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Online Accounting Degree

Bachelor of Science in Accounting

Choose an online accounting degree to prepare you with the financial accounting principles you need to help organizations run efficiently. Develop specialized skills in managerial accounting, estate taxation, advanced topics in accounting research and more. Apply your love of numbers to a future as an accounting professional.

Job-ready skills for your professional profile

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Accounting: Integrate generally accepted accounting principles throughout the accounting cycle.

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Auditing: Evaluate accounting and financial information to make business decisions.

Accounting icon

Accounting: Integrate generally accepted accounting principles throughout the accounting cycle.

XLSX document icon

Auditing: Evaluate accounting and financial information to make business decisions.

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Financial Statements: Integrate business practices into accounting and financial operations.

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Financial Statements: Integrate business practices into accounting and financial operations.

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Career-relevant education with real-world value

Program at a glance

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A °®ÎÛ´«Ã½ online accounting degree adheres to the standards of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, which governs accounting and reporting standards for private colleges and universities.

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Advisory Council—made up of leaders in their fields—review accounting industry needs and trends, providing valuable insights that help keep the program relevant.

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Every 5-6 weeks, you can develop career-relevant skills to add to your professional profile.

Program by the numbers

4 years
Average program length

120 credits
Number of credits required

5 weeks
Course length

24/7/365
Online class availability

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Time is valuable— don’t spend it repeating coursework. Finish what you started.

Courses for the Bachelor of Science in Accounting

Find what you'll learn in a course – look for the skills-aligned trophy cup

Skills-aligned trophy cup

Using labor analytics data, we embed skills you’ll need in the growing accounting field into each course of your online accounting degree. You’ll learn about managerial accounting, cost accounting, and corporate taxation.ÌýÌý

Skills-aligned trophy cup

Enhance business skills for accounting

Add an associate degree in business fundamentals to your B.S. in Accounting to develop core skills that can be applied in your business career.

Requirements and course details

Your course schedule may vary based on transfer credits or credits earned through the University’sÌýPrior Learning Assessment.

Completion of a minimum of 120 credits, including:

  • General education: 36 credits
  • Electives: 6 credits
  • Core courses: 78 credits
  • A minimum of 30 upper division credits (courses at level 300 or above)
  • A minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.0

Core courses build the bulk of program-specific knowledge. Our online accounting degree covers all aspects of accounting with the opportunity to develop skills relevant to the financial industry including courses in accounting information systems, taxation, auditing, and business data analytics.

You’ll learn how to:

  • Integrate generally accepted accounting principles throughout the accounting cycle.
  • Evaluate accounting and financial information to make business decisions.
  • Integrate ethical, legal, and accounting standards and assumptions into financial practices.
  • Integrate business practices into accounting and financial operations.

Elective courses expand your accounting core knowledge with a technology focus that includes information systems fundamentals and foundations of data analytics.

General education courses enhance your education for potential growth in the accounting field. You develop soft skills that can contribute to management and leadership roles within an accounting department or organization.Ìý

You'll learn these soft skills sought by employers:Ìý

  • Problem solving
  • Information literacy
  • Decision making
  • Innovation
  • Strategic thinking
  • Research
  • Investigation
  • Written communication

Learn about general education

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Get a head start on your MBA

Prepare for master’s level career opportunities in business while earning your bachelor’s. Complete the first three graduate level MBA courses while you’re still in the Bachelor of Science in Accounting through the MBA Pathway option.

How skills-aligned learning works

What’s something employers are looking for in job candidates? Skills! That’s why we believe in career-focused education. Our programs are designed to help you demonstrate career-relevant skills and put them into practice within weeks, not years. Here’s how:

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Curriculum
We work with a labor market analyst to identify skills today’s employers want in job candidates and embed those skills in our program’s curriculum.

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Courses
Each course you take teaches specific career-relevant skills – one skill per credit, on average. For a 3-credit course, you can earn 3 career-relevant skills.

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Careers
Demonstrate your newly acquired skills, earn badges, build your professional profile and show potential employers what you bring to the table.

Career opportunities with an online accounting degree

Our program isn’t just about earning an online accounting degree – it’s about getting ready for your career. Learn practical knowledge and develop skills to prepare for roles as accountant, accounting manager, tax examiner, and auditor.

View job-ready skills in BSA.

Top skills learned in this program:

  • Accounting
  • Auditing
  • Financial statements
  • Generally Accepted Accounting & Bookkeeping Principles
View career opportunities with BSA.

A BSA can prepare you to be a:

  • Accountant
  • Accounting Manager
  • Cost Accountant
View work environments for BSA.

You may work in:Ìý

  • Accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services
  • Finance and insurance
  • Government
  • Management of companies and enterprises
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Career guide

Accountant and auditor

Learn more about your career choice as an accountant or auditor. Our career guide provides deeper insight into salary ranges and specializations in the field.

Accounting student working on a laptop
Illustration of a student researching labor statistics on a laptop

Career outlook

1,562,000 job openings

According to the about 1,562,000 openings for accountants and auditors are projected each year, on average, from 2023 to 2033.

The BLS Projected Growth for 2023-2033 is published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. This data reflects the BLS’ projections of national (not local) conditions. These data points are not specific to °®ÎÛ´«Ã½ students or graduates.

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Career story

“Ìý

Nothing that we do should be taken for granted. One job might not be the end goal. It’s all about the journey.â€

Bridget Kaigler (BSA, 2005; MBA 2007)

Headshot of Bridget Kaigler (BSA, 2005; MBA 2007)

Tuition

Paying for school

Tuition is based on number of credit hours per course. Courses are typically 3 credits, but can range from 1-6 credits. Costs do not include savings opportunities like transfer credits and scholarships.

