The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is also featured in our ranking 30 Top Affordable Master’s in Accounting/Master’s of Accountancy Degree Programs.
Earning a Master of Accounting at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
The Master of Accounting program at the University of Illinois is designed for students who have recently completed or are in the process of completing a Bachelor of Science in Accounting. Students will choose one of two options that include Taxation or Auditing. One of the benefits of the program is its emphasis on data analytics as a growing facet of the accounting profession, and students may take electives to satisfy a concentration in data analytics. Other elective options in the program include the topics of finance, information technology & control, supply chain management, real estate, business & public policy, and corporate governance & international business. Total credit hours required for the degree is 32 for the Taxation Option or the Audit Option.
Classes a student will take in the Taxation Option include Advanced Income Tax Problems, Financial Reporting Standards, Partnership Income Taxation, and Tax Research. Taxation students will also take Advanced Financial Reporting, Corporate Income Taxation, and International Taxation. Students who enroll in the Audit Option will take Auditing & Assurance Standards, Financial Statement Analysis, Financial Statement Fraud, and External Risk Management, as well as other classes similar to those in the Taxation Option. Students must complete all 32 credit hours at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In addition to these courses in the Taxation or Audit Option, students will also take classes specific to their concentration. For example, the graduate concentration in Finance requires classes that include Financial Derivatives, Investments, and Advanced Corporate Finance.
Interestingly, the program also allows students to fashion a curriculum based on their personal interests as the department allows students to petition the school for approval of a personal graduate concentration. Students from a variety of degree programs can choose the same concentrations so that accounting students may take classes from a variety of departments alongside degree seekers in many different areas. For example, the Graduate Concentration in Supply Chain Management is shared by the programs of Master of Science in Technology Management, Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Accounting Science, Master of Science in Accountancy, and Master of Science in Business Administration. Most of the concentrations at the university are also available to students as minors, too.
Students may also consider the iMSA, which is an online Master of Science in Accountancy given through the university’s Giles Colleges of Business. The degree is offered entirely online, and the school shares that “U.S. News & World Report” has ranked the online program as one of the top three in the nation for public accounting. One of the benefits of the online program is that it allows working adults to pursue a graduate degree without interrupting their schedule with work. The program may be completed in as little as four semesters, which is around 18 months on the calendar. Some students may also qualify for a GMAT waiver for the program based upon the applicant’s prior experience in accounting.
About University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign was established in 1867 as a land-grant college and is the flagship institution of the university system. The school is one of the founding members of the Big Ten Conference. More than 45,000 students are attending the university’s urban campus of 6,370 acres. The official colors of the school are orange and blue, and the sports teams are nicknamed the Fighting Illini in their NCAA Division I games. The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education describes the university as an R1 Doctoral Research University, which means the school undertakes the “highest research activity” possible for a school of higher learning.
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Accreditation Details
Institutional accreditation from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is given by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. The accreditation was most recently reaffirmed in 2010, and the school will undergo accreditation again during the 2019 to 2020 school year. Individual schools and programs within the University of Illinois are also accredited by national bodies. For example, the Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology is accredited by the American Psychological Association, Commission on Accreditation. The American Veterinary Medical Association, Council on Education, has given its accreditation to the veterinary medicine programs for the D.V.M. and D.M.V. degrees. The business program is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. The Planning Accreditation Board accredits the Bachelor of Arts in Urban Planning.
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Application Requirements
Applying to the Master of Accounting Science (MAS) program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is different for students currently enrolled in an accounting program at a University of Illinois school versus students at other accredited institutions in the United States. Students who are already enrolled in a University of Illinois program can apply to the graduate-level program in the middle of their junior year of school. Students will be told whether they’ve been accepted in the spring semester of their junior year. Students can then plan their courses and internships according to the acceptance decision. For students who aren’t currently enrolled in a University of Illinois program, students will need to prove they have an undergraduate degree from an accredited accounting program, provide GMAT scores, and offer proof of English proficiency when the student is a non-native English speaker.
Tuition and Financial Aid
The total cost of attendance for Illinois residents at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in undergraduate programs varies from $31,012 to $36,016. Those amounts include books & supplies of $1,200, room & board of $11,308, and tuition & fees that range from $16,004 to $21,008. The school also budgets “other expenses” that total $2,500 per year. For non-resident students, the costs for books, supplies, room, and board are similar, but the tuition & fees range from $32,574 to $37,578. Students in graduate programs will pay varying amounts for tuition based on the program in which they’re enrolled. For example, the MAS/MS in Accountancy-Tax costs $23,250 for residents and $29,750 for non-residents.
Students may select from a variety of sources when obtaining financial aid for their program at the university. Students interested in federal student aid will submit their FAFSA form, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, and will receive a letter indicating whether a financial aid package has been awarded in advance of enrolling in their program. Aid tends to come in the form of scholarships, grants, loans, and student employment opportunities. International students aren’t eligible for need-based financial aid at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, but there are some limited opportunities for employment for students at the university.
