Admission Requirements

• A bachelor’s degree from a four-year accredited college or university; if the degree has not yet been awarded at the time of application, the successful applicant must be nearing completion of the bachelor’s degree 
• Official transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate course work
• Three letters of recommendation, at least one each from academic and professional references, submitted on graduate-school reference forms
• A resumé which demonstrates the applicant’s potential for leadership and academic achievements as evidenced by activities during their professional career or undergraduate business studies 
• Official copy of scores from the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) taken within the last five years, indicating an acceptable score 

NOTE: Applicants to the MSA degree program who meet certain provisions will be considered for admission without submitting a GMAT score. If, upon review, the applicant is considered admissible without a GMAT score, that requirement will be waived. The following provisions qualify an applicant to be considered for the GMAT waiver: 

•  An advanced degree (e.g. master’s, doctorate, JD, etc.) in a specialized business field, economics, law or related field, or in a discipline involving a significant quantitative component (e.g. engineering, science, statistics) 
•  CPA, CMA, CFA or CFM certification. 

The College of Business reserves the right to request a GMAT score from an applicant even if these conditions are met. 

At the discretion of the Admissions Committee, candidates graduating with an undergraduate degree in accounting from Bridgewater State University may be eligible to waive the GMAT requirement, providing that they graduate with:

• Minimum overall GPA of 3.20
• Minimum GPA within the ACFI major of 3.20 (or waived by the department if student is not an ACFI accounting major)
• Earned no more than one ACFI course grade lower than a “B-“
• Satisfies all other admission requirements and are viewed by the Admissions Committee to be qualified to enter a rigorous graduate program, based upon letters of recommendation, other included application materials and input from faculty.

The Admissions Committee reserves the right to request the GMAT in all situations.

Applicants for whom English is a second language will be required to submit an official copy of results from the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or IELTS (International English Language Testing System), unless they have at least two years of experience in an American college or university. Students taking the TOEFL must receive a total score of 213 from a computer-based test, 550 from a paper-based test or 79-80 on the internet-based test. Students taking the IELTS must receive a total score of 6/6.5.

Program of Study

The MSA requires students to complete courses in three different categories. Depending on the student’s undergraduate courses. the requirements for the degree range from 30 to 54 credit hours. 

•  Foundation Courses. These eight, three-credit undergraduate and graduate-level courses cover the basic content of accounting, economics, business law, management, marketing and statistics. These courses may be awarded advanced standing for students who have satisfactorily completed comparable undergraduate courses previously.  The Graduate Program Coordinator will determine eligibility for exemption.
   
• Functional Courses. These eight, three-credit courses provide an advanced perspective on the various areas of accounting.
   
• Electives. These two, three-credit courses allow a student to either study a particular topic in depth, or to gain breadth across the accounting field.