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New Mexico State University

Degree Requirements

Requirements

2009-2010 Graduate Catalog

Candidates for the Master of Accountancy degree who have an undergraduate degree in accounting must successfully complete a minimum of 30 graduate credits. Candidates with an undergraduate degree in a field other than accounting must complete additional prerequisite work dependent upon previous courses taken.

After admission and during their first period of enrollment, all students are required to successfully complete an elementary statistics course (with the exception of those who have previously completed a statistics course with a grade of B or better). In any case, all candidates must present or fulfill the following requirements.

Accounting and Related Prerequisites

Undergraduate accounting prerequisites may not be taken on an S/U (Pass/Fail) basis. In addition to the foundation requirements, each student must present or complete, at a minimum:

  • 21 credits of accounting above the elementary level, including financial accounting (9 credits), taxation, cost accounting and auditing,
  • Plus 3 additional credits deemed acceptable in the initial advisement session.

Foundation Courses

These courses are required of every student unless they can be waived. As a general policy, the courses upon which waivers are claimed must have been taken within 7 years of enrollment in the program with a grade of “B” or better. A final decision regarding a waiver is based on an evaluation of each student’s total educational and professional background. Foundation courses may not be taken on an S/U (Pass/Fail) basis.

  • Accounting 251 – Management Accounting –OR– Accounting 503 - Accounting for Managers
  • Accounting 252 - Financial Accounting
  • Business Law 316/317 - Business Law I
  • BCIS 338 – Business Information Systems I
  • Economics 251G – Principles of Macroeconomics
  • Economics 252G - Principles of Microeconomics
  • Finance 341 - Financial Analysis and Markets
  • Management 309 - Human Behavior in Organizations

Students must also take:

  • –EITHER– MKTG 303 –AND– one of the following:
    • MGT 344 – Production and Operations Management
    • MGT 470 - Project Management in Organizations
    • BCIS 485 - Enterprise Resource Planning
  • –OR– BUSA 365 - Design and Delivery of Goods and Services

Core and Elective Courses (30 Credits)

The specific courses to be completed by each candidate will be determined in the advisement process. The Graduate School requires that students must maintain a grade-point average of at least 3.0. The Department of Accounting and Information Systems requires, in addition, that every candidate for the Master of Accountancy degree maintain at least a 3.0 grade point average in all accounting courses used to satisfy the core and elective course requirements.

Graduate-level courses

The Graduate School catalog lists course descriptions for the following courses.

  • Core Courses:
    • Each student must complete 18 credits in accounting courses numbered above 503.
  • Elective Courses:
    • All students must complete a total of 12 additional credits in elective courses.
    • Electives will be determined individually for each student and will include no more than 3 credits in accounting. Normally they will include work in at least two fields other than accounting.
    • At least 3 of the elective credits must be in courses reserved exclusively for graduate students and numbered above 510.
    • Neither ACCT 503 nor any course fulfilling the foundation requirement may be included.

Comprehensive Examination

Satisfactory performance on a comprehensive examination is required for the degree.

Thesis

No thesis is required; however, under special approval, a candidate may elect to write a thesis (ACCT 599). Up to 6 credits may be earned for the thesis.