraduate Advising is provided by other faculty and by the College of Business Student Services Center.
Students should review carefully the graduate section of the current San Francisco State University Bulletin for detailed information about the MBA/MSBA programs. Information is also available via the College of Business Graduate Programs Web Site.
Accounting Graduate Student Advising FAQ | |||||||
| Introduction and general comments about "Majoring" in Accounting. |
Accounting as a discipline represents a significant challenge for students for several reasons including the fact that the material is not always intuitive and the amount of material that needs to be covered is substantial. The most common mistakes made by graduate students include underestimating the amount of time it takes to study accounting and overestimating their ability to effectively master the required material. To be successful, students should plan their course of study early. A last minute decision to major in accounting and complete all of the required coursework in two semesters is not advised. Given the amount and complexity of the material, students should plan to stretch their study of accounting over three or four semesters. A quick look at the MSBA prerequisite flow chart will give you an idea of the necessary pacing. While students can take Business 780 and 781 concurrently, it is not advised. Similarly, students can take Accounting 800 and 801 concurrently, but this is also not advised. Ideally students would take no more than two accounting classes a semester (three if one of them is not Accounting 800 or 801) and would combine 700 level and 800 level classes over several semesters. | ||||||
| How do I use this web page? |
It is very important for students to understand that both the MBA and MSBA are advisor approved programs. That means that the Phase III courses selected by students must be approved by one of the graduate advisors in the accounting department. The information on this web page represents only my own judgment. Listed here are the electives that I will approve as a graduate accounting advisor. The key features of this are as follows: For MBA students, at least three of the four Phase III electives must have the ACCT prefix with course numbers of 800 or higher. For MSBA students, a minimum of six Phase III electives must have the ACCT prefix with course numbers of 800 or higher. MSBA students may select a maximum of 2 electives from the following list of undergraduate accounting courses: ACCT 501, ACCT 504, ACCT 507, ACCT 509 (assuming that ACCT 812 is not offered) and ACCT 551. For MSBA students, ACCT 800 and 801 are required. Students who have taken ACCT 301 and ACCT 302 or their equivalent at any time in the past are required to select two other 800 level electives. Finally, I believe that it is extremely important for students to begin the process of planning their Phase III course selection as early as possible, certainly before they take any electives. | ||||||
| What changes have recently been made in the Requirements for graduate students? |
Big changes have been introduced for both MBA and MSBA students. Effective immediately, MSBA students in Accounting no longer need to take BUS 890 and will need to select another elective to replace it. MSBA students in Accounting will continue to take ACCT 895 as their culminating experience, and may take BUS 890 as an elective but it is no longer required. Effective immediately, MBA students will fulfill their culminating experience requirement with BUS 890 instead of BUS 895. Since BUS 890 will count as the culminating experience, MBA students will need to select another elective to replace BUS 895. MBA students who are taking BUS 890 this semester (Spring 09) or who took it in a prior semester, must take BUS 895 as a culminating experience. Students who have not taken BUS 890 are required to take BUS 890 as the culminating experience. Students who take BUS 890 as their culminating experience can still take ACCT 895 as an elective. The table below summarizes the changes:
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| How do I apply to the graduate program? |
Complete information is available on the SFSU web site. | ||||||
| What are the admission requirements? |
Information is detailed on the SFSU web site. | ||||||
| Should I get an MBA or an MSBA? |
You probably have time to decide. SFSU admits you to the graduate business programs, not to just the MBA or MSBA. The Department of Accounting offers two master degrees: Master of Science in Business Administration (MSBA) and Master of Business Administration (MBA). The MBA program is a general curriculum designed to provide broad based knowledge in business management supported by a limited specialization in accounting. Students selecting the MBA program should be either managers who want a more thorough understanding of accounting or students who have an extensive undergraduate background in accounting. The MSBA program is a specialized curriculum designed to provide an in-depth knowledge of accounting. The vast majority of students in our MSBA program do not have an undergraduate accounting background and are interested in working as professional accountants. Both the MBA and MSBA prepare graduates for careers in public accounting, industry and government. Both programs provide courses that can be used to met the 150-hour education requirement of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). In general, students with an accounting background or an undergraduate degree in accounting pursue an MBA while students without an accounting background pursue an MSBA. To sit for the CPA exam, candidates are required to have 24 units of accounting. To meet this requirement while pursuing an MBA, students without an accounting background prior to entering the SFSU grad program will need to take extra classes. The MSBA prerequisite flow chart can be used to help plan a course of study. |
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| Who are the accounting graduate advisors? |
Graduate Accounting Advisors:
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| I do not have an undergraduate accounting degree but want to become a CPA. What classes should I take? |
CPA Education Requirements: Applicants for the California CPA Examination must have at least 24 semester units of accounting AND 24 semester units of business-related subjects.
24 Semester Units in Accounting Subjects: Acceptable accounting courses include accounting, auditing, financial reporting, external or internal reporting, financial statement analysis, and taxation. Accounting courses in excess of the 24 required semester units in accounting may be counted toward the business related units. We believe that the following courses offered at SFSU would qualify as part of the 24 units of accounting: Business 780 and 781, Accounting 501, 504, 509, 551, 800, 801, 802, 803, 806, 811, 812, 818, 831, and 895. Accounting 804 and 807 would be counted as part of Business Related study. 24 Semester Units in Business-Related Subjects: Acceptable business-related courses include business administration, economics, finance, business management, marketing, computer science/information systems, statistics, business communication, mathematics, business law, or business related law courses offered at an accredited law school. For more information, visit the California State Board of Accountancy web site. SFSU MSBA Requirements: MSBA accounting students should consult with a graduate accounting adviser to determine recommended 800 level courses in their field of specialization as well as any recommended undergraduate accounting courses before enrollment in any Phase III courses. A maximum of six of these units (two courses) may be upper-division undergraduate courses with the approval of an advisor. The MSBA prerequisite flow chart can be used to help plan course selection. The following eight recommended Phase III courses would provide 21 units of accounting and 3 units of business-related study:
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| Should I finish all my 700 level classes before I take any 800 level classes? |
No, because that causes scheduling problems for full-time students. Many 800 level accounting courses are offered only once each year so you should integrate your 700 level and 800 level classes. Note however, that all 700 level requirements need to be completed prior to enrolling in Accounting 895, Accounting 898, or Business 895. Please see an advisor as soon as possible to plan your program. | ||||||
| Can I take Accounting 800 and Accounting 801 in the same semester? |
Technically, this is allowed. However, it is not advised. Both Accounting 800 and 801 require a large commitment of time and effort to be successful. Students are strongly advised to take these classes sequentially in two different semesters. | ||||||
| Can I complete my 895 culminating experience requirement in the summer? |
While it is possible to find faculty readers to work with you during the summer, students should plan to do their 895 or 898 culminating experience requirement during either the spring of fall semester. Most professors expect students to have completed Accounting 800 and 801 before attempting any 895 or 898 project. Please note that all 700 level course requirements need to be completed before you can enroll in 895 or 898. | ||||||
| What are the requirements to become a CPA? |
Detailed information is available at the California State Board of Accountancy web site. While every attempt is made to provide accurate information on this web site, students are advised to check with the State Board of Accountancy to make sure that the minimum hour requirements will be met before undertaking any series of courses. | ||||||
| Which Accounting Classes would count toward the 24 unit Accounting requirement? |
The following list is based on currently available information. Students are advised to check with the State Board of Accountancy to make sure that their minimum hour requirement will be met with any course of study.
The following classes would count towards the 24 unit accounting requirement but have not been offered in the last year. They may be offered in the future.
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| Which undergraduate Accounting classes can I take in Phase III? |
MBA students cannot take undergraduate classes for credit in the MBA program. MSBA students can take up to two undergraduate accounting classes from the list below:
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| What are the requirements to become a CMA? |
Detailed information is available from the Institute of Management Accounting. | ||||||
| What are the requirements to become a CIA? |
Detailed information is available from the Institute of Internal Auditing | ||||||
| How do I complete my Culminating Experience Requirement (Accounting 895 / Business 895 / Business 898)? |
Starting in Fall 2009, MBA students take BUS 890 as their culminating experience. MSBA accounting students have two choices, they may pursue an individual research topic and arrange for two faculty members to serve as readers or they may elect to follow the more structured 895 "class" approach. Students must arrange for one of these two approaches early in the semester preceding the one in which they wish to complete their 895/898 requirement. Students are encouraged to read the 895 information page for those planning to take 895 or 898 the next semester. | ||||||
