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, 2022FULL-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

AACSB Accredited: Acounting logoOur 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. 

Applying to Suffolk's MSA Program

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.

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

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Boston business district taken from Boston Common.

The Suffolk Difference

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