MSBA/MSA Dual Degree
The fields of business analytics and accounting have increasingly overlapped over the last several years, and many employers are demanding applicants with both skill sets. The Dual MSBA/MSA degree will train students in the necessary business analytics and accounting skills to advance their careers with potentially only one additional semester of coursework.
In general, the Dual MSBA/MSA degree can be completed in three semesters. If additional prerequisites for either program are required, the program may take four to five semesters to complete.
Admissions
Candidates must apply separately to and be admitted to both MSBA and MSA programs.
The student must meet the prerequisite requirements for both degrees.
Degree Requirements
MSBA degree requirements: 33 units of coursework
MSA degree requirements: 30 units of coursework
University policy on dual degrees stipulates that a maximum of 50% of the credit hours for the shorter program may be counted toward both degrees (in this case, 15 units of course work). Therefore, the Dual MSBA/MSA degree requires a total of 48 units.
To receive the dual degree, the following are required:
For the MSBA degree (33 units total):
- 15 units of core Business Analytics courses
- 12 units of Business Analytics coursework that count toward both degrees
- 3 units of Business Analytics courses
- 3 units of specific core Accounting courses that count toward both degrees
For the MSA degree (30 units total):
- 15 units of Accounting courses
- 3 units of specific core Accounting courses that count toward both degrees
- 12 units of Business Analytics courses that count toward both degrees*
*The MSA degree allows up to 12 units of non-accounting business electives
Coursework
MSA Coursework
Prerequisites
The following are considered prerequisite courses for the MSA program. Some of these courses can be completed during the program but are not counted towards the units needed to complete the dual MSBA/MSA degree.
| Accounting Prerequisite Courses | Units | Main Campus Offering | Prerequisites |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACCT 599: Introduction to Financial/Managerial Acct. | 3 | Self Study - Fall, Spring & Summer | None |
| ACCT 310: Cost Accounting | 3 | Fall & Summer | ACCT 599 |
| ACCT 500A: Intermediate Financial Accounting I | 3 | Fall, Spring & Summer | ACCT 599 |
| ACCT 500B: Intermediate Financial Accounting II | 3 | Fall, Spring & Summer | ACCT 500A |
| ACCT 520: Principles of Federal Taxation | 3 | Fall, Spring & Summer | ACCT 599 concurrent |
Core Accounting Courses
Students must take 18 units of Accounting courses from the following list. Courses that are bolded and marked with a * are eligible to be counted towards both the MSA and MSBA degrees; however, only 3 units of total Accounting coursework can be counted towards both degrees.
| Core Accounting Courses | Units | Main Campus Offering | Prerequisites |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACCT 501: Advanced Accounting | 3 | Fall & Spring | ACCT 500B |
| ACCT 515: Ethics for Professional Accounting | 3 | Spring | ACCT 200/210 concurrent or ACCT 599 concurrent |
| ACCT 521: Business Law for Accountants | 3 | Fall & Spring | None |
| ACCT 522: Advanced Federal Taxation | 3 | Fall | ACCT 520 |
| ACCT 530: Forensic & Investigative Accounting* | 3 | Fall | ACCT 531 |
| ACCT 531: Principles of Auditing* | 3 | Fall | ACCT 500A concurrent |
| ACCT 532: Audit Simulation | 3 | Spring | ACCT 531 |
| ACCT 551: Accounting Analysis of Financial Statements* | 3 | Fall | ACCT 500B concurrent |
| ACCT 561: Accounting Information Systems* | 3 | Fall & Spring | ACCT 500B concurrent |
| ACCT 562A: Technology for Accountants (Excel) | 1 | Fall & Spring | ACCT 200 concurrent or ACCT 599 concurrent |
| ACCT 562B: Technology for Accountants (QuickBooks) | 1 | Fall & Spring | ACCT 200 or ACCT 599 |
| ACCT 562D: Accounting Data Analytics | 1 | Fall & Spring | ACