How to Determine the College Requirements for an Accountant

An Associate's degree in Accounting may get you started, but a Bachelor's degree in Accounting, or in Business Administration with concentration in Accounting is the norm for pursuing a career in accounting. An MBA can be very useful for higher level positions in industry or in management consulting. A Ph.D. in Accounting is generally only needed if you want to pursue a career in academics.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Browse Web Sites

1. Go to the College Board Web site.

2. Select the option “For Students.”

3. Under “Find a College” select “Careers and Majors.”

4. Under “Career Categories” select “Business and Finance.”

5. Read the Career Profiles for Government Accountants and Auditors, Management Accountants and Internal Auditors and Public Accountants. Here you will find useful information and advice, and an indication of the education requirements.

6. Go to the Monster.com Web site.

7. Click on the Career Advice tab.

8. Under Job Search Basics, select "Job Profiles."

9. Select "Accountant" to find information about the job, skills, education, outlook and links to search for jobs.

10. Review the education requirements for job openings of interest.

11. Go to the Search 4 Career Colleges Web site.

12. Under Resources, select "Career Articles."

13. On the page of Career Descriptions & Career Statistics, select "Accounting and Financing Careers" for general information and education requirements.

Map Out Your Personal Plan

14. Set a goal for yourself in terms of the accounting career you want to pursue and the related college education requirement.

15. Evaluate your personal, family and financial situation to determine the alternatives that are realistically available to you.

16. Get your Bachelor's degree in accounting if you can devote yourself full-time to studying, then either go to work in accounting or continue on for a Master's degree.

17. Or, go for an Associate's degree, then go to work in an entry-level accounting position, and later complete your Bachelor's degree.

Determine Your College Courses

18. Complete the college or university's non-elective curricular requirements for a major in accounting.

19. Choose your elective accounting and business courses according to the field of accounting you want to pursue.

20. Keep in mind that most states now require CPA candidates to complete 150 semester hours of coursework.

21. Load up on elective accounting and business courses that are oriented toward your longer-term career interests, such as audit, tax, cost accounting, finance, computer science or business management.

Tips & Warnings

• Plan on getting a Bachelor's degree in Accounting, or Business Administration with concentration in Accounting. A Bachelor's degree is the norm for the profession.
• Plan on taking the CPA exam.
• A Master's degree in Accounting or an MBA may be important, but it may be equally, or even more important to obtain a specialized certification in a particular field of accounting, which is not part of the normal college degree process, but rather is done through an independent certifying entity.