With its emphasis on hands-on application of accounting principles and responsible leadership, Loyola’s Master of Science in Accountancy program gives you the foundation you need to excel in today’s constantly changing regulatory environment.

The Accountancy (MSA) also offers an Accelerated Master's Pathway for Undergraduate students to complete their Graduate studies in a fifth year.  Further details of the AMP, including the suggested sequence of courses, can be found under the Curriculum tab.

Related Programs

Curriculum

The Master of Science in Accountancy degree is a 12-course evening program taught on a quarter system. A student may enter the program at the start of the fall and spring terms.

Students who have not completed foundational courses in accounting will have to take additional courses to fulfill prerequisite requirements.

Besides the traditional Master's program, the Accountancy (MSA) is also offered as an Accelerated Master's Pathway where exceptional students can complete the program in a fifth year.  A suggested sequence for the AMP can be found below.

Regular Track Requirements

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
MSA Foundational Courses
Choose six (6) Accounting courses		18
ACCT 402	Issues in Financial Reporting
ACCT 404	Financial State Analysis
ACCT 412	Special Topics in Accounting
ACCT 424	Managerial Accounting
ACCT 425	International Accounting 1
ACCT 431	Tax Research 2
ACCT 432	State, Local and International Tax 2
ACCT 435	Internal Audit
ACCT 436	Forensic Accounting and Fraud 3
ACCT 437	Advanced Forensic Accounting 4
LREB 445	Entrepreneurship Law
Business Ethics Course
ETHC 441N	Business Ethics	3
or ETHC 446	International Business Ethics
or INFS 795	Ethics and Data Analytics
Two (2) Non-Accounting Graduate Business Elective Courses 5, 6		6
Three (3) ACCT or Graduate Business Elective Courses 5, 6		9
Total Hours		36

¹

Prerequisite is ACCT 406 Accounting Theory II.

²

Prerequisite is ACCT 408 Tax Principles Applied to Entities.

³

Prerequisite is ACCT 409 Audit I -Audit and Assurance.

⁴

Prerequisite is ACCT 409 Audit I -Audit and Assurance or ACCT 436 Forensic Accounting and Fraud.

⁵

Introductory Core courses (ACCT 400, ECON 420, FINC 450, MARK 460, SCMG 480) may not be taken to fulfill the or general elective requirements.

⁶

Business and accounting courses can be found here, graduate courses are 400+

Analytics Track Requirements

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
MSA Foundational Courses
Select Five (5) of the Following Courses		15
ACCT 402	Issues in Financial Reporting
ACCT 404	Financial State Analysis
ACCT 412	Special Topics in Accounting
ACCT 424	Managerial Accounting
ACCT 425	International Accounting 1
ACCT 431	Tax Research 2
ACCT 432	State, Local and International Tax 2
ACCT 435	Internal Audit
ACCT 436	Forensic Accounting and Fraud 3
ACCT 437	Advanced Forensic Accounting 4
LREB 445	Entrepreneurship Law
Business Ethics Course
Select one of the following:		3
ETHC 441N	Business Ethics
ETHC 446	International Business Ethics
INFS 795	Ethics and Data Analytics
Analytics Foundational Classes
INFS 492	Database Systems	3
INFS 494	Applied Data Mining and Artificial Intelligence (AI)	3
INFS 796	Data Warehousing	3
Analytics Electives Courses
Select three of the following:		9
FINC 452	Investment Management
FINC 553	Applied Portfolio Management
FINC 599	Special Topics
HRER 490	Analytical Problem Solving
INFS 443	Business Analytics
INFS 484N	Project Management
INFS 493	Database Analytics
INFS 495	Forecasting Methods with Artificial Intelligence (AI)
INFS 590	Global Strategy and Data
INFS 592	Data Visualization
INFS 691	Principles of Analytic Programming
INFS 791	Programming for Business Decision Making
INFS 797	Applications of Visualization
INFS 798	AI Product Management
ISSCM 596N	Data Driven Decision Making
MARK 461	Research Methods in Marketing
MARK 468	Digital Marketing
MARK 562	Database Marketing Strategy
MARK 660	Digital Marketing Analytics
SCMG 480	Intro to Operations Management
SCMG 486	Global Logistics
SCMG 487	Purchasing Management
SCMG 488	Inventory Management
SCMG 489	Supply Chain Analytics
Total Hours		36

¹

Prerequisite is ACCT 406 Accounting Theory II.

