Grad Degree Offered Info

Degree Offered:	Master of Accounting
Director:	Dr. Thomas Vermeer
Phone:	(205) 934-2477
E-mail:	tvermeer@uab.edu
Website:	www.uab.edu/mac

The Department of Accounting and Finance (ACFN) in the Collat School of Business is proud to offer a Master of Accounting (MAc) program that holds a separate accreditation by the Association of Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the highest honor a business school can achieve for its accounting programs.

Courses in the program are offered in the classroom or online. An enhanced online with premium program (https://www.uab.edu/business/home/programs/100-online) is also available 100% online and offers a guaranteed progression path with a tuition premium. 

High-achieving UAB accounting undergraduate students interested in pursuing the MAc degree should consider the Advanced Bachelor's and Master's degree (ABM). Details are outlined below.

Admission

The Master of Accounting  (MAc) program accepts applications (with no GMAT/GRE requirement) three times a year with one of the following degree requirements:

1. A bachelor's degree in accounting from an AACSB-accredited university, received less than five years before the desired enrollment term at UAB, with at least a 3.0 overall average GPA and at least a 3.0 average GPA in all upper-division (i.e., 300 and 400 level) accounting courses OR
2. A bachelor's degree in accounting from an AACSB-accredited university, received at any point in time, with at least a 3.0 overall average GPA and at least a 3.0 average GPA in all upper-division (i.e., 300 and 400 level) accounting courses and 3+ years of professional accounting experience OR
3. A bachelor's degree in any discipline (besides accounting) from a U.S. regionally accredited university and completion of UAB’s Accounting Bridge Certificate program (or its equivalent) with at least a 3.0 average GPA in the Accounting Bridge Certificate (or its equivalent).

If your bachelor’s degree in accounting is from a non-AACSB-accredited university, please contact our MAc program team to determine whether it meets the degree requirements above. If you do not meet the GPA requirements because of unusual/special circumstances, please contact our MAc program team for consideration.  

Two Letters of recommendation (with at least one being professional) are required. GMAT/GRE test scores can be voluntarily submitted to support your application.

Additional international requirements:

• If your bachelor’s degree in accounting is from a non-United States institution, two prerequisites (AC402-Income Taxation I and AC 430-Intermediate Accounting III) must be completed, with a 3.0 average GPA, prior to acceptance into the MAc program).
• International students from non-English speaking countries must submit English proficiency scores (TOEFL/IELTS/PTEA) that meet the Graduate School's minimum score requirements. Specific requirements can be found at: https://www.uab.edu/gradadmissions/apply/international-applicants

Application Deadlines

Fall Semester: July 1st

Spring Semester: November 1st

Summer Semester: April 1st

Required Documents

• Application form including two evaluation forms/letters of reference (with at least one being professional)
• Current resume/CV detailing work experience
• Official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended (including dual enrollment and Community Colleges) sent directly by the Registrar to the UAB Graduate School, LHL G03, 1720 2nd Ave. S., Birmingham, AL 35294-0013. Transcripts may also be sent electronically to gradschool@uab.edu.
• GMAT score* sent directly from the testing agency. Institution code: 1CB5S61 (If voluntarily submitting)
• 500 word Statement of Purpose

International Applicants

UAB’s MAc requirement requires knowledge of U.S. GAAP financial reporting standards and U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax standards. If your bachelor’s degree in accounting is from a non-United States institution, two prerequisites (AC402-Income Taxation I and AC430-Intermediate Accounting III) must be completed, with a 3.0 average GPA, before acceptance into the MAc program.

The following additional documents are required of international applicants:

A minimum composite score of 80 with a minimum score of 20 in each section of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS, www.toefl.org) within the two years immediately preceding the desired term of enrollment. We will also accept an IELTS score of 6.5, with a minimum score of 20 in each section, in place of the TOEFL.

Financial Affidavit of Support

Immigration documentation if currently residing in the United States, or proof of citizenship if currently a U.S. citizen.

