MS in Accounting

There's a reason most Cox School Master's of Science in Accounting students land jobs with top firms before they even graduate: this program has an edge.

In this nine-month program, not only do you learn technical and soft skills with award-winning professors who are always there for you, but you'll also have the option to prepare for your CPA and target your goals with electives. With Dallas on your doorstep – i.e. enviable internships and valuable connections – and a dynamic career center, you'll be ready to run with your degree.

The MSA is a thirty-one-credit hours degree with Full-Time and Part-Time attendance options. The Full-Time program begins in August and can be completed in nine months across two semesters if background courses have been fulfilled. The program may be completed on a Part-Time basis, but flexibility in scheduling is needed due to course availability.
All courses are taught on campus.
Candidates come from a variety of backgrounds including degrees in Accounting, Finance, and Economics. All degrees are welcome to apply.

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Meet 1:1 with MS Admissions Team

The Cox MSA Class of 2023

82

Class Size
3.62

Average GPA
54%

Women
658

Average GMAT
90%+

Students Receiving Scholarships
2%

International Students

The MSA program prepared us so well that I passed all four parts of the CPA exam the summer before I began working full‐time.

"Each year, Professor Sommers improves the Cox MSA, updating the curriculum based on student feedback and his experience."

Stephanie Lau
Vice President of Talent, Embark

Explore SMU Cox Offerings for MS in Accounting Students

Student Cohorts

Don't mistake the power of your class cohort. Students find that their cohorts are integral to studying for both SMU Cox classes and the subsequent CPA exams taken after graduation and before employment begins.

Business Library

Use the Business Library at SMU Cox to check out technology, use computers, or find textbooks put on reserve by professors. This center, we've found, is crucial to our student's success!

Career Management Center

Use our Career Management Center to help you meet and network with employers looking for recent graduates from Accounting programs. Some of our alumni have landed at Ernest & Young, KPMG, and BDO to name a few.

After Cox: Success Stories

Allison Cooley, MSA 2012

Senior financial analyst at Southwest Airlines “The accounting program at SMU was the best decision I have made. My professors help me realize my potential for pursuing a career in accounting and pushed me to go beyond just graduating with a Master’s degree in accounting, but also to get my CPA license.”

After completing her BBA as an accounting major at SMU Cox, Allison Cooley branched out and enrolled in the Cox MSA program with a tax concentration. On graduating — with her CPA license, thanks to a push from her professors — Allison accepted a job as a tax consultant at Deloitte. Two years later, license in hand, she switched back to accounting, and today she forecasts revenue as a senior financial analyst at Southwest Airlines.

Sabrina Janski, MSA 2017

Assurance associate at PwC

When Poets&Quants featured Sabrina Janski as one of its Best and Brightest of 2016, the then SMU Cox undergrad said, “I would love to begin working as a full-time associate for Pricewaterhouse Coopers” post-graduation. Done! First, she dived deeper by studying for her MSA at Cox and interning in PwC's downtown Dallas office during her spring term. A few months later, on graduating, the company offered her a job: full-time associate.

Eric Mercado, MSA 2016

Assurance associate at EY

Eric Mercado was one of five SMU Cox accounting students whose team won the Ernst & Young Beam Abroad Case Competition and were whisked off to London, where they visited the EY London office and shared a meal with the EY global leadership team. Connections matter. Today, Eric is working at EY in Dallas.

Expand your career while you prepare for CPA certification.