School of Accounting

Director: Alexander L. Gabbin
Phone: (540) 568-3093
Email: gabbinal@jmu.edu

Graduate Program Director: James Irving
Phone: (540) 568-3208
Email: irvingjh@jmu.edu

Website: http://www.jmu.edu/cob/graduate/msa/index.shtml

Professors
L. Betancourt, P. Copley, A. Gabbin, D. Hayes

Associate Professors
J. Briggs, A. Duxbury, J. Irving, R. Richardson, I. Scott, N. Wright

Admission Criteria and Degree Requirements

Admission is open to individuals with a baccalaureate degree in accounting, business or any non-business discipline. Either the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) or successful completion of all four parts of the CPA exam is required for admission to the M.S. program (waived for JMU applicants). Prerequisites are based on the background and previous training of the student. More information on general admission requirements is available from The Graduate School website.

Prerequisites

Students must be proficient with a spreadsheet program and have the following courses (or their equivalent) prior to starting M.S. course work.

Accounting Courses

Auditing
Cost Accounting
Federal Income Tax Accounting
Intermediate Accounting I
Intermediate Accounting II

Business Courses

Business Law
Macro Economics
Managerial Finance
Micro Economics
Principles of Management
Statistics

Mission

The mission of the School of Accounting’s Master of Science program is to provide a strong regional presence for advanced professional education that prepares students for success in the accounting profession by strengthening the students’ technical expertise, enhancing their understanding of professional responsibility, and improving their business skills necessary to compete in today’s complex and ever-changing business environment.

The Graduate Accounting program leads to the Master of Science (M.S.) in Accounting degree. The primary goal of the M.S. program is to prepare business and nonbusiness majors for entry into the public accounting profession. It serves as the “fifth” year in preparing students for the 150 hours of postsecondary education required for AICPA membership and required to become a certified public accountant in most jurisdictions.

Master of Science in Accounting Program

James Madison University offers an on-campus program tailored for individuals who prefer a traditional full-time program of study. The on-campus program is also available on a part-time basis. The course work for the M.S. program consists of a common core and electives. Thirty credit hours must be taken at the 500 or 600 level.

Programs

Accounting, M.S.