Pre-Enrollment Requirements
The Master's in Accounting program is intended for those desiring to pursue a career in public accountancy who already have a bachelor’s degree in accounting and other business areas such as business administration, finance and economics.
Applicants without an undergraduate degree in accounting, business administration, finance, economics or another area of business must prove that their undergraduate coursework is the equivalent of such a degree.
To ensure that all applicants have the requisite educational background or the equivalent, we have a series of pre-enrollment requirements to apply.
As part of the application process, applicants must demonstrate how they meet, or plan to meet, pre-enrollment course requirements in accounting and general business. Specifically, applicants must have successfully completed the listed courses and credits below prior to enrolling in the program.
| MS in Accounting Pre-Enrollment Requirements | |
| Accounting Requirement | Total of 9 accounting credits, including: 3 credits of Financial Accounting 3 credits of Managerial Accounting |
| General Business Requirement | Total of 30 general business credits, including: 3 credits in Micro Economics and/or Macro Economics 3 credits in Information Technology & Systems 3 credits in Business Law |
Authoritative curriculum information can be found exclusively in the University Bulletin. All other content, including this page, is for informational purposes only. You can find the curriculum for this program on this page of the Bulletin.
Please note that the information on the MSA curriculum currently in the bulletin is for the 2026-2027 academic year. The material will be updated for the 2027-2028 academic year during the next academic cycle.
- Accounting coursework must be completed at a degree-granting, accredited (or government recognized) college or university.
- General Business (Non-Accounting) coursework must be completed at a degree-granting, accredited (or government recognized) college or university.
If courses that you have taken do not correspond to the standard U.S. semester credit system, please email gradadmissions@stern.nyu.edu for specific directions.
Credits earned toward your undergraduate degree for Advanced Placement (AP) exams in Macroeconomics, Microeconomics and/or Statistics are acceptable for the General Business pre-enrollment requirement if they are listed on your undergraduate transcripts, and you may count these credits toward the 36 credits that must be completed in General Business.
While all of the above coursework, including the aforementioned AP credits, meet the NYU Stern pre-enrollment requirements, our advising pathways are designed to align with evolving New York State Education Department (NYSED) guidelines to ensure eligibility for the CPA exam. If an applicant has questions about NY State requirements, the student should contact NY State directly at comped@nysed.gov.
General business course content areas include core requirements mandated under the new CPA Evolution model, alongside additional elective coursework in standard business disciplines:
- Business Data Analytics
- Business Law
- Economics
- Finance
- Information Technology Systems
- Management
- Marketing
- Operations Management
- Organizational Behavior
- Quantitative Methods
- Business Strategy
- Business Statistics
- Computer Science