Tuition for the M.Acc. program is $29,050, the same as the MBA program at FSC.
LAKELAND | A new, innovative, 16-month graduate degree program in accounting has been added to the curriculum at Florida Southern College.
Students will meet in a classroom on campus one Saturday each month and participate in a hybrid program that will consist of online and traditional classes and coursework.
“Having classes one Saturday per month allows the working professional a lot of flexibility,” said Lynn Clements, professor of accounting at the college’s Barney Barnett School of Business and Free Enterprise.
Called a Master of Accountancy (MAcc), the degree will prepare students for the certified public accounting examination and for a career in accounting.
Freshmen who meet the requirements for an “early” Master of Accountancy will be able to complete the 150-hour requirement for the CPA license in 4½ years — including the Becker CPA Exam Review.
The program also is open to students with a bachelor’s degree in business who want to complete a fifth year of specialized coursework in preparation for getting a CPA license. Some seats also may be open for non-degree students.
BUILT ON ‘COHORT’ MODEL
The program is fashioned as a “cohort” model, meaning that students will take all of their classes together and graduate together.
“Ideally, we will have a cohort of 20 to 25 students that begin each August,” Clements said. “Of those, we anticipate about five of them to be early admission students who are taking graduate courses in their senior year and will graduate with both the B.S. degree and the MAcc on the same day.”
Tuition for the M.Acc. program is $29,050, the same cost as the Master of Business Administration program, a school spokeswoman said.
Students will complete about half of their assignments online.
The program will allow a learning environment that includes interaction among students and faculty one Saturday per month, but still offer flexibility in completing the remaining coursework, Clements said.
GEARED TO FINANCIAL JOBS
“The (degree) is specifically designed to help an accounting student become a CPA,” Clements said. “CPAs are hired by public accounting firms, but there are numerous other jobs, including controller, treasurer, CFO, banker, mortgage specialist, budget analyst, cost accountant and most any job that requires a degree in finance or business administration.”
Florida Southern already offers a graduate program in Business Administration, a Master of Arts in Teaching, a Master of Education, Master of Science in Nursing and a doctorate in Educational Leadership.
The first classes for the Master of Accountancy degree will begin in August and applications are being accepted.
For information about applying, contact Maggie Kuhn at 863-680-50222 or mkuhn@flsouthern.edu.