As the DePaul University Class of 2016 winds down their graduation celebrations, accountancy graduates are getting to work.
Alumni of DePaul's highly ranked graduate tax and accountancy programs are experiencing high job placement success in what has become a hot career field.
U.S News & World Report lists accounting as the third best business career field to enter in 2016. The rankings are based on salaries, employment rate, 10-year growth, work-life balance and other important career choice considerations. With high upward mobility, great salary and above average flexibility, the rankings note that accountants make a really good living.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the job outlook for accountants and auditors is projected to grow 11 percent from 2014 to 2024 — faster than the average for all occupations. These aren't all suit-and-tie cubicle farm jobs. They can include interesting and exciting careers as forensic, entertainment, sports or mergers and acquisitions accountants, and eventually as chief financial officers.
The following programs demonstrate why the DePaul's School of Accountancy and Management Information Systems (MIS) programs provide strong career outcomes for students:
Master of Science in Accountancy (MSA)
Designed for students who do not have undergraduate accounting degrees, the nationally ranked MSA provides an advanced degree that covers important topics relevant in the industry, as well as a solid business foundation. It is designed to help students prepare and pass the Certified Public Accountants Exam (CPA)
"We have been able to recruit and retain the highest quality faculty, who provide a top-notch education that appeals to employers," says John Ahern, interim director for the School of Accountancy and MIS. "We also actively seek out employment opportunities for students, providing them a wide variety of career opportunities and mentorship."
The American Institute for Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) average pass rate for the CPA exam in 2015 was just shy of 50%. DePaul graduates who take the CPA exam after graduating with their MSA pass 70% of the time within one year of graduating.
Master of Accountancy (MACC)
The MACC program focuses on major technical, conceptual and management issues in accountancy. The MACC degree is designed for the student who has earned a prior degree in accounting, or who has earned or is earning an MBA.
"Our Master of Accountancy program is very unique," says Cindy Durtschi, associate professor and director of MACC. "Most master in accountancy programs act like a fifth year to make students eligible for the CPA exam. Our program prepares students to succeed in an accounting career by teaching advanced skills that are high in demand. Where we set ourselves apart is a curriculum that makes our students better accountants by having real-world practice in the classroom setting."
Master of Science in Taxation (MST)
The MST provides the foundation for exceptional performance and leadership in the field of taxation. DePaul offers MST students the flexibility of taking the program in a classroom setting or experiencing the same high-quality instruction, outstanding faculty and content-rich curriculum entirely online.
"The MST program is taught not out of textbooks, but from the original source material by practitioners — people who are actually doing what is being taught," says Ron Marcuson, director of the MST program and a retired tax partner with 30 years of experience at Ernst & Young. "What we do is give students the technical skills necessary to succeed in their current jobs or to help them move to a better job."
Learn more about DePaul's
School of Accountancy and MIS degrees: