Accounting
Application Deadline
- Spring: December 8
- Summer: April 12 (early sessions)
- Fall: July 19
Class Begins
- Spring: January 6, 2025
- Summer: May 5, 2025 (early sessions)
- Fall: August 19, 2024
Degree Awarded
Bachelor of Arts
in Business Administration
WSU College
Carson College of Business
Build Your Career, By the Numbers
Accounting is a growing, in-demand career field at the forefront of business and finance. If you have strong analytical skills, self-motivation and a keen business interest consider accounting as a career choice. WSU’s accounting program, offered completely online, provides the foundation you need to launch or enhance your career.
Why Major in Accounting?
Accounting is an exciting and constantly evolving field, offering professionals almost unlimited career opportunities. Students who choose to pursue an education in accounting can go on to become company controllers, tax specialists, consultants, general managers, auditors, budget and finance experts, Certified Public Accountants and numerous other positions requiring strong accounting and management skills.
What You’ll Learn
WSU’s accounting curriculum provides a strong base in management fundamentals, critical thinking, accounting information systems and accounting practices, and will prepare you to work in private business enterprises, Fortune 500 companies, national and international accounting firms, government agencies, consulting firms and non-profit organizations.
Students in WSU Global Campus’ accounting program graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with a major in accounting. Unlike online accounting degree programs at other institutions, you will gain a broad base of knowledge in business theory and practice in addition to the expertise and practical skills necessary to enter the field of accounting. This powerful combination of business and accounting skills will increase your marketability and value to employers as you enter the job market.
WSU Accounting Program Strengths
- WSU’s accounting major is one of only eight programs in the Pacific Northwest and approximately 187 worldwide that have earned the prestigious Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) Accounting Accreditation.
- WSU’s Carson College of Business accounting faculty are award-winning teachers, work closely with students, and take a personal interest in their success.
Note: All career statistics come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook
Courses Designed for Flexibility
The Carson College of Business offers its lower and upper division courses in a 7-week format. Several required upper division courses are offered only once per year. Students will be required to take some courses during the summer.
The 7-week sessions allow students to complete two or four 7-week courses during a traditional 16-week semester and can be taken concurrently with 16-week non-business courses. The 7-week courses are accelerated and require about 15-20 hours of work per week but allow for a more flexible schedule suited for working students. For Accounting students, the upper division courses require minimally 20 hours of work per week. The current 7-week accounting major course rotation schedule is provided below in the Program of Study under Accounting Core Requirements and Course Rotation.
Program of Study
All courses are available online
All WSU undergraduates must complete a minimum of 120 semester credits of which 40 credits must be at the 300 – 400 level. Students must also complete the University Common Requirements (UCORE). These can generally be satisfied with a direct transfer degree. For a list of direct-transfer agreements, visit WSU’s Transferring an Associate Degree page.
Admission to the Major
To be eligible to be admitted to a WSU Carson College of Business major, students must meet the following minimum requirements:
- Complete ECONS 101 or 102, MATH 201 or 202, B_A 100, B_A 102 and HBM 101 with a C or higher
- Complete the applicable portion of the Carson Career Amplifier Program (Tier 1 or Crimson Pathway 1)
- Have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.5 and not be on academic probation
- Complete at least 27 credit hours
Students Must Complete the Courses Below as Required by the Carson College of Business
| FULL SEMESTER COURSES: Offered Each Term | Spring Semester (Jan. – May) | Summer Session (May – July) | Fall Semester (Aug. – Dec.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ECONS 101 [SSCI] – Fundamentals of Microeconomics | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ECONS 102 [SSCI] – Fundamentals of Macroeconomics | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| MATH 201 – Finite Math for Business | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| MATH 202 [QUAN] – Business Calculus | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 7-WEEK COURSES: Offered on a Rotation Schedule | Spring Session 1 (Jan. – Feb.) | Spring Session 2 (March – May) | Summer Session 1 (May – June) | Summer Session 2 (June – Aug.) | Fall Session 1 (Aug. – Oct.) | Fall Session 2 (Oct. – Dec.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B_A 100 – Introduction to Business (may be waived for qualifying transfer students) | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| B_A 102 – Exploring Careers in Business (may be waived for qualifying transfer students) | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| HBM 101 – Professional and Career Development for the Business World (may be waived for qualifying transfer students) | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| ACCTG 230 – Financial Accounting | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| *ACCTG 231 – Managerial Accounting | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| B_LAW 210 – Business Law | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| B_A 212 – Decision Analysis, Spreadsheets and Data Visualization | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| MGTOP 215 – Business Statistics | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| MIS 250 – Managing Information Technology | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| B_A 211 - Business Ethics, Teams, and Innovation | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| FIN 325 - Introduction to Financial Management | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| MGTOP 340 - Operations Management | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| MKTG 360 - Marketing | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| I_BUS 380 - International Business (requires admission to major) | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| MGMT 491 [CAPS] - Strategic Management (requires admission to major) | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | No |
The course rotation schedules are provided for planning purposes. New students should refer to their personal planning worksheet created by their Global Campus academic advisor for initial planning. Once admitted to the major, students should refer to their Academic Progress Report in myWSU to track their academic progress.
