2024-2025 Undergraduate & Graduate Catalog

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Combined Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and Master of Science in Accounting

Qualified undergraduate accounting students may be conditionally admitted to a combined bachelor's/master's program and obtain both a B.B.A. and an M.S. in accounting within an accelerated time frame. Students admitted to this program may take graduate courses after completing 85 undergraduate credits, and up to 12 credits of graduate work may be used in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the undergraduate degree (in alignment with university policy, a maximum of 12 credit hours of graduate work will count toward both the graduate and undergraduate degrees). During their fourth, year students can select up to four courses from the following graduate accounting courses:

• ACC 508 - Governmental and Not-for-Profit Accounting (3 credits)
• ACC 513 - Internal Auditing (3 credits)
• ACC 514 - External Auditing (3 credits)
• ACC 516 - Information Systems Auditing (3 credits)
• ACC 612 - The Accountant's Legal Environment (3 credits)
• ACC 615 - Entity Taxation-Theory and Practice (3 credits)
• ACC 618 - Advanced Accounting (3 credits)
• ACC 513 - Internal Auditing (3 credits) or ACC 514 - External Auditing (3 credits)

ACC 513 or ACC 514 fulfill the B.B.A.'s undergraduate auditing requirement, while the other courses fulfill the B.B.A.'s undergraduate Seidman College of Business electives requirement. No more than three 500-level courses can be counted toward the minimum 33 hours of the M.S.A. degree. Note: NASBA (National Association of State Boards of Accountancy) requires candidates to have taken External Auditing to be eligible to sit for the CPA exam, so students who plan to take the CPA exam should certainly take ACC 514 and may additionally take ACC 513.

If students earn at least a grade of B in each of these classes, they are granted full admission to the master's program and must then complete an additional 21 credits to receive the master's degree. All other master's degree requirements must be met. After completing 120 credits and all requirements for the bachelor's degree, students are awarded a bachelor's degree. A minimum of 21 graduate credits must be completed after the 120 credits for the bachelor's degree are completed (the M.S.A. program requires 33 hours).

Undergraduate accounting majors with an overall GPA of at least 3.25 may apply to the combined bachelor's/master's program after completion of the following:

• Business core requirements with a grade of B or higher in each: ECO 210 and ECO 211, BUS 201, and MGT 268
• Undergraduate accounting requirements with a grade of B or higher in each: ACC 212, ACC 213, ACC 240, ACC 310, and any other 300- or 400-level accounting course(s)
• 70 hours of academic credit, with at least 15 credits at GVSU that have been completed or are in progress

Admission

Students will normally apply for the combined B.B.A./M.S. in accounting degree program during their third academic year (for a complete list of application requirements and to apply, see gvsu.edu/msa). Acceptance recommendations will be made by the School of Accounting's Admissions Committee after evaluation of the application and the completion of all application requirements.

Requirements

Requirements During Undergraduate Studies

An undergraduate student enrolled in the combined degree program is required to successfully complete, as defined as follows, a minimum of 12 credits each regular semester until all undergraduate courses required for the degree have been completed (except when completing an internship or other extenuating circumstances).

• Students will maintain a cumulative undergraduate GPA of at least 3.25, earning a C or higher in each undergraduate course attempted; and
• Students will earn a B or higher in each graduate course attempted.

All university requirements, including general education courses, must be completed before the final (graduate) year of the combined B.B.A./M.S. in accounting program. In the final undergraduate year, students will take 12 credits of graduate-level courses.

Students will be considered undergraduates for tuition, academic requirements, and financial aid purposes until all requirements for the undergraduate degree are completed. Following this, they will be considered graduate students, will pay graduate tuition, and will be eligible for graduate financial aid.

Graduation Without Completion of the Combined Program

If a student decides at some point to pursue only the undergraduate portion of the combined degree, the School of Accounting will still recognize the graduate courses taken in lieu of undergraduate courses. Credit from the undergraduate degree cannot be used toward a graduate degree at a later date.