Cohort M.P.A.

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Galen Sevcik, Program Director, 404-413-7231, gsevcik@gsu.edu

The objective of the Cohort Master of Professional Accountancy (Cohort MPA) degree program is to prepare non-accounting students for professional careers in accounting. More specifically, the Cohort MPA program develops skills needed for non-accounting professionals to excel in a professional path in accountancy. The Cohort MPA provides students with the knowledge, skills and upper level credit hours required to become eligible to sit for the Certified Public Accountant exam or Certified Management Accountant exam within one year - a process that usually takes more than two years to complete. The program starts all students with intermediate accounting building on their knowledge of Principles of Accounting I and II. Typically, graduates of this program will find professional accounting positions in public accounting firms and in business and governmental organizations.

7195.10 Admissions

The application procedures and admission criteria are given in the “Master’s Admissions” section of this chapter. All applicants must take the GMAT/GRE and each finalist may be interviewed before an admission decision is made.

An accepted applicant, who at the time of admission to the MPA program, has not completed the foundation and prerequisite courses must complete these requirements in a manner approved by the faculty adviser and the director of master’s admissions.

Degree Requirements

7195.20 Regulations for the Degree

The regulations, policies, and procedures given in the “Master’s Enrollment” and “Master’s Programs” sections of this chapter apply to the MPA program.

Foundation and Prerequisite Courses

Consult the Course Descriptions chapter of the Georgia State University Undergraduate Catalog for prerequisites to the undergraduate courses listed below. The courses in this section are in addition to the 30 hours required for the degree. They are assigned as part of the admissions process based on a review of each student’s transcripts. They can be exempted if equivalent coursework has been previously completed with minimum grades of C-.
- Accounting: ACCT 2101 and ACCT 2102, or MBA 8025 and MBA 8115 .
- Economics: Both macroeconomic principles (ECON 2105) and microeconomic principles (ECON 2106).
- Mathematics: College algebra (MATH 1111) and either calculus (MATH 1220) or discrete math (MATH 2420). MATH 2420 has precalculus as the minimum prerequisite.

Graduate students who receive a grade lower than a grade of C- in any undergraduate accounting course may repeat that course but may not enroll in any other accounting course until a grade of C- or higher is earned in that course Flex MPA students who have undergraduate accounting courses required and who have financial aid should refer to “Courses Eligible to Count Toward Graduate Students’ Financial Aid” before registering for the first time with graduate status.

Required Courses

The rigorous 10-course curriculum provides graduates with broad and deep functional knowledge as well as the upper-level credit hours required for CPA/CMA eligibility.

ACCT 8010 - Financial Accounting I 3 Credit Hours
ACCT 8020 - Financial Accounting II 3 Credit Hours
ACCT 8030 - Managerial and Accounting Information Systems 3 Credit Hours
ACCT 8040 - Topics in Federal Taxation 3 Credit Hours
ACCT 8050 - Assurance and Information Systems Control 3 Credit Hours
ACCT 8120 - Advanced Federal Taxation 3 Credit Hours
ACCT 8130 - Advanced Accounting Topics 3 Credit Hours
ACCT 8310 - Advanced Management Accounting Systems 3 Credit Hours
ACCT 8700 - Financial Statement and Business Analysis 3 Credit Hours
ACCT 8740 - Seminar on Internal Auditing 3 Credit Hours

Advisement/Course Selection

The MPA program coordinator and graduate academic advisor are available to students for consultation and guidance as needed. Students are encouraged to contact the coordinator and/or advisor and schedule an appointment for advisement as needed. Progress toward the degree, including clearance for graduation, will be determined by the Office of Graduate Student Services by comparing courses taken by the student with the foundation courses assigned at admission and the degree requirements stated above. It is the responsibility of the students to monitor their progress toward the degree and to determine if they have met all the requirements of the degree.

The School of Accountancy requires strict adherence to the prerequisites listed for each of its courses (see the Course Descriptions chapter of this catalog). Students enrolled in accounting or taxation courses without having completed the stated prerequisites with minimum grades of C will be required to withdraw from the course. Please contact the School of Accountancy before registration if you have questions about course prerequisites.