Accounting Education Options Beyond the Four-Year Degree Complete hours as a non-graduate student Attend a school that forces students to get graduate degree by not offering undergraduate degree in accounting after four years Pursue a graduate degree other than a MAcc Complete a MAcc at a school that admits any background students into the MAcc Program Complete a MAcc at a school that only admits accounting majors into the program

Program Design Implications Upon Admission Policies Institutions offering undergraduate courses to become CPA qualified only require satisfactory performance in the courses If decision is made after only two-years of undergraduate work (when students are forced to do graduate degree) there are fewer courses to evaluate and GMAT may not be appropriate because students have not completed undergraduate degree MBA and MAcc programs that admit with any background rely heavily upon GMAT to level the field of knowledge MAcc programs with only accounting majors have similar knowledge bases for applicants and GMAT may be less important

MAcc Program Admission Guidelines Formula Driven systems are used (a multiplicative factor using GPA and GMAT) Portfolio systems use essays, experience, or other judgmentally evaluated input

Predictors of Success in a MAcc Program Undergraduate Overall and Major GPA Averages Professional Experience and Certifications GMAT Examination Scores Recommendation Letters Essays

Research Design Table 1 – Data Information Categories DemographicAdmissionGraduate Program Birth Year GMAT Score1st Semester GPA GenderOverall Undergraduate GPA 2nd Semester GPA USA Citizen (Y or N)All Accounting Course GPA Graduation GPA Accounting Experience Upper-level Accounting GPA Number of Accounting Courses Completed