To earn a Bachelor of Science in Accounting in the US, attend a four-year university with an accredited accounting program, complete general education requirements, take 16-22 specific accounting courses, and maintain a minimum GPA. Attending a community college for general education can save time and money, but transferable classes are crucial. A Bachelor of Science in Accounting focuses on technical aspects, while a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting focuses on management. A bachelor’s degree does not qualify for the CPA exam.
To earn a bachelor’s degree in accounting, you’ll need to attend a four-year university with an accredited accounting program. Although the curriculum requirements of various programs differ in length and composition, there are basic guidelines to follow. Generally, in the United States, a Bachelor of Science in Accounting requires two years of general education with a preparatory focus in mathematics and business, followed by completion of 64 to 88 credit hours in the accounting discipline. There are three types of accounting degrees available at US universities. If you are specifically looking for a Bachelor of Science in accounting rather than a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Business Administration, you will need to take an increased course load of math, statistics, and applied accounting classes.
Although a bachelor’s degree in accounting can only be conferred by a four-year university, you have the option of attending a two-year community college to complete the degree program’s general education requirements. Attending a quality community college to complete general education classes can save dedicated and focused students time and money, but attending such a school can complicate things. You will need to be careful to only attend transferable classes for the four-year school you plan to transfer to. Failure to ensure this could delay the transfer process considerably and ultimately could derail the pursuit of your degree.
In the junior and senior years of your Bachelor of Accounting program, you will need to take specific courses in your university’s accounting department. For most programs, this means taking between 16 and 22 specific accounting courses. These courses include general accounting practices, database and spreadsheet accounting, accounting statistics, cost management, income tax management, and accounting ethics. You will need to maintain a minimum grade point average (GPA) for your accounting courses, as well as a minimum average for your overall course load. While standards vary by program, generally you will need to maintain a 2.0 overall, with a 3.0 GPA in your accounting courses.
To qualify for a Bachelor of Science in accounting, as opposed to a Bachelor of Arts or a concentration in business administration, your accounting program will need to focus on the technical aspects of accounting. This contrasts with the Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting program, which focuses more on the management and administration aspects of the financial sector. A bachelor’s degree in accounting, however, does not qualify you to take the certified public accountant (CPA) exam. To take the exam, you will need to have completed a certain number of hours of work under a licensed CPA, in addition to a certain number of graduate credit hours in accounting.
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