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Masters of Science in AccountingOur MS in Accounting program provides unique advanced business education. This program is 36 semester hours, non-thesis, and offers you the opportunity to master the specialization of your choice. Through a combination of core courses, electives, and leadership development opportunities, your MS program develops and deepens the competencies needed in your career. Both technical accounting knowledge and the development of leadership, communication, teamwork, and critical thinking skills are stressed. The program also enables you to gain knowledge of financial statement analysis, the marketing of professional services, public policy, financial markets, information systems, and the impact of technology on accounting and business. The program is primarily designed for those with undergraduate preparation in accounting. Exceptional candidates from other disciplines, however, may be considered. Upon completion of the program, you should have completed Texas’ 150-hour educational requirement for the CPA examination. Career Opportunities are excellentBecause accounting conintues to be recognized as one of the world’s leading professions, MS Accounting graduates are in demand. Numerous companies conduct on-campus interviews here because of the reputation of our graduates’ excellent work ethic, knowledge base, and willingness to conttribute. Texas A&M is a primary source school for all of the Big 5 CPA firms and other corporations. Tracks This program offers vast flexibility in selecting course work. You may choose one of our specialization tracks, or design your own program. Audit/Consulting Information
Systems Tax Financial
Management Admission Requirements Admission to the MS-Accounting program is based on the assessment of several factors including the following:
International Applicants In addition to the above requirements, international applicants whose native language is not English must attain a minimum score of 600 or above on the TOEFL exam and a minimum score of 4.5 on the AWA portion of the GMAT exam to be considered. International applicants are also recommended to submit a satisfactory score on the Test of Spoken English (TSE). Prerequisites The MS-Accounting program is designed primarily for students who have undergraduate preparation in accounting. However, exceptional candidates from other disciplines may be considered for admission. Most successful candidates have completed accounting course work through the intermediate level. The following courses or their equivalents are normally completed by all students before they begin graduate study: ACCT 642- Intermediate
Accounting II Financial Aid As an MS Accounting student, you are eligible to compete for a limited number of departmental research assistantships which provide a monthly wage and waiver of out-of-state tuition. In addition, all applicants are automatically considered for a limited number of departmental, College, and University level scholarships and fellowships.
Internal AuditingProgram Director: Dr. L. Murphy Smith, CPA General InformationThe Internal Auditing Program at Texas A&M University has been approved as an Endorsed Internal Auditing Program by the Institute of Internal Auditors. Texas A&M is now one of only 31 schools in the nation to have an Endorsed Internal Auditing Program. The Texas A&M Internal Auditing Program is sponsored by the Houston Chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors. Internal auditing is a challenging and rewarding area of work, that offers excellent career opportunities. Internal auditors play a key role in industry, nonprofit organizations, and government entities. They assist management in promoting operational efficiency, adherence to company policies and government regulations, safeguarding assets, and ensuring the accuracy and reliability of accounting records. The Endorsed Internal Auditing Program is just one more distinguishing mark of the Lowry Mays College and Graduate School of Business at Texas A&M. The Texas A&M business school is widely recognized as one of the best in the nation. For more information about the Texas A&M University's Lowry Mays College and Graduate School of Business, see: http://www.tamu.edu/cba/
Requirements of the Internal Auditing ProgramAny student seeking an accounting degree, undergraduate or graduate, may participate in the Internal Auditing Program (IAP). The IAP enables students to attain specialized skills and professional competency in a vitally important area of accounting and business practice. For students planning to pursue internal auditing careers, the IAP will help prepare them for their professional responsibilities as internal auditors and for taking the Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) Exam. For students not planning to become internal auditors, the knowledge and skills acquired from participating in the IAP are beneficial to other accounting career paths, including public accounting, industry, and not-for-profit. Immediately following graduation, students may be considered for internal auditing positions with both not-for-profit organizations (such as the Texas State Auditor's Office, State Comptroller of Public Accounts, Texas A&M University System Audit Department, and City of Austin) and major business firms (such as Haliburton Company, NationsBank Corporation, Texas