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.
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.
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.
Note: All career statistics come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook
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.
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.
To be eligible to be admitted to a WSU Carson College of Business major, students must meet the following minimum requirements:
| 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
6 semester credits. All upper division business courses are 7-weeks.
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.
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.
WSU Global Campus , PO Box 645220 Pullman , WA 99164-5220 , 800-222-4978, 509-335-3557 online@wsu.edu