²

Prerequisite is ACCT 408 Tax Principles Applied to Entities.

³

Prerequisite is ACCT 409 Audit I -Audit and Assurance.

⁴

Prerequisite is ACCT 409 Audit I -Audit and Assurance and ACCT 436 Forensic Accounting and Fraud.

MSA Prerequisite Pool

For students who need additional foundational courses in accounting, the following course options will fulfill prerequisite requirements.

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
ACCT 405	Accounting Theory I	3
ACCT 406	Accounting Theory II	3
ACCT 407	Tax Principles Applied to Individuals	3
ACCT 408	Tax Principles Applied to Entities	3
ACCT 409	Audit I -Audit and Assurance	3
ACCT 410	Audit II-Advanced Audit and Professional Ethics	3
ACCT 411	Business Law and Accountants	3

Suggested Sequence of Courses

Traditional Master's Program

In order to provide optimal flexibility in the Master's program, there is no required course sequence for the Regular Track or the Analytics Track.  Students should work with the Graduate Program Director when selecting courses to choose those that are more relevant to their personal and professional needs.

Accelerated Master's Pathway 

Students can take up to 9 credit hours in the senior year with admission to the AMP.  These credits are shared between the Bachelor's and Master's programs.

Suggested Sequence for BBA Student

Undergraduate BBA students from non-Accounting majors must take ACCT 303 Intermediate Accounting I, ACCT 304 Intermediate Accounting II, and ACCT 328 Concepts in Taxation in their Senior year as pre-requisites for the Accounting MS.  These courses do not count toward the MS total credit hours.

Plan of Study Grid

Senior
Fall		Hours
ACCT 424	Managerial Accounting 1	3
	Hours	3
Spring
ACCT 400-Level Foundational Course 2		3
ACCT 400-Level Foundational Course 2		3
	Hours	6
Master's
Additional coursework in the Accountancy (MS) is chosen in conjunction with the Graduate Program Director to choose courses relevant to their personal and professional needs.		27
	Hours	27
	Total Hours	36

¹

Undergraduate Accounting majors should take ACCT 424 or another required core courses. The Graduate Program Director recommends ACCT 404, ACCT 412, ACCT 425, ACCT 432, or ACCT 436 to fulfill these requirements.

²

For the required core courses, the Graduate Program Director recommends ACCT 404, ACCT 412, ACCT 425, ACCT 432, or ACCT 436 to fulfill these requirements.

Suggested Sequence for Non-BBA Students

Due to the specialized nature of the Accountancy (MS), student coming from non-BBA degrees would only take pre-requisite courses in their Senior year that do not count toward the overall credit hours of the Master of Science. 

Plan of Study Grid

Senior
Fall		Hours
Prerequisite Courses
ACCT 400	Financial Accounting for Business Decisions 1
ACCT 303	Intermediate Accounting I 2
	Hours	0
Spring
Prerequisite Courses
ACCT 304	Intermediate Accounting II 2
ACCT 311	Auditing & Internal Control Systems 2
ACCT 328	Concepts in Taxation 2
	Hours	0
Master's
Coursework in the Accountancy (MS) is chosen in conjunction with the Graduate Program Director to choose courses relevant to their personal and professional needs.		36
	Hours	36
	Total Hours	36

¹

ACCT 400 is required for non-Business majors and is a pre-requisite for this degree. Non-BBA AMP students may also take ACCT 201 to fulfill this requirement.

²

Non-BBA students should take ACCT 303 in the fall and ACCT 304 in the Spring. ACCT 311 and ACCT 328 are secondary options for the Spring.

Guidelines for Accelerated Master's Pathways

In Accelerated Master’s Pathways, students share limited, authorized credits between their Undergraduate and Graduate degrees to facilitate completion of both degrees in a shorter amount of time. Shared credits are Graduate level credit hours (400-level or higher) taken during the Undergraduate career and then applied both to the Undergraduate degree and towards Graduate program requirements.

