Rutgers Business School announced that it has revamped its graduate degree in professional accounting to equip students with the skills demanded by an industry that continues to be transformed by technology.
The Rutgers MBA in professional accounting is still designed to prepare college graduates who studied the arts, science or business for promising careers in accounting.
However, with the number of credits reduced to 49 from 66, the program is more affordable and more flexible, with full-time or part-time options.
Additionally, students who complete an MBA in the Professional Accounting Program will have sufficient credits to meet the education requirements for taking the CPA exam in New Jersey.
Updates to the program reflect the changes occurring in the accounting field. Courses such as Emerging Technologies in Accounting and Auditing, and Advanced Cost Accounting and Analytics teach students the skills to apply emerging technologies and to understand the importance of analytics.
The program’s changes also allow students to dovetail their MBA in professional accounting with a second graduate degree — a Master of Accountancy in accounting and analytics.
By applying a maximum of 12 credits of advanced standing coursework from the MBA in professional accounting, students can pursue the second master’s degree, which makes them eligible to sit for the CPA exam in New York.
A pending STEM designation combined with other enhancements represents an evolution in the nearly 70-year-old MBA in professional accounting, as well.
“The revised program delivers the same rigorous preparation for the accounting profession and the CPA exam while saving students both time and cost,” said Professor Alexander Sannella, program director.
“By modernizing the curriculum, adding flexible class scheduling options and creating a pathway to a second master’s degree in accounting and analytics, the program is now more aligned with the needs of today’s students.”
The program has produced nearly seven decades of graduates who have taken jobs at large and small accounting firms and helped to operate such well-known companies as Sony Music and Friendly’s Ice Cream.
Rutgers Business School, which has campuses in Newark and New Brunswick, is part of Rutgers University and New Jersey’s flagship business school.
