All students meet with the the Master of Professional Accountancy (MPAc) Director during their first semester of graduate study. This conference is intended to assist the student in formulating a graduate program that integrates the student's background and areas of interest, and in completing the student's required Program of Study form.

The master's program requires a minimum of 30 semester hours of acceptable course work beyond a bachelor's degree. A minimum of 21 credits of course work must be taken on campus at Montana State University-Bozeman (MSU). The number of required credit hours may vary, depending on prior course work. Students with a degree in accounting generally complete their course work in one full year (two or three semesters).

Required Courses:
 The following seven graduate classes, totaling 21 credits, are required, plus electives:

  Fall  Cr.  Spring   Cr.
ACTG 514  Fraud Examination 3 ACTG 521 Advanced Auditing 3
ACTG 522 Accounting Analytics 3 ACTG 526 Advanced Taxation 3
ACTG 525 Accounting Theory & Complex Issues in Accounting 3 ACTG 529 Survey of Accounting Topics 3
ACTG 536 Advanced Accounting 3   Elective (See list below) 3
  Elective (See list below) 3   Elective (See list below) 3
    15     15

NOTE: The courses listed above are offered only in the fall or spring as designated above.

Approved MPAc Electives (9 credits):

  Course Description Semester of Offering
ACTG 531 Tax Practicum Spring
ACTG 544 Professional Accounting Issues Fall/Spring
ACTG 598 Internship (max 3; P/F) Fall/Spring/Summer
Undergraduate Course Options  
ACTG 401* Prin of Fed Tax Fall/Spring
ACTG 410* Cost/Mgmt Accounting I Fall
ACTG 411* Auditing I Fall/Spring
ACTG 415* Govt. & Nonprofit Acct I Fall/Spring
ACTG 421* Acct Info Systems II Spring
ACTG 431* VITA Spring
ACTG 441* Fin Statement Analysis Fall/Spring
BFIN 420R* Investments Fall/Spring
BFIN 421* Real Estate & Invest Analysis Spring
BFIN 435* Corporate Finance Fall/Spring
BFIN 456* Fin Mgmt for the Entrepreneur Fall
BFIN 458* Commercial Bank Mgmt Spring
BFIN 460* Derivatives & Securities Fall/Spring
BMGT 406* Negotiation Fall/Spring
ECNS 403* Intro to Econometrics Fall/Spring
ECNS 451* Behavioral & Experimental Economics Fall
EFIN 401* Engineering & Economic Financial Mgmt II Fall
EFIN 405* R Lab Class II Fall
EFIN 499* Financial Engineering Design Capstone Spring
EIND 434* Project Mmgt for Engineers Fall
EIND 457* Regres & Multivar Analysis Spring (even years)
EIND 458* Production & Engineering Mgmt Spring
PSYX 461* Indust & Organiz Psych On Demand
PSYX 481* Judgement & Decision Making On Demand
STAT 408* Statistical Computing & Graphical Analysis   Fall/Spring
   Graduate Non-Business Course Options
PSCI 525 Non-Profit Mgmt Fall
PSCI 530 Tools of Public Administration Summer
PSCI 555 Human Resources Mgmt Fall
PSCI 560 Ethics & Public Service Spring


*Cannot be used as electives or for degree requirements if the course has already been used as part of another degree program.Maximum of 9 credit hours of approved 400-level course work may be included in the 30-credit MPAc program, if at least 6 of these 9 credit hours are ACTG or BFIN classes.Otherwise, 6 credit hours of approved 400-level course work may be included.

The following is a brief list of some requirements for the Master of Professional Accountancy program.

  1. Maximum of 12 credit hours of approved 400-level course work may be included in the 30-credit MPAc program, if at least 6 of these 12 credit hours are ACTG or BFIN classes. Otherwise, 6 credit hours of approved 400-level course work may be included.
  2. Undergraduate juniors, seniors, and non-degree graduate students may apply/reserve up to 12 credits of approved 400-level and/or 500- level course work toward their 30-credit MPAc program. For 400- level classes, the restriction in #1 above applies. Grades of “B” or higher (not “B-” or lower) must be earned.
  3. Maximum of 3 pass/fail credits may be included in the 30-credit MPAc pro
  4. Maximum of 9 credits of coursework taken at accredited schools other than MSU-Bozeman may be included in the 30 credit major pro (“B” minimum grade).
  5. No 400, 470, 490, 492, 494, 498, 588 or 589 credits may be applied toward graduate degree requirements.

Academic Requirements

Graduate students must achieve at least a 3.0 grade point average each semester, maintain at least a 3.0 GPA in their  Program of Study, and must maintain at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA at all times. Students not meeting these requirements may be dropped from the graduate program. Grades of “C” or higher MUST be earned in all classes by MPAc students regardless of cumulative GPA (a “C-” or lower is considered to be a failing grade).

Length of Program

Students with an undergraduate degree in accounting generally complete the MPAc program in one full year (two or three semesters).

