Master of Science in Accounting (MSA)

Suffolk’s Boston campus is at the heart of the Financial District—with each of the Big Four accounting firms within a mile of where you’ll be studying. Whether you’ll be working full-time or looking to complete an internship to boost your resume, Suffolk's downtown location creates an ease of balance while earning your MSA.

The Princeton Review: Best Business Schools, 2022 FULL-TIME | PART-TIME

While earning your MSA at Suffolk, you’ll:

Earn your degree in as few as 9 months (full-time) or 21 months (part-time)
Learn from industry experts who are either practitioners or accomplished scholars
Study from a curriculum that is guided by the cutting-edge industry practices identified by our Young Alumni Advisory Board
Take courses that integrate Becker's CPA Exam Review Course, giving you supplemental material to help you ace your classes while also preparing you for success on the CPA exam.
Specialize in areas like Business Analysis and Reporting, Information Systems and Controls, and Tax Compliance and Planning

Suffolk’s MSA is designed for those who have a background in accounting as well as those who don't. You’ll pursue one of three unique tracks to best suit your career goals. Take courses based on your schedule. You also have the option to take classes back-to-back in one evening or online on a space-available basis for added flexibility.

View the MSA curriculum

MSA Program Overview

Suffolk's Master's in Accounting

For more than 30 years, our graduate accounting programs have been preparing students for the CPA and CMA exams.

Why Get a CPA?

Accountants who hold their CPA license earn 10%-15% more annually than those without the licensure. In fact, the average salary of a US-based CPA is $119,000 per year, excluding bonuses, according to the Journal of Accountancy.

Continuing Excellence

Our program has received Level-1 status from the MA Board of Public Accountancy, and is 1 of only 182 institutions worldwide to have an international supplemental accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).

As the only Accounting program in Boston with this unique supplemental accreditation, our students are automatically eligible to sit for the CPA exam without having to submit their transcripts for verification and are not subject to a waiting period.

4+1 Program

If you’re a senior working towards an undergraduate business degree or a recent graduate, you may qualify to earn your Master of Science in Accounting (MSA) in as few as 9 months, or your MSA/MSF or MSBA/MSA in as few as 16 months. Learn more about our 4+1 programs.

Meet Our Alumni

Advising & Other Resources

Suffolk University offers graduate students—incoming, current, and alumni—help with navigating financial aid and payments, searching for career opportunities, and building a strong professional network. Our Graduate Student Services team supports you every step of the way with various services including application advising, financial aid counseling, international student resources, and other resources such as the Career Development Center or the Center for Learning and Academic Success. We also offer you value-added professional development workshops to bolster your experiential education and other professional skills while studying at Suffolk University.

Application Deadlines

Fall Semester: July 15 (International Applicants), August 15 (Domestic Applicants), then rolling
Spring Semester: December 1 (International Applicants), January 4 (Domestic Applicants), then rolling

Learn about the advantages of priority applications.

Application Materials

Completed application
$50 Application Fee (waived for students who visit campus)
Resume
Unofficial transcripts of all post-secondary work. Admitted students enrolling in the program will need to have official transcripts, including proof of degree conferral, on file prior to their first class
Goal Statement (essay)
Letter of Recommendation (learn more)
Official TOEFL, IELTS, or PTE-Academic Scores (international students only)

MSA (2022-2023)

View current tuition and fees for this program

Financial Aid for Graduate Study

Suffolk University is pleased to offer both merit- and need-based financial aid to graduate students—these awards can be up to $20,000 per academic year. Merit-based aid is awarded based on the applicant's academic credentials presented on the admission application. No separate application is required for merit consideration.

MSA Program Outcomes

$82,042

mean starting salary

89%

Obtain a position within 3 months of graduating

93%

Obtain a position within 6 months of graduating

93%

employed graduates are working in degree-related positions

All figures based on 2021 data⁠

State-by-State CPA Exam Eligibility Requirements

See information about the educational requirements necessary for CPA exam eligibility for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Faculty Expertise

Our program faculty are at the forefront of their field, pursuing research and being sought out by the media to offer their take on various topics

Professor Ariel Markelevich, PhD, CMA appeared on “Count Me In,” the Institute of Management Accountant's (IMA’s) podcast about all things affecting the accounting and finance world where he explains what blockchain is and why accountants should care about it
Professor Nancy Chun Feng—and her co-author Mahfuja Malik—have had a paper, "Carry Forward Effects of CSR Champions", accepted for publication in Accounting Horizons, a top accounting journal
Professor Andrew Stuart, PhD, CPA was selected as one of the recipients of the 2018-2019 Glen McLaughlin Prize for Research in Accounting Ethics from the Steed School of Accounting at the University of Oklahoma for his paper "The Value of Assurance and Ethics in Difficult Times: Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosures and Investor Decisions"
Professors Ariel Markelevich, PhD, CMA & Stephen Fuller, PhD paper "Should accountants care about blockchain" was recently published in The Journal of Corporate Accounting & Finance
Accounting Department Chair and Associate Professor Christine Nolder is Editorial Board member for Contemporary Accounting Research, a Financial Times Top 50 Journal

Accounting Information Request

Boston business district taken from Boston Common.

The Suffolk Difference

Video Transcript

Transcript 00:01
Suffolk has a really good reputation the
00:06
MSA program really prepares you for
00:07
almost anything in you're comfortable it
00:09
really does everyone probably looking
00:11
for something different I think some
00:13
people want to go to a public company
00:15
but a smaller company any worse I really
00:16
wanted that big company that big
00:18
experience because you just here are
00:19
those big four and but I think Suffolk
00:21
gives you the opportunity to choose
00:23
either the programs they have here
00:26
really make students prepared and feel
00:29
confident when they're taking a CPA exam
00:30
a lot of the courses were pretty much
00:32
the same of the stuff they stuff they
00:33
tested you on same format in terms of
00:35
the exams and you have everything that
00:39
can help you succeed you know one of the
00:43
reasons why I wanted to attend Suffolk
00:44
was that I love the one-on-one attention
00:46
I didn't want to go to a big school I
00:48
wanted to someone to know by my name not
00:51
be a number Suffolk has the best
00:52
professors you know they get you ready
00:54
for the real the real world one of my
00:56
favorite professors used to bring in
00:57
current events all the time every class
01:00
the start of the class would be a
01:02
current event that would come in and
01:03
they relate it to how you know what
01:08
we're learning in class I think my
01:09
favorite professor would be a mg married
01:11
ngo
01:12
pop hidden she's tough she's really
01:15
really tough but she makes the class
01:16
really enjoyable and she does kill a lot
01:18
of other students the first day of class
01:19
we came in and she knew everybody's name
01:22
the location downtown can't beat that
01:25
that international aspect of the school
01:28
did attract me to Suffolk do you want to
01:30
be part of a school that understand that
01:32
not everyone is a English speaker
01:36
when I was at Suffolk I just learned to
01:39
work really hard and really embrace the
01:42
team aspects of it I'm currently a
01:44
senior accounting manager at smart
01:47
travel which is a subsidiary of
01:48
TripAdvisor you know I currently have
01:50
four direct reports and I feel a lot of
01:53
that being able to motivate and coach
01:55
also some from being able to have uber
01:58
environments at Suffolk University not
02:00
just do it in kind of your own
02:01
individual work would also be involved
02:03
in it it's here I work at dana-farber
02:04
Cancer Institute I'm a grant accountant
02:07
so we work in the restock in the
02:09
research accounting department and it's
02:10
it's predominantly grant related a lot
02:12
of the people that I work with went to
02:14
Suffolk what director goes on the
02:15
offense of like I am a senior associate
02:18
at KPMG I work in the Texas crime
02:22
specifically an asset management group
02:24
I'm in public accounting I work for a
02:27
firm called Edelstein & Company um work
02:29
primarily in their audit and assurance
02:32
and accounting program the career office
02:34
here was really great
02:35
about what helping helping you find
02:37
internships and there was a lot of
02:39
companies in the city that posted there
02:40
which made it great because it just it
02:43
helped me decide where I wanted to go
02:45
and what I wanted to do which was nice
02:46
and definitely helping a resume for
02:48
finding a job after graduation I love
02:52
Suffolk had a great experience and I
02:54
ain't she was any of the school I came
02:56
back to something
03:00
[Music]
03:01
[Applause]
03:06
you

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Master of Science in Accounting (MSA)

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