Accounting Major, B.S.

Print Degree Planner (opens a new window) |

All candidates for a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting must satisfy the General Studies requirements, the business core course requirements, and the Accounting Department requirements described in the following sections.

Courses	Semester Hours
General Studies*	34
Accounting Department Requirements	6-18
Business Core	36
Accounting Major Requirements	24
Unrestricted Electives*	8-20
Total Hours (minimum)	120

*MSU Denver’s Multicultural requirement may be satisfied by taking an approved Multicultural course in the General Studies or the unrestricted electives portion of the program requirements.

Note: Unrestricted elective credits may vary. Total unrestricted electives must be sufficient for the student to meet the required degree minimum of 120 credits. Typically the unrestricted elective credits will vary between 12 and 27 credits. These credits may be used to meet graduation requirements, a minor or a concentration. Per university policy, no more than 16 semester hours in human performance and sports activity (HPL), 4 semester hours of varsity sports (ATH), and 7 semester hours in music ensemble courses may be counted toward the degree.

General Studies:

The academic foundation for a successful business career or graduate work is a broad liberal arts education.

See the General Studies program requirements for a list of approved courses .

Total Credits for General Studies: 33

Multicultural Requirement:

The University’s multicultural requirement is satisfied by taking an approved multicultural course. See additional graduation requirements .

Accounting Department Requirements:

In addition to foundation coursework in business theory and practice, all Accounting majors should have learning experiences that develop and support communication abilities, quantitative and analytical skills, an understanding of the domestic and global economic environment, an appreciation of the American political process, and an understanding of a business professional’s ethical as well as legal responsibility in organizations and society. To meet these objectives, the following courses are required for all majors in Accounting.

Required Courses:

COMM 1010 - Presentational Speaking Credits: 3 ¹ or COMM 1100 - Fundamentals of Oral Communication ¹
ECO 2010 - Principles of Macroeconomics Credits: 3 ²
ECO 2020 - Principles of Microeconomics Credits: 3 ²
PSC 1010 - American National Government Credits: 3 ²
MTH 1320 - Calculus for the Management and Social Sciences Credits: 3 ³

Ethics Requirement

BUS 3040 - Global Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability Credits: 3
or
ACC 4440 - Accounting Ethics and Professionalism Credits: 3
or

Enrollment in the MPAcc 3+2 Program

Total Hours for the Accounting Department Requirements: 6-18

Notes:

¹May be used to meet the General Studies Oral Communication requirement.

²May be used to meet the General Studies Social and Behavioral Sciences requirements.

³ The prerequisite for this course, MTH 1110 or MTH 1310 or MTH 1400, may be used to meet the General Studies Quantitative Literacy requirement. MTH 1410, MTH 2410 or MTH 2420 may be substituted for MTH 1320.

Business Core:

All business majors require foundation course work in all significant areas of business theory and practice. The following courses are required for all majors in Accounting. A grade of “C-” or better must be earned in each business core course to have that course count toward the Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting. A student cannot register for a business core course until all General Studies requirements in Written Communication, Oral Communication, and Quantitative Literacy are complete.

Required Courses:

BUS 1850 - Introduction to Business Credits: 3 *
BUS 1950 - Business Communication Credits: 3
ACC 2010 - Principles of Accounting I Credits: 3
ACC 2020 - Principles of Accounting II Credits: 3
CIS 2010 - Foundations of Information Systems Credits: 3
CIS 3300 - Business Analytics I (Descriptive and Predictive) Credits: 3
CIS 3320 - Business Analytics II (Prescriptive) Credits: 3
FIN 3300 - Managerial Finance Credits: 3
MGT 2210 - Legal Environment of Business I Credits: 3
MGT 3000 - Organizational Management Credits: 3
MGT 4950 - Strategic Management Credits: 3
MKT 3000 - Principles of Marketing Credits: 3
* Transfer students that transfer in 6 or more credits of business courses will not need to take BUS 1850 but may take any other College of Business 3-credit hour course that does not appear in their Major or Business Core requirements.

Total Hours for the Business Core: 36

Accounting Major Requirements:

Accounting majors should have learning experiences that focus on the development, measurement, analysis, validation, and communication of financial and other information. The following courses are required for all majors in Accounting.

A grade of “C” or better must be earned in each accounting course for that course to toward the Bachelor of Science in Accounting.

Required Courses:

ACC 3090 - Income Tax I Credits: 3
ACC 3300 - Accounting Information Systems Credits: 3
ACC 3400 - Cost Accounting Credits: 3
ACC 3510 - Intermediate Accounting I Credits: 3
ACC 3520 - Intermediate Accounting II Credits: 3
ACC 4200 - Auditing and Attestation Credits: 3

Subtotal: 18

Accounting Electives (upper division accounting courses): 6 credits

Total Credits for the Accounting Major Requirements: 24

Notes:

Students interested in becoming Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) in Colorado should be aware that they must take two auditing courses, one accounting ethics course, and an upper division business communications course. To fulfill CPA requirements, one of the two required auditing courses must be ACC 4200 - Auditing and Attestation . All states require 150 semester hours of education to become a licensed CPA. MSU Denver offers classes that satisfy the 150-hour requirement for licensure.

To earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting, a student must successfully complete 30 or more credit hours of business coursework at MSU Denver. This 30-hour residency requirement can be met by completing any business courses with the prefix ACC, ACCM, BNK, BUS, CIS, ECO, FIN, MGT and MKT and a course number of 2000 or higher. A student must complete at least 12 upper-division semester hours in Accounting at MSU Denver.

ACC 1010 will not substitute as a requirement in the Bachelor of Science in Accounting.

Students should consult an Accounting faculty advisor to develop an appropriate academic program. A wide variety of internship opportunities are available through the Applied Learning Center.