Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. The program admits students with diverse backgrounds. While a majority of M.S. in Accounting students have an undergraduate degree in Accounting or Business, a number of students have a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in areas other than Business. Students admitted without the necessary undergraduate coursework in Accounting and/or Business will be required to take prerequisite courses in those areas before enrolling for graduate Accounting or Business courses.

Yes, the Lamar M.S. in Accounting degree can satisfy all educational requirements adopted by the TSBPA to sit the CPA exam in the state of Texas.

Students holding an undergraduate accounting degree from an accredited business program can complete the degree in as few as 34 credit hours. Students entering the Lamar M.S. in Accounting program with an undergraduate degree in business from an accredited business school will likely have satisfied the business leveling course requirements and may complete the degree in as little as 49 credit hours. Students without any previous undergraduate study in business may complete the Lamar M.S. in Accounting degree in as few as 67 credit hours.

16 months to 2 ¾ years (depending on leveling courses required).

Full time is 9 hours (3 courses) and students can take up to 12 hours (4 courses).

Classes are held during the Fall, Spring and Summer semesters. Courses vary as to whether they are held during daytime or nighttime hours and are offered Monday-Friday. No courses are offered on Saturday or Sunday.

Various Business course electives are currently offered online. None of the required Accounting courses are offered online.

Applications are accepted throughout the year and students are admitted in the Fall, Spring and Summer semesters.

Domestic Students: Prospective domestic graduate students should submit all admissions materials at least 30 days prior to the start of the semester in which they wish to begin studies. Please refer to our page for Graduate Admissions. 

International Students: Applications should submit materials as soon as possible to allow time for visa interview appointments at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate, which may have wait times of days or weeks. To find specific dates please refer to our page for International Admissions. 

Up to 6 hours of elective courses can be transferred into the Lamar M.S.A. program if the courses are from an AACSB institution and meet the program requirements.

No, the Lamar M.S.A. program will only accept the GMAT (no exceptions are made).

The GMAT score cannot be waived unless the applicant meets one of the following:

• The applicant has a Ph.D., J.D., M.D. or other terminal degree
• The applicant earned an undergraduate accounting degree from an accredited domestic university with a minimum accounting GPA of 3.0 and a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0
• The applicant earned a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 in accounting leveling courses taken at Lamar University as a post baccalaureate student
• A student successfully completed the Graduate Certificate in Professional Accounting from Lamar University

Look at our Cost Calculator to determine the accurate cost per hour for on campus students. Online students should refer to degree.lamar.edu

Students may replace a graduate course grade by repeating a course for up to three graduate-level courses (nine semester hours). However, nine hours with initial or replacement grades of "C," "D," or "F" will result in student's dismissal from the M.S.A. program. If a student repeats a course, the last grade recorded will be considered the official grade and used in calculating the GPA, although all grades remain on the student's transcript. 

The Dual M.S.A./M.B.A. is a dual degree plan for those students already earning a M.S.A. with at least 6 hours of electives from the M.B.A. An additional 18 hours of M.B.A. core courses (including MGMT 5380) are required. Applications must be submitted for each program individually.

Yes. The TSBPA requires 150 college credit hours to sit the Uniform CPA Examination in the state of Texas. To help students meet with this requirement the Graduate School provides for dual enrollment in the B.B.A./M.S.A. through our M.S.A.-Integrated program. This enables a timely completion of internships which offers greater opportunities for initial employment and career success. Those seeking an integrated B.B.A./M.S. in Accounting may apply and be admitted to the M.S. in Accounting program after successfully completing ACCT 3320 and prior to completing a bachelor degree.

Yes. Scholarships are available for domestic and international M.S.A. students who earned a minimum GPA of 3.0 for their first baccalaureate degree and a minimum GMAT score of 450. For students with an undergraduate degree in accounting who received a GMAT waiver, scholarships are available for those students with a cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.25. Students may apply for additional scholarships each spring semester.

Domestic students: Please refer to our page for Graduate Admissions for university requirements

International students: Please refer to our page for International Admissions for university requirements. Requirements include an application fee, official transcripts, proof of English Language Proficiency and official GMAT score.