Accounting

looking up at skyscrapers with screened numbers superimposed

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.

Request accounting major information

WSU Global Campus Accounting.

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 seven 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

Photo: Business accounting concept, Business man using calculator with computer laptop, budget and loan paper in office.

Courses Designed for Flexibility

The Carson College of Business offers its 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. The current 7-week accounting major course rotation schedule is provided below in the Program of Study under Accounting Core Requirements.

Program of Study

All courses are available online

University Requirements

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.

College of Business Requirements and Course Rotation

Admission to the Major

To be eligible to apply to be admitted to a WSU Carson College of Business major, students must meet the following minimum requirements:

Complete the courses below denoted with an asterisk (*) with a grade of C or higher
Complete the Carson Career Amplifier Program Year 1
Have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.5 and not be on academic probation
Complete at least 27 credit hours

Students must apply to be admitted to the major during the term they anticipate completing the above requirements.

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 OR *ECONS 102 [SSCI] – Fundamentals of Macroeconomics	Yes	Yes	Yes
*MATH 201 – Finite Math for Business OR *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)	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
*HBM 101 – Professional Development	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 211 – Ethics, Teams, and Innovation	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes
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

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.)
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	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes
I_BUS 380 - International Business	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes
MGMT 491 [CAPS] - Strategic Management	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.

Carson Career Amplifier Program

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.

Accounting Core Requirements and Course Rotation

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.

Accounting Electives

The Courses Below Require Students are Admitted to the Major

6 semester credits. All upper division business courses are 7-weeks.

ACCTG 420, ECONS 327/I_BUS 470, I_BUS 453, I_BUS 482, or MIS 441 (recommended to satisfy the business half of the International Experience Requirement)
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

University Writing Requirements

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.

Additional College of Business Graduation Requirements

*6 credits of additional social sciences or humanities coursework: ANTH, ASIA, CES, CRM_J, DTC, ECONS, ENGLISH, FINE_ART, HISTORY, HUMANITY, PHIL, PSYCH, SOC, H_D, POL_S, and WOMEN_ST
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 business courses
Nine upper division (300- and 400-level) 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.

*Cannot be used for any other requirement

Note: Students who have already completed a business degree through WSU may not return to complete a second business major.

Please review the online WSU Catalog for additional information about specific degree requirements.