Accounting (BS)

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Offered by the Kogod School of Business , the Accounting (BS) program meets the needs of students pursuing professional accounting careers in public accounting or in industrial, financial, governmental, not-for-profit, and consulting organizations. Requirements include the Kogod School of Business (KSB) undergraduate business core, advanced-level accounting courses, and sufficient electives to permit students to pursue a minor or other area of interest. Students successfully completing the requirements for the Accounting (BS) should be well prepared to sit for the Uniform CPA Examination and for additional study required for professional licensure.

Admission to the Program

Freshman applicants should have demonstrated above average performance in their college preparatory courses in secondary school. Scores on the SAT or ACT should indicate that the applicant has the potential for success in a rigorous university degree program. Due to the quantitative emphasis of the business administration curriculum, it is strongly recommended that applicants take the SAT II Math test for placement purposes.

In addition to university requirements for transfer admission, transfer applicants (including non-degree and degree seeking from other academic units) to KSB should have a minimum 2.75 GPA (on a 4.00 scale). All transfer students are required to take MGMT-458 and at least 18 upper-level credit hours toward their major requirements in residence. Transfer credits for business courses at or above 300-level are subject to validation by the appropriate department chair and may be conditional on successful completion of a more advanced course at American University.

University Requirements

120 credit hours with minimum 2.00 cumulative GPA (Undergraduate Academic Regulation 2 )
Completion of all requirements for a major (Undergraduate Academic Regulation 9 )

AU Core Requirements

Completion of AU Core foundation requirements (Undergraduate Academic Regulation 8.2-8.6 )
Completion of AU Core Habits of Mind requirements (Undergraduate Academic Regulation 8.7 )
Completion of AU Core integrative course requirements (Undergraduate Academic Regulation 8.8-8.11 )

For additional information, see AU Core Curriculum .

Major Requirements

65-66 credit hours with grades of C or better, including 42 credit hours at or above 300-level and at least 50 percent of the credit hours earned at American University
No more than 50 percent of total coursework may be completed within the Kogod School of Business
No more than 3 credit hours of internship may be counted toward the 120 credit hours graduation requirement
Minimum 2.00 cumulative GPA required to enroll in business courses

Course Requirements

The sequencing of courses is particularly important in the case of the Accounting (BS). For this reason, students are responsible for consulting with advisors in the KSB Office of Academic Programs as they plan their overall programs and semester class schedules.

Economics (3 credit hours)

ECON-150 Economics for Business (3)

Analytics (3 credit hours)

ITEC-320 Business Analytics (3)

Statistics (4-5 credit hours)

Complete one of the following options:

Introduction to Basic Statistics

STAT-204 Introduction to Business Statistics (4)

Data Analysis and Basic Statistics

Note: Available only to students who transferred statistics from another institution or completed STAT-202 prior to enrollment in Kogod.

Data Analysis and Basic Statistics with Calculus

Note: Available only to students who transferred statistics from another institution or completed STAT-203 prior to enrollment in Kogod.

Business Core (34 credit hours)

AT = analytical tool emphasis; provides a strong foundation in business analytical software

C = case analysis emphasis; provides growth opportunities for students to evaluate cases

O = oral communication emphasis; assists in the development of oral presentation skills

T = teamwork emphasis; focuses on teamwork and the importance of interpersonal relationships and communication

W = written communication emphasis; develops business writing skills, written assignments account for a significant part of the course grade

Note: Students not taking KSB-100 in their freshman year take a 300- or 400-level business course in its place.

Advanced Accounting (21 credit hours)

Required

Electives

Complete 6 credit hours from the following:

Note: For students intending to take the CPA exam immediately after completion of the Accounting (BS) program, ACCT-547 and ACCT-560 are recommended.

Combined Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees

American University offers students the opportunity to earn both undergraduate and graduate degrees through its combined bachelor’s/master’s programs. Advanced undergraduates admitted to a combined degree program that includes a master’s degree from Kogod are eligible to take graduate-level courses and may apply up to 9 graduate credit hours earned as an undergraduate toward the requirements for both degrees. See Combined Bachelor’s and Kogod School of Business Master’s Programs for more information.