Accounting Major, B.S.

Print Degree Planner (opens a new window) |

All candidates for a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting must satisfy the General Studies requirements, the business core course requirements, and the Accounting Department requirements described in the following sections.

Courses	Semester Hours
General Studies*	34
Accounting Department Requirements	3-18
Business Core	33
Accounting Major Requirements	24
Unrestricted Electives*	12-27
Total Hours (minimum)	120

*MSU Denver’s Multicultural requirement may be satisfied by taking an approved Multicultural course in the General Studies or the unrestricted electives portion of the program requirements.

Note: Unrestricted elective credits may vary. Total unrestricted electives must be sufficient for the student to meet the required degree minimum of 120 credits. Typically the unrestricted elective credits will vary between 12 and 27 credits. These credits may be used to meet graduation requirements, a minor or a concentration. Per university policy, no more than 16 semester hours in human performance and sports activity (HPL), 4 semester hours of varsity sports (ATH), and 7 semester hours in music ensemble courses may be counted toward the degree.

General Studies:

The academic foundation for a successful business career or graduate work is a broad liberal arts education.

See the General Studies program requirements for a list of approved courses .

Total Credits for General Studies: 33

Multicultural Requirement:

The University’s multicultural requirement is satisfied by taking an approved multicultural course. See additional graduation requirements .

Accounting Department Requirements:

In addition to foundation coursework in business theory and practice, all Accounting majors should have learning experiences that develop and support communication abilities, quantitative and analytical skills, an understanding of the domestic and global economic environment, an appreciation of the American political process, and an understanding of a business professional’s ethical as well as legal responsibility in organizations and society. To meet these objectives, the following courses are required for all majors in Accounting.

Required Courses:

Ethics Requirement

PHI 3360 - Business Ethics ⁵

Total Hours for the Accounting Department Requirements: 3-18

Notes:

¹May be used to meet the General Studies Oral Communication requirement.

²May be used to meet the General Studies Social and Behavioral Sciences I requirements.

³ May be used to meet the General Studies Social and Behavioral Sciences II requirements.

⁴ The prerequisite for this course, MTH 1110 or MTH 1310 or MTH 1400, may be used to meet the General Studies Quantitative Literacy requirement. MTH 1410, MTH 2410 or MTH 2420 may be substituted for MTH 1320.

⁵May be used to meet the General Studies Arts and Humanities requirement.

Business Core:

All business majors require foundation course work in all significant areas of business theory and practice. The following courses are required for all majors in Accounting. A grade of “C” or better must be earned in each business core course to have that course count toward the Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting. A student cannot register for a business core course until all General Studies requirements in Written Communication, Oral Communication, and Quantitative Literacy are complete.

Required Courses:

Total Hours for the Business Core: 33

Accounting Major Requirements:

Accounting majors should have learning experiences that focus on the development, measurement, analysis, validation, and communication of financial and other information. The following courses are required for all majors in Accounting.

A grade of “C” or better must be earned in each accounting course for that course to toward the Bachelor of Science in Accounting.

Required Courses:

Subtotal: 18

Accounting Electives (upper division accounting courses): 6 credits*

*Undergraduate students meeting the prerequisite requirements may substitute up to 6 credits from the Master of Professional Accountancy (MPAcc) program course offerings. These courses do not count toward the 30 credits required to obtain the MPAcc degree. Students must obtain permission from the graduate coordinator or accounting chair to register for a graduate course. Students must have a minimum 3.2 GPA in all accounting courses to be considered.

Total Credits for the Accounting Major Requirements: 24

Notes:

Students interested in becoming Certified Public Accountants (CPA) should be aware that they must take ACC 4200 - Auditing and Attestation and that the majority of states (Colorado is not included) require 150 semester hours of education to sit for the uniform CPA examination. MSU Denver offers classes that satisfy both the 150-hour requirement and Colorado’s “education in lieu of experience” option for certification. On July 1, 2015, the State of Colorado will require 150 semester hours for CPA licensure.

To earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting, a student must successfully complete 30 or more credit hours of business course work at MSU Denver, including the last 12 hours applicable to the degree, and completion of at least 40 hours of upper-division courses. This 30-hour residency requirement can be met by completing any business courses with the prefix ACC, ACCM, CIS, FIN, MGT and MKT and a course number of at least 2000, except FIN 2250. A student must complete at least 12 upper-division semester hours in Accounting at MSU Denver.

Students should consult an Accounting faculty advisor to develop an appropriate academic program. A wide variety of internship opportunities are available through the Applied Learning Center.