Admission and Matriculation

Accelerated Master's Pathways are designed to enhance opportunities for advanced training for Loyola’s Undergraduates. Admission to these programs is competitive and will depend upon a positive review of credentials by the Graduate program. Accordingly, the admission requirements for these programs may be higher than those required if the Master’s degree were pursued entirely after the receipt of a Bachelor’s degree.

Students enrolled in an Accelerated Master's Pathway who choose not to continue to the Master’s degree program upon completion of the Bachelor’s degree will face no consequences.

Ideally, a student will apply for admission to an AMP program as they approach 90 credit hours in their Undergraduate career.

Students will not officially matriculate into the Master’s degree program and be labeled as a Graduate student by the university, with accompanying changes to tuition and Financial Aid (see below), until the Undergraduate degree has been awarded. Once admitted to the Graduate program, students must meet the academic standing requirements of their Graduate program as they complete the program curriculum.

Advising and Registration

Students in their final Undergraduate year will work with Advising in the home School of their Bachelor's program(s), as well as the Graduate Program Director of the Master’s program. Any 400-level or higher courses that the student plans to enroll in should be reviewed by both advisors to ensure that these courses will complete requirements for both degrees.

Registration in Graduate level courses during the Undergraduate year may require assistance from the Graduate Program Director and/or the student’s current academic advisor to enroll.

Shared Credits

Only courses taken at the 400-level or higher will count toward the Graduate program. At the Undergraduate level, students are restricted to enrolling in and sharing up to the number of Graduate level credits explicitly indicated in the catalog for their selected AMP program.

In general, Graduate level coursework should not be taken prior to admission into the Accelerated Master's Pathway. Exceptions may be granted for professional programs where curriculum for the Accelerated Master's Pathway is designed to begin earlier. On the recommendation of the program’s Graduate Program Director, students may take one of their Graduate level courses before they are admitted to the Accelerated Master’s Pathway if they have advanced abilities in their discipline and course offerings warrant such an exception.

Degree Requirements and Conferral

Undergraduate degree requirements are in no way impacted by admission to an Accelerated Master’s Pathway. Students should not, for example, attempt to negotiate themselves out of a writing intensive requirement on the basis of admission to a Graduate program.

The program’s Graduate Program Director will designate credit hours to be shared through the advising form and Master’s degree conferral review process. Graduate credit hours taken during the Undergraduate career will not be included in the Graduate GPA calculation.

If students wish to transfer credits from another university to Loyola University Chicago, the program’s Graduate Program Director will review the relevant syllabus or syllabi to determine whether it meets the criteria for a 400-level course or higher.

Programs with specialized accreditation requirements that allow programs to offer Graduate curriculum to Undergraduate students will conform to those specialized accreditation requirements.

Degrees are awarded sequentially. All details of Undergraduate commencement are handled in the ordinary way as for all students in the School/College/Institute. Once matriculated in the Graduate program, students abide by the graduation deadlines set forth by the Graduate program. Students in these programs must be continuously enrolled from Undergraduate to Graduate degree program unless given explicit permission by their program for a gap year or approved leave of absence. In offering the option of an Accelerated Master’s Pathway, the university is making possible the acceleration of a student’s Graduate degree completion. It should be understood that students may not request deferral of their matriculation into the Master’s degree program. If students would like to delay their Graduate studies after earning the Undergraduate degree, they may apply for admission to the traditional Master’s degree program. Any application of Graduate credit earned while in the Undergraduate program is subject to the policies of the Graduate degree granting school.

Graduate & Professional Standards and Regulations

Students in graduate and professional programs can find their Academic Policies in Graduate and Professional Academic Standards and Regulations under their school. Any additional University Policies supersede school policies.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the Master of Science in Accountancy (MSA) program, graduates are expected to have acquired essential skills in the areas of:

• Measurement: Graduate accounting students will demonstrate the ability to identify what needs to be measured, apply the appropriate measures, and recognize the strengths and weaknesses of the measures used.
• Decision Making: Graduate accounting students will demonstrate the ability to critically use financial and non-financial data in decision-making.
• Research: Graduate accounting students will demonstrate the ability to research new or existing accounting issues and topics, understand the link between business and accounting, and apply the finding to the business condition.
• Risk Analysis: Graduate accounting students will demonstrate the ability to identify and manage risk.
• Communication: Graduate accounting students will possess the ability to communicate scope, findings and recommendations of accounting work.