Pre-Enrollment Requirements
The Master's in Accounting program is intended for those with bachelor’s degrees in accounting and other business areas desiring to pursue a career in public accountancy. Applicants without an undergraduate degree in accounting or business administration must prove that their undergraduate coursework is the equivalent of such a degree. Therefore, 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 For the Fall 2027 Admissions Cycle To align with the latest New York State Education Department (NYSED) CPA Evolution standards, our program pathways and pre-enrollment prerequisite structures are currently undergoing formal updates. | |
Prerequisite Content Categories | Status |
| Professional Accounting Foundation | Details Pending Final Institutional Review |
| General Business Foundation | Details Pending Final Institutional Review |
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.
The information on the MSA curriculum currently in the bulletin is for the 2025-2026 academic year. The material will be updated for the 2026-2027 academic year later this summer.
Please note that a number of other pre-enrollment requirement courses may be required for the Fall 2027 application cycle. More details will be posted when available.
- 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