Undergrad cost per course

$1,364Ìý/ course

Cost per creditÌý

Credits per course

Resource fee

$398

x3

+ $170

Estimated cost per course

$1,364

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What affects the overall cost of my program?

Your full program cost can vary by:Ìý

  • Savings opportunities. Your cost could be reduced with eligible transfer credits, scholarships, employer discounts and more. Students with eligible credits and relevant experience on average saved $11K and 1 year off their undergraduate degree at °®ÎÛ´«Ã½.

With our Tuition Guarantee, you pay one flat, affordable rate from the moment you enroll to the day you graduate from your program.

Discover ways to save time and money on your degree with our Savings Explorer®Ìýtool:

Save money and time with transfer credits

Your prior eligible college credits can lower your cost and help you graduate sooner.

Click to calculate your potential savings

$6,820 & 25 weeks[1]

Select your transfer credits

[2]
[2]
[2]
[2]

If 15 of your prior college credits are accepted toward your bachelor's degree, you may save $6,820 and 25 weeks.

Learn more about transfer credits

As a transfer-friendly university, we’ll request transcripts for you, at no cost to you, when possible and accept eligible credits from 5,000+ accredited institutions.

[1] Money savings based on prevailing cost per undergraduate course at $1,364 ($398 cost per credit x 3 credits + $170 resource fee). Time savings based on a five-week course.

[2] The average number of applied transfer credits for undergraduate business degrees is 40.7. Credits may not always apply to specific courses or institutional policy may limit the number of credits that can be applied.

Other ways to save on time and tuition

Because we believe everyone deserves an affordable education, we work hard to help our students achieve one. Here’s a few ways you can save time, save money and avoid starting from scratch.Ìý

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Budget & borrow

How to pay for college

Paying for school can be intimidating, but we’re here to help you make sense of it. Our finance advisors can walk you through your options like federal financial aid and savings opportunities to minimize your debt. Plus, we can help you figure out your financial plan.

Why choose us?

Where you earn your degree matters

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Career-relevant skills

Every five weeks, you can develop career-relevant skills, track your progress in each class and showcase your achievements using your personal skills profile.

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Real-world faculty

Your instructors know what works in the real world. As leaders in the field, they bring a hands-on perspective and practical knowledge to the classroom.

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Flexible learning + support

Balance it all — work, family and school — with a university built for busy adults like you.ÌýPlus, get personal support by phone, chat or email — day or night.

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Career Services for Life® commitment

Because your career never stands still, active students get access to career services and resources, from your first class to graduation and beyond, at no added cost.

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Faculty Spotlight

Get to know one of our business instructors

“Ìý

I try to make all course materials relevant to the real world. I do that primarily through describing my own experiences."

Donald Braunstein, MBA
Lead Faculty Area Chair, College of Business and Information Technology

Learn more

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A C B S P accredited

Programmatic accreditation

Our BSACC has been reaffirmed for accreditation until 2027 by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP).

What does that mean in real life? ACBSP-accreditedÌýbusiness programs adhere to quality standards. The quality of the program is regularly benchmarked against specific criteria that prepare students for the business industry. Accreditation occurs on a 10-year cycle with regular quality reviews. View the student achievement report for the °®ÎÛ´«Ã½ ACBSP-accredited business and accounting programs.

Frequently asked questions about the online accounting degree

No. Our accounting courses do not lead to licensure as a CPA. So before enrolling, please check with your state accountancy board, as each state sets the standards required to be eligible to take the CPA exam and apply for licensure or certification as a CPA.

Each state sets forth standards required to be eligible to take the CPA exam and apply for licensure or certification as a CPA. While this program was designed with consideration for the standards proposed by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (±·´¡³§µþ´¡Â®), °®ÎÛ´«Ã½ cannot, and will not, provide any assurance that completion of this program will allow a successful student to qualify within the student’s specific jurisdiction. Potential applicants should check with the appropriate organization within their jurisdiction to determine if this program, combined with their undergraduate degree and any other specific criteria, meets the requirements to qualify for examination in that specific jurisdiction. States frequently change their requirements for examination. There is no assurance that at the time of degree completion the specific jurisdiction’s requirements will be consistent with the requirements at the time of admission.

You don’t necessarily need a degree to become an accountant, but your career opportunities may be limited without one.Ìý An online accounting degree can lead to more diverse opportunities including forensic accounting, auditing and tax consultancy.

Our accounting program teaches you skills that can prepare you to be an accountant, accountant supervisor, or accountant manager. You’ll also learn skills to help prepare you for a position as an auditor (such as a company’s internal auditor) or a tax examiner. According to the  jobs for accountants and auditors are projected to grow 6% between 2021 and 2031.

Learn more about  career paths in accounting.

Each state sets forth standards required to be eligible to take the CPA exam and apply for licensure or certification as a CPA. While this program was designed with consideration for the standards proposed by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy ( it does not lead to licensure as a CPA.

Our BSACC has been reaffirmed for accreditation until 2027 by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP). 

What does that mean in real life? ACBSP-accredited business programs adhere to quality standards. The quality of the program is regularly benchmarked against specific criteria that prepare students for the business industry. Accreditation occurs on a 10-year cycle with regular quality reviews.

Our online accounting degree requires 120 credits and a program length of 4 years to complete from start to finish. However, you may be able to complete your degree if you transfer credits from another institution or earn credits for yourÌýwork or life experience.

While widely available, not all programs are available to residents of all states. Please check with a University Enrollment Representative.