Transcript Evaluations

Applicants with coursework earned from institutions outside the United States must provide a course-by-course foreign college transcript evaluation of all attended non-U.S. institutions.* We will accept a transcript evaluation from any NACES accredited evaluation company. To determine academic eligibility for admissions, academic credentials must be:

· Translated to English;

· Evaluated course-by-course;

· Include the overall academic GPA; and

· From an approved third party company. We will accept a transcript evaluation from any NACES accredited evaluation company.

SpanTran

SpanTran created a custom UAB application that will ensure you select the right kind of evaluation at a discounted rate. You can access their application through the SpanTran application – The University of Alabama at Birmingham.

International Student and Scholar Services will have access to your decision and a representative will contact you directly if any other documentation is necessary to begin processing your immigration documents.

*UAB will complete the evaluation for institutions outside of the United States if they are on a 4.0 grading scale. UAB reserves the right to request a NACES-accredited evaluation if a determination is made that the evaluation cannot be completed internally.

Full Time Student Enrollment Status

To be enrolled as a full-time graduate student, a student must register for at least 9 semester hours in the fall, spring, and summer semesters. http://catalog.uab.edu/graduate/enrollment/. If a student is enrolled in courses offered in a 7-week format, those credit hours are applied toward the 9 semester hour requirement for the entire 14-week term. 

Example: If a student is enrolled in 6 credit hours in the Spring A term (first 7 weeks) and 3 credit hours in the Spring B term (second 7 weeks), the university recognizes this student to be enrolled in 9 semester hours for the entire period (14-week term), and of full time status.

Accelerated Bachelor's/Master's Program (ABM)

A successful graduate of the ABM will earn a bachelor's degree and Master of Accounting degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham Collat School of Business in an accelerated time period compared to the independent completion of these two degrees. Students will graduate with a bachelor's degree upon completing the requirements for the Master of Accounting. 

Admissions

The Accelerated Bachelors/Master's Program is for exceptional students. The accepted student will have:

• An average GPA of 3.5 in all institutional courses
• A minimum of 60 credit hours (36 of these credit hours must have been taken at UAB). Students admitted to UAB as transfer students are eligible to apply after earning 60 or more undergraduate hours, at least 24 of which must be earned at UAB. 

Before applying, the student must meet with their graduate program coordinator and their undergraduate advisor to discuss program requirements; students should also meet with a financial aid/scholarship advisor to determine the impact of ABM on their scholarships and/or aid award. The student should also be advised that additional credit hours may be required for licensure as a CPA.

Upon acceptance, a detailed plan of study must be mapped out specific to each ABM student. This plan must be agreed upon by the student, their undergraduate academic advisor, and graduate program coordinator and strictly adhered to while in the ABM program to guarantee their continued participation in the ABM. Acceptance into the program takes place after a student has earned 60 credit hours of coursework. Admission is by a committee chaired by the graduate program director, consisting of the graduate program director and department program coordinator.

To maintain status in ABM, the student must:​

• maintain an institutional GPA of 3.25 or higher
• receive a B (or higher) in all courses taken while still an undergraduate student
• maintain full time student status at UAB
• Accounting and Finance Department will waive the hour requirement for internship terms if the internship causes them to drop below the full time student hour requirement.

If these requirements are violated, the student will be withdrawn from the ABM program. If a student is withdrawn from the ABM program, they will retain credit for the courses already completed in the program. 

Once the student has completed all undergraduate course requirements for graduation, their undergraduate degree will be awarded. Once the student graduates from a bachelor's degree program, they enter the Master of Accounting program and must maintain the requirements of that program. Tuition is then charged at the graduate rate.

To accelerate progress through the Master of Accounting degree, a limited number of courses (up to 12 credit hours) may be counted toward completing the bachelor's degree and completing the Master of Accounting degree. The student's undergraduate academic advisor must approve the selected Master of Accounting courses.

Graduate courses allowed for credit sharing are the following:

AC 523 External Auditing 

AC 530 Intermediate Accounting III 

LS 557 Business Law for Accountants

AC 573 Fraud Examination 

AC 580 Corporate Financial Reporting and Analysis

AC 600 Accounting Research

Early Acceptance Program

Early Acceptance Programs are designed for academically superior high-school students. Early Acceptance Programs allow high achieving students to be admitted to the Master of Accounting (M.Ac.) program while they are admitted to an undergraduate program.