Instruments, Lyondell-Citgo Refining Company, Mary Kay Cosmetics, and Sherwin-Williams Company). Further, many graduates that begin in other fields of accounting work, such as public accounting, later switch to the internal auditing field. The IAP is designed so that students must complete three specific courses that present internal auditing topics: auditing, internal auditing, and accounting and financial information systems: Accounting 407: Auditing. This is the basic auditing course which introduces students to financial auditing both in the context of external and internal auditing. This course is currently being taught each semester. Accounting 408: Internal Auditing. This course includes reading and evaluation of current theory and procedures used by internal auditors; selected case studies; and statistical methods of forming auditing judgment. This course is offered each semester. (Example syllabus - subject to change). Accounting 427: Accounting and Financial Information Systems. This course includes overall data flow systems emphasizing financial data and computerized systems; flow and logic concepts; and developing meaningful control concepts and data reporting techniques. This course is offered each semester. As communication skills are critically important to internal auditors, students are encouraged, but not required, to take one or more speech communication courses as part of the IAP. By using their general electives, they can take these courses without extending the time to complete their degree program. Grade point requirements are as follows: minimum GPA of 3.00 overall and a minimum GPA of 3.00 in the three specified courses: Accounting 407, 408, and 427. Students who successfully complete the IAP may apply for a Certificate of Specialization in Internal Auditing. The application form is provided at http://acct.tamu.edu/smith/eiap_app.htm. Contact Dr. L. Murphy Smith Links:
Doctoral ProgramPolicies and Procedures Handbook for the Major in AccountingGeneral Hours and Grade StandardsPrerequisites and Program Requirements Annual Review and First Year Paper Workshop Program and Advisory Committee Dissertation Preproposal and Proposal Performance Standards and In Absentia Registration Download Graduate School Application This document is in Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF). You must obtain a copy of Acrobat Reader to view and print this file. Or for a faster and easier way to apply, fill out an ONLINE APPLICATION. Download Information Form This document is in Adobe Acrobat PDF and is to be filled out as part of the application process. Send this form along with a resume directly to the Doctoral Director in the Department of Accounting.
This handbook is a departmental addendum to the College of Business Administration/Graduate School of Business (CBA/GSB) Ph.D. Program Handbook. The primary purpose of this addendum is to describe the departmental policies and procedures, which specifically relate to the Ph.D. program with a major in accounting. This handbook should be of use to Ph.D. students, Advisory Committees, and mentors. The Ph.D. student is subject to a hierarchy of rules imposed at the university (Office of Graduate Studies), college, and departmental levels. As such, the student should be aware of the policies and procedures contained in this document, the CBA/GSB Ph.D. Program Handbook, and the Office of Graduate Studies' Graduate Catalog. General Hours and Grade StandardsThe Ph.D. program in accounting consists of the following categories of endeavor: (1) prerequisites and leveling courses; (2) major area courses; (3) minor field courses; (4) quantitative research tool courses; and (5) the dissertation. First-year doctoral students must register for a minimum of twelve hours during the Fall and Spring semesters and for a minimum of six hours during the summer. This requirement includes registration for workshop credit (ACCT 690). After the first year, in-resident doctoral students are required to register for 9 hours during the Fall and Spring semesters and 6 hours during the summer. The actual credit hours taken during the program are a function of both departmental requirements and the recommendations of the student's advisory committee. It is anticipated that the completion of the course requirements will require a minimum of 2 years. The student must maintain residency status at least through admission to candidacy. Admission to candidacy requires the completion of course work, completion of the comprehensive exams, and the filing of an acceptable dissertation proposal with the Office of Graduate Studies. A major purpose of the residency requirements for graduate degrees is to insure that the student has an opportunity to benefit from the advantages of a university environment. These advantages include access to computing facilities, library, laboratory, and other physical facilities, as well as opportunities to participate in seminars and other activities. Just as important to the graduate student are the advantages of becoming acquainted with the faculty and other students on both a personal and professional basis. Another major purpose of the residency requirements is to give the faculty the opportunity to properly assess doctoral students' professional development, guide and direct their studies, and determine their competency. The degree program must include a reasonable amount of research (ACCT 