*ACCT 231, 330, and 433 must be passed with a C or higher
The Carson Career Amplifier Program is a co-curricular program that complements what students are learning in the classroom. Students will develop professional skills through engaging, hands-on experiences.
For more information, visit the College of Business Carson Career Amplifier Program and watch a brief overview on YouTube: Career Amplifier Program Overview.
| 7-WEEK COURSES: Offered on a Rotation Schedule, and Require that Students are Admitted to the Major | Spring Session 1 (Jan. – Feb.) | Spring Session 2 (March – May) | Summer Session 1 (May – June) | Summer Session 2 (June – Aug.) | Fall Session 1 (Aug. – Oct.) | Fall Session 2 (Oct. – Dec.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *ACCTG 330 – Intermediate Accounting I | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| ACCTG 331 - Intermediate Accounting II | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| ACCTG 335 – Taxation of Business Entities and Individuals | No | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| ACCTG 338 – Cost Accounting | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| *ACCTG 433 [M] – Accounting Systems and Auditing | No | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| ACCTG 439 [M] - Auditing | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |
The course rotation schedule is provided for planning purposes. New students should refer to their personal planning worksheet created by their Global Campus Academic Advisor for initial planning. Once admitted to the major, students should refer to their Academic Progress Report in myWSU to track their academic progress.
*ACCT 231, 330, and 433 must be passed with a C or higher
The Courses Below Require Students are Admitted to the Major
6 semester credits. All upper division business courses are 7-weeks.
- Any one 300-400-level three-credit ACCTG course, with the exception of courses from the set of required accounting courses or any 498 Internships or 499 Special Problems courses. Students will work with their advisor to determine which ACCTG elective they will complete.
- Any 300-400-level three-credit course offered by the Carson College of Business, with the exception of courses from the CCB core, the set of required accounting courses, or any 498 Internship or 499 Special Topics course
Students must complete the University Writing Portfolio, and two Writing in the Major [M] courses. For online accounting majors, the Writing in the Major requirement will be fulfilled with ACCTG 433 and ACCTG 439.
- 12 credits of Social Science or Humanities Electives: Any courses with the [SSCI] or [HUM] designation (excluding courses in ACCTG, B A, B LAW, ENTRP, FIN, HBM, I BUS, MGMT, MGTOP, MIS, and MKTG), or courses in ANTH, ART, ASIA, CES, CRM J, DTC, ECONS, ENGLISH, FOR LANG, HISTORY, HONORS 270, 280, 370, 380, H D, HUMANITY, PHIL, POL S, PSYCH, SOC, and WGSS (excluding ECONS 101, 102, 198, 327, ENGLISH 101, 105, 402, 403, H D 205, HISTORY 105, 305).
- One of the following Communication courses:
- COM 102 [COMM] – Public Speaking in the Digital Age
- H_D 205 [COMM] – Developing Effective Communication and Life Skills
- 3 credits Written Communications: ENGLISH 402 [WRTG] [M] – Technical and Professional Writing OR ENGLISH 403
- 2.5 cumulative grade point average in all WSU business courses
- Nine upper division (300- and 400-level) business courses must be taken at WSU
- 6 credits International Experience Requirement: A variety of options exists to fulfill this requirement, including study abroad, international internships, and approved coursework.
Note: Students who have already completed a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration degree through WSU may not return to complete a second Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration degree or second major.
Please review the online WSU Catalog for additional information about specific degree requirements.