Eligible students are required to maintain a 3.5 undergraduate GPA and complete the following pre-requisite courses: BUS 202, AC 300, AC 304, AC 309, AC 310, AC 401, AC 402, AC 423, and AC 430.

Uniform CPA Examination

Eligibility requirements for sitting for the Uniform CPA examination vary among the states and territories.  For detailed information about these requirements, please contact the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) at https://nasba.org/stateboards/. The state of Alabama, through its Accountancy Laws and the Alabama State Board of Public Accountancy (ASBPA), www.asbpa.alabama.gov/), requires that applicants for the Uniform CPA Examination hold a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution and possess a total of 120 semester hours of postsecondary education, including at least 24 semester hours of accounting in specified areas at the upper-division or graduate level and 24 semester hours in business-related courses. The UAB 120-hour undergraduate accounting program does not provide all the classes needed for a 150-hour CPA licensure in Alabama.  The UAB 120-hour undergraduate accounting program offers all the classes required to sit for the CPA exam in Alabama.  

Other Professional Accounting Certifications

Other examinations leading to professional certification (CMA, CIA, CFE, CISA, etc.) generally do not require academic course work beyond the baccalaureate degree. Students interested in other accounting certifications should contact any accounting faculty member for further information.

Master of Accounting

Requirements		Hours
Required Courses (3)
AC 580	Corporate Financial Reporting and Analysis	3
AC 600	Financial Accounting Research	3
AC 606	Advanced Auditing and Attestation	3
Elective Courses -Choose Seven From:		21
AC 513	Internal Auditing 1
AC 514	Governmental and Not-for-Profit Accounting 1
AC 523	External Auditing 1
AC 530	Intermediate Accounting III 1
AC 564	Accounting Internship 1
AC 573	Fraud Examination 1
AC 607	Seminar in Financial Accounting 1
AC 608	Advanced Topics in Taxation 1
AC 609	Professional Standards for CPAs 1
IS 607	Introduction to Cybersecurity 2
IS 620	Cyber Attacks and Threat Mitigation 2
IS 621	Incident Response and Business Continuity 2
IS 644	Digital Forensics 2
LS 571	Legal Elements of Fraud Investigation
Total Hours		30

¹

May be taken as graduate courses only if not previously taken as undergraduate level courses.

²

These four IS courses are desired by MAc students but other IS courses may also be included in the degree program. Please check with the MAc program team for other IS options.  

Faculty

Edmonds, Christopher, Professor of Accounting, 2013, B.S. (Colorado State), M.B.A. (UAB), Ph.D. (Virginia Tech)

Edmonds, Jennifer, Associate Professor of Accounting, 2013, B.S. (Birmingham-Southern), M.Acc., Ph.D. (Virginia Tech)

Edmonds, Mark, Associate Professor of Accounting, 2016, BS, MA (UAB), PhD (Southern Illinois)

Gorman, C. Allen, Associate Professor of Management, 2021, B.A. (University of Georgia), M.A. (University of Nebraska at Omaha), PhD. (University of Tennessee)

Hamrick, Jennifer, Assistant Professor of Accounting, 2019, BS (Birmingham-Southern College), MAc (Auburn), PhD (Kennesaw State University)

Leece, Ryan, Associate Professor of Accounting, 2014, BS (University of Minnesota); MA (University of North Carolina), PhD (Virginia Tech)

Savage, Arline, Professor of Accounting, 2012, Ph.D. (University of Port Elizabeth-South Africa), CA (SA)

Song, Chen, Senior Instructor of Accounting, 2013, BS (Beijing Information Technology Institute), MA (Virginia Tech)

Vermeer, Thomas, Professor of Accounting, 2022, BS (George Mason University), MS (University of North Texas), Ph.D. (University of North Texas)

Worrell, James L., Professor of Accounting, 2008, B.S., M.Ac., Ph.D. (Florida State University)

Yates, Stephanie, Professor of Finance, Chair, Department of Accounting and Finance, 2007, B.S., M.A., M.B.A. (Cincinnati), Ph.D. (LSU)