691) credit to reflect the student's efforts on the development of the proposal and completion of the dissertation. Students must register for a minimum of 9 credit hours during both fall and spring semesters and 6 hours over the two summer sessions. These credit hours may come from a combination of regularly scheduled courses and 691 credit. Students not in residence who are working on their dissertations must register in absentia for one hour per regular semester and one hour for the summer. The grading standards within the accounting department is significantly more rigid than the university requirements. Any student that receives two C's while in the program will be automatically dismissed. Initial CounselingUntil the student's Advisory Committee is formed, the Department of Accounting's Doctoral Advisor (Doctoral Program Coordinator) is responsible for directing the student's program. Upon entering the program, the student should consult with the Doctoral Advisor to determine if there are foundation knowledge requirements of the College of Business Administration/Graduate School of Business and prerequisite requirements of the Department that must be satisfied. General competency in calculus and a computer programming language are required foundation courses for the Ph.D. program in Business Administration. These foundation requirements may be satisfied by a set of courses at Texas A&M University or by equivalent courses from other AACSB accredited programs. The prerequisite requirements in the Department of Accounting are presented in the next section. Decisions concerning satisfactory completion of these prerequisite courses are based on each student's prior academic record and/or consultation with CBA departments responsible for specific core courses. Students may be required to take basic competency exams to demonstrate that they meet the prerequisites. PrerequisitesCourses taken as prerequisites may not be used to satisfy any other program requirement. Specific prerequisites may be satisfied with the following Texas A&M courses (or equivalent courses taken at other institutions):Economics:Econ 607 (Microeconomic Theory) and Econ 611 (Macroeconomic Theory) or six credit hours of advanced graduate economic theory courses (excluding econometrics) approved by the Associate Dean for Research. Historically, the Associate Dean has also approved certain graduate level management courses with an economic theory orientation, such as MGMT 612, as counting towards satisfying this requirement. Accounting:It is anticipated that entering Ph.D. students will have an undergraduate degree in accounting (or its equivalent). The following graduate or undergraduate courses may, at the discretion of the Doctoral Advisor, be required in order to make up any deficiencies in a student's accounting training:
Statistics:Statistics 651 and 652. Program RequirementsIncoming Doctoral students prepare a tentative degree program in consultation with the Doctoral Student Advisor. This program identifies specific courses to be completed and when they are to be completed.The following outlines the major field, quantitative tool, and minor course work requirements. Please note that these should be viewed as minimum program requirements and may be expanded as appropriate by the student and the student's Advisory Committee. Major Field. The following courses are required:
Recently offered or planned seminars include:
Minor Field. The research methods minor field is designed to assure that students have the requisite knowledge and skill to conduct independent research. Minor courses do not necessarily need to come from a single academic department, but should represent a comprehensive research area which supports the student's primary research. A minimum of 9 hours of course work must be completed in a comprehensive research area. A minor area requires a representative on the student's committee. Minor courses should be selected in consultation with the Doctoral Program Advisor and/or the student's advisory committee. While no specific courses are required for the various minors. Minor course work should include doctoral level courses and other appropriate courses in the minor specialty area. Some examples of minor areas are: Finance:
Free Electives. A minimum of one elective graduate level course is required. This elective may be in any field, including accounting. However, it cannot be used to meet any other program requirement. Specifically, a free elective cannot be used to satisfy: (1) a prerequisite requirement; (2) the tool requirement; (3) the minor requirement; or (4) the accounting seminar requirement. The research workshop (ACCT 690) cannot be counted as a free elective. Typical
Degree Plan. Course work normally can be completed within 2.5
years. The following plan (with a finance minor) would be typical:
In this plan, the accounting seminar requirements are fulfilled by taking Financial Theory (ACCT 661), Managerial (688M), and Tax (688T) beyond the required ACCT 665 and ACCT 660. The tool courses are fulfilled by taking the required courses STAT 608 and ECMT 660; in addition to the tool electives of ECMT 661, ECMT 675, and ECMT 676. The student's minor courses were FINC 634, FINC 665, and FINC 688. The workshop requirement is fulfilled during the first full year. As required, the student is taking an independent study course during the first summer semester to work on the first-year paper requirement and the free elective is used to take an additional tools course SOC 631. One accounting seminar course, ACCT 688T, is taken in the semester following the summer in which the student would sit for his or her comprehensive examinations. Annual ReviewThe Ph.D. Policy Committee will review the performance of each Ph.D. student at the end of every year in the program. This process will be based on grades to date and completed questionnaires from faculty conducting Ph.D. seminars and other courses. The purpose of the review is to provide faculty and students additional information on the progress of each student toward completing degree requirements. Students with significant deficiencies will be reviewed after each semester.First Year PaperA major requirement in the course work stage of our program is the First Year Paper. Each student will prepare a single-authored research paper under the direction of a two member faculty committee. In late Spring/Early Summer of the first year the student should identify an initial topic or area of interest. He or she should then recruit a faculty member (ideally one with some degree of interest in the topic) to serve on the committee. The student will register for an Independent Study course (ACCT 685) during the first summer semester of the student's program under the direction of the recruited faculty member. Upon completion of these initial steps, the student should then inform the Ph.D. program coordinator of the initial topic (or area of interest) and the name of the recruited faculty member. The coordinator will then select/recruit the second committee member and promptly inform the student regarding this selection. The final paper should be completed, including receiving committee approval, and presenting the paper in a departmental workshop by the end of the student's second Fall semester in the program. An approval document (format available from the program coordinator) signed by both committee members should be provided to the program coordinator. Failure to complete the first year paper in a timely fashion could result in loss of assistantship, placement on probation, or dismissal from the program.Workshop ProgramActive participation in the workshop program is an essential component of the doctoral program in accounting. The workshop program provides a forum for visiting scholars, faculty and doctoral students to share and nurture research ideas. Each student's First Year Paper, Preproposal, and Proposal will be presented in a scheduled departmental workshop. All students are expected to actively participate in the workshop program while they are in residence. In addition, first year doctoral students must enroll for workshop credit (ACCT 690) in each regular semester and during the summer of the first year. Students are expected to ask questions and provide constructive suggestions during each workshop.Advisory CommitteeThe Advisory Committee guides and directs the student's academic program. The duties of the Advisory Committee include responsibility for: (1) the student's proposed degree program, (2) the research proposal, (3) the dissertation, and (4) the final oral examination. As a group, and as individual members, the Advisory Committee is responsible for counseling the student on academic matters and initiating recommendations to the Director of the Office of Graduate Studies with respect to both a student's standing in the program and any academic deficiencies.Students will begin forming their AC by selecting a chair (the person who heads the AC) during their second year. The AC must be completely formed by the end of the second year. The final selection of the AC Chair will be approved by the Department Head when the degree plan is filed with the Office of Graduate Studies. Students can re-form their AC at anytime. The CBA/GSB Ph.D. Handbook contains further information regarding committee selection. Other Accounting courses may be included in the degree program as specified by the Advisory Committee. It is important to note that the student must acquire sufficient knowledge to work at the frontier of the field of Accounting. While the course work seminars are designed to assist in this process, it is normally necessary for the student to undertake an extensive program of independent study to acquire sufficient knowledge of the field. Comprehensive ExaminationsStudents must complete a written and oral preliminary examination that is administered by the Advisory Committee generally covering the major field and minor field. Both the written and oral portions of the preliminary exam must be held within a length of time approved by the Director of the Office of Graduate Studies, usually not to exceed two weeks.The written exam must be taken no later than the end of the first semester after the completion of course work; however, it may be taken when the student is within six credit hours of completion of the formal course work [not counting 681 (seminar); 690 (theory of research); or 691 (dissertation) courses]. In order to sit for the written exam, the student must have a GPR of 3.0 or better, successfully completed at least 9 hours of the Research Workshop (ACCT 690), completed the first year paper requirement, and successfully completed at least four accounting doctoral seminars beyond Research I. When the student is nearing completion of course work, the AC