Accounting and Finance, M.S.

Admission Requirements

Admission to the Accounting and Finance M.S. is competitive and decisions are based on the holistic assessment of each candidate’s academic and personal/professional background. Students must meet the CSU requirements for admission to a master’s degree program. Please consult the Graduate Admissions  section in this catalog for complete information. In addition, applicants will be evaluated based on the following:

1. A bachelor’s degree from an appropriately accredited institution.
2. A minimum grade-point average of at least 3.0 in the last 60 semester units attempted and in good standing at the last college attended.
3. TOEFL scores for applicants who do not possess a bachelor’s degree from a post-secondary institution where English is the principal language of instruction. A minimum TOEFL score of 570 on the paper exam or 90 on the internet based (iBT) is required. Alternatively, a minimum of 6.5 is required for IELTS score.
4. A satisfactory score on the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) or Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is required for applicants with GPAs less than 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
5. GMAT and GRE could be waived in exceptional cases.
6. Complete any additional program application requirements.

Students admitted will be required to satisfy the following requirements either prior to or during their residency at CSUF:

• ACCT 301A  and ACCT 301B  or equivalents.
• ACCT 302  or equivalent.
• ACCT 307  or equivalent.
• FIN 340  or equivalent.
• FIN 320  or FIN 517  or equivalent.
• Additional coursework may be required of admitted students who holistically satisfy the criteria but are weak in one of the above areas.

Students may take required courses of the program without satisfying all prerequisite courses if they can demonstrate grasp of concepts covered in prerequisite courses and obtain consent of the program director or the instructor.

Required (24 units)

Elective (3 units)

• ACCT 508 - Seminar in Tax Planning (3)
• ACCT 574 - Seminar in Taxation of International Business Operations (3)
• FIN 463 - Professional Ethics, Corporate Compliance and Regulation (3)
• FIN 570 - Seminar in International Financial Management (3)

Culminating Experience (3 units)

• ACCT 597 - Accounting Capstone - Professional Research Project (3)
• FIN 597 - Project (3)

Total (30 units)