Students with an undergraduate degree in business, but not accounting, must complete course work equivalent to that for an undergraduate accounting degree at MSU, which averages approximately three semesters of additional study. 

Students with an undergraduate degree in a non-business area must complete a common body of knowledge in business courses (finance, information systems, law, management, and marketing) in addition to the undergraduate accounting courses, which averages approximately 2.5 years of additional study.

Program Load

Nine to 15 semester credits is considered a full graduate load for a student in the MPAc program. 

Financial Assistance

The Jake Jabs College of Business & Entrepreneurship offers scholarships for graduate students. Application is made during the month of November only and is an electronic application (no paper copy).  Students who wish to be considered for a scholarship should contact the MPAc Director.

A limited number of graduate teaching assistantships are also available to fully admitted graduate students and are awarded on a competitive basis.

Graduate teaching assistant positions may be for one or two semesters. Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) provide teaching support to faculty and tutoring services for students. In exchange, the GTAs receive a partial tuition waiver and a small monthly stipend.

International students: please find the admission forms, including the International Graduate Student Financial Certificate form here.

For more details on financial aid, please see Financial Aid Services homepage.

 

MPAc Application Deadlines

(for GTA Positions):

  • Spring – October 15
  • Summer – March 15
  • Fall – March 15

(for Non GTA Positions):

  • Spring – November 15
  • Summer – April 15
  • Fall – June 15

Required Forms

  1. Program of Study form – due during 1st semester enrolled in MPAc Program; $50 processing fee
    Forms: https://www.montana.edu/gradschool/forms.html
  2. Graduation Application – Spring grads (due Feb 5); Summer grads (due June 10); Fall grads (due Sept 20)

    • Required Application Materials:

      • Application
      • $60 Application fee
      • Official transcript(s)
      • Essay: one-page statement about your motivations for entering the program
      • Three (3) professional references
      • TOEFL or IELTS scores: required for international students only

      Application: https://www.applyweb.com/msug/index.ftl

Required Background Courses:
(or approval by MPAc Director of similar coursework)

  Course Description Credits
ACTG 531 Tax Practicum Spring
ACTG 544 Professional Accounting Issues Fall/Spring
ACTG 598 Internship (max 3; P/F) Fall/Spring/Summer
ACTG 401* Prin of Fed Tax Fall/Spring
ACTG 410* Cost/Mgmt Accounting I Fall
ACTG 411* Auditing I Fall/Spring
ACTG 415* Govt. & Nonprofit Acct I Fall/Spring
ACTG 421* Acct Info Systems II Spring
ACTG 431* VITA Spring
ACTG 441* Fin Statement Analysis Fall/Spring
BFIN 420R* Investments Fall/Spring
BFIN 421* Real Estate & Invest Analysis Spring
BFIN 435* Corporate Finance Fall/Spring
BFIN 456* Fin Mgmt for the Entrepreneur Fall
BFIN 458* Commercial Bank Mgmt Spring
BFIN 460* Derivatives & Securities Fall/Spring

*400-level courses may be used toward the 30-credit MPAc program requirements (see reverse), if not used as part of any other degree program; certain grade restrictions apply. Note that there may be additional courses in economics, statistics, and business software applications required to satisfy the pre-requisites for the background business courses listed above.

Applicants with Non-Accounting Bachelor Degrees:

  • Students who are not admissible to the MPAc program but are taking the required background courses to prepare for entrance into the MPAc program must be classified as non-degree graduate students (NDGR).
  • Non-degree graduate students who have completed ACTG 201, ACTG 202 and ACTG 223 with a combined GPA of 3.0 or better may qualify for the pre-MPAc (NDAC) designation. The NDAC designation allows you greater ease of registration in upper division ACTG courses and access to pre-MPAc advising. For more information and the NDAC application see: http://www.montana.edu/business/accounting/MPAc/ndac-requirements.html.
  • According to federal financial aid rules, non-degree graduate students are not eligible for financial aid. NDAC and NDGR students who need financial assistance are encouraged to apply for scholarships and/or seek part-time wor The Bracken Center in the Jake Jabs College of Business & Entrepreneurship solicits and promotes work opportunities for Jabs students.


Questions?

Program Director, Dr. Marc Giullian

mgiullian@montana.edu

406-994-1965

Jabs Hall Room 424

 

Jabs Office of Student Services

business@montana.edu

406-994-4681

Jabs Hall Room 124

Meeting the requirements for the MPAc program does NOT guarantee that a student will meet the requirements for sitting for the CPA Exam in Montana. Students desiring a CPA license from the State of Montana should contact the Montana State Board of Public Accountants for the requirements to sit for the CPA Exam as soon as possible in order to plan their class schedule. This webpage is intended to assist students in designing their graduate program and is not a required form. A Program of Study form  must be completed by each student within two months of enrollment in the MPAc program, and must be approved by the student’s graduate committee, the MPAc Director, and the Dean of the Graduate School.