Chair will notify the AC to arrange the schedule for the preliminary examination. The schedule must be approved by the Director of the Office of Graduate Studies. Formal announcement of the preliminary examination must be received in the Office of Graduate Studies no less than one week prior to the date of the first scheduled written exam. The written exam will focus on research methodology and the student's expected area of dissertation research. The member of the AC who represents the minor field may provide exam questions related to the research minor. Each written exam must be completed and reported as satisfactory to the AC Chair before the oral portion of the preliminary examination may be held. In case any written exam is reported as unsatisfactory, the entire AC must agree (1) to continuation of the oral portion of the preliminary examination, or (2) to another course of action regarding the unsatisfactory written exam. Either procedure is subject to the approval of the Director of the Office of Graduate Studies. The written portion of a student's comprehensive examination can be waived by his committee members in lieu of the departmental examination. A departmental examination will be offered twice annually: once in the early Spring semester and once during the summer session. The departmental examination will be administered by the Doctoral Program Advisor along with an Advisory Group whose members are chosen from the Ph.D. Committee. The oral portion of the preliminary examination is conducted by the student's AC. The Graduate Council Representative must be consulted in establishing the date for the oral exam. The decision as to whether or not the student's performance on the oral exam is satisfactory is that of the AC. Through the preliminary examination, the student's AC should satisfy itself that the student has demonstrated the following qualifications:
By permission of the student's AC and the Director of the Office of Graduate Studies, a student who has failed the preliminary examination may be given one reexamination but only after a period of at least six months has elapsed. Dissertation Preproposal and ProposalThe dissertation proposal process involves two distinct steps: the preproposal and the proposal. The general field of research inquiry should be identified by the student as early in the program as possible. As soon as the research plan can be outlined in reasonable detail, a preproposal paper should be prepared and scheduled for presentation at a departmental workshop. The preproposal paper must be available and approved for presentation by the Advisory Committee before it can be scheduled in the departmental workshop program. The student should choose one faculty critiquer for the preproposal workshop.The preproposal may be viewed as a trial proposal. While it may appropriately lack polish, it should substantively resemble a complete proposal. It should clearly lay out its motivation, the pertinent literature, its theoretical underpinnings, and the proposed research design. It should be long on specifics, not on generalities. Assuming that the preproposal is deemed substantively acceptable, the proposal is then prepared by revising and extending the preproposal paper in a manner reflective of the comments and suggestions made at the preproposal presentation, and in accord with the advisement of the Advisory Committee. When the Advisory Committee is satisfied that a viable dissertation proposal has been developed, a proposal defense is scheduled for presentation in a departmental workshop. It is expected that all Advisory Committee members will be in attendance at both the preproposal and the proposal workshops. See the CBA/GSB Ph.D. Handbook and the Graduate Catalog for additional College and University rules applying to the proposal. Admission to Candidacy To be admitted to candidacy for the doctoral degree, a student must have: (1) passed the Preliminary Examination; (2) filed with the Director of the Office of Graduate Studies the dissertation proposal approved by the student's Dissertation Advisory Committee; and (3) completed the formal course work. The student must be admitted to candidacy well in advance of the date when the degree is to be granted. An essential requirement of the program is that the student must remain in residence until admitted to candidacy. DissertationThe student is encouraged to initiate work on the dissertation as soon as the First Year Paper is completed. After successfully completing the preliminary field examination, the student shall prepare a dissertation proposal acceptable to the student's Dissertation Committee. An oral defense of this initial dissertation proposal is required. The written preproposal should be presented in a workshop, subject to an oral critique by an appropriately qualified faculty member. This workshop can precede the student's taking of the preliminary field examination. Those attending the defense are encouraged to provide the student with recommendations for improving the dissertation research design. After the student has dealt with all of these recommendations and suggestions to the satisfaction of the Advisory Committee, a formal proposal defense must be held. The proposal defense should be announced to the faculty and doctoral students of the college two weeks prior to the scheduled date. Copies of the proposal should be made available to interested faculty and Ph.D. students. It is recommended that the chairman of the Advisory Committee send a separate memo to the Office of Graduate Studies indicating the scheduling of the proposal defense. The student's Committee evaluates the student's proposal defense and decides whether to approve the dissertation proposal. When approved by the committee, one copy of the dissertation proposal (there is no longer any page limits on this document) and three copies of the proposal's title page are filed with the Office of Graduate Studies. The detailed instructions regarding the written dissertation proposal to be submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies are included in a booklet entitled, Instructions Concerning the Preparation of Proposals, Theses, Dissertations, and Records of Study. This booklet may be obtained from the Graduate Office in the College of Business or from the Office of Graduate Studies.The student is expected to register for Accounting 691 while doing dissertation research. Reasonable progress must be made on the dissertation at all times. After completion of the dissertation, an oral defense of the dissertation is conducted. The final examination may be given only if the student has met the following conditions: (1) has completed all course work on his or her degree plan with the exception of any 691 (Research) hours for which the student must be registered (or any course for which permission from the Office of Graduate Studies has been granted to delete from the degree program), (2) has a 3.0 grade point or better and has no unabsolved grades of D, F, or U for courses listed on the degree plan, (3) has an approved research proposal on file with the Office of Graduate Studies, and (4) has been admitted to candidacy. The student's Dissertation Committee as finally constituted will conduct this examination. While the final examination may cover the broad field of the candidate's training, it is presumed that the major portion of the time will be devoted to the dissertation and closely allied topics. Persons other than members of the Graduate Faculty and Ph.D. students may, with mutual consent of the candidate and his major professor, be invited to attend final examinations for advanced degrees. Performance StandardsAcademic excellence is expected in all work undertaken by doctoral students. Academic excellence is demonstrated in many ways including, but not limited to, classroom performance, workshop performance, professionalism in all teaching, research, and other department responsibilities, and timely completion of program requirements such as the First Year Paper. Any student whose performance is considered to be unsatisfactory or who is not making satisfactory progress in the program will be counseled by the doctoral advisor and Advisory Committee and will be placed on probation. Probationary status may involve blocking of registration, loss of financial assistance, and other appropriate actions. If deficiencies are not removed in a reasonable period of time, the student will be dropped from the doctoral program. Any student receiving two C's in the program will be automatically dismissed.In Absentia RegistrationStudents in the Doctoral Program Study who have completed all course work on their degree programs other than 691 (Research) or 692 (Professional Study) will register IN ABSENTIA continuously each regular semester and 10 week Summer Session for one semester credit hour of 691 or 692 credit (whichever is applicable) until all requirements for the degree have been completed. Students who do not comply with this requirement will have their future registrations blocked. They will be allowed to register only after receiving a favorable recommendation from a departmental review committee (not the student's Advisory Committee), the endorsement of the department head, and the approval of the Director of the Office of Graduate Studies.ALTERNATE CHAIRMANIf the chairman of the student's Advisory Committee is unavailable for an extended time in any academic period during which the student is involved in activities relating to a thesis, dissertation, or record of study and is registered for either 691 or 692 courses, the student may request, in writing that the department head appoint an alternate chairman during the interim period. Leave of AbsenceUnder unusual circumstances, a student may petition for a leave of absence. If the petition is granted, the registration requirement will be set aside during the period of leave. Leaves will be granted only under conditions that require the suspension of all activities associated with the thesis, dissertation, or record of study. Time LimitsNo student will be granted a doctoral degree from Texas A&M University unless all requirements for the degree are completed within a period of ten consecutive calendar years. Graduate credit for any course work which is more than ten calendar years old at the time of the final oral examination may not be used to satisfy degree requirements.Final corrected copies of the dissertation or record of study must be accepted by the Office of Graduate Studies no later than one year after the final examination or within the ten-year time limit, whichever occurs first. Failure to do so will result in the degree not being awarded.
Last Updated: Wednesday, November 11, 1999 Send comments to: rees@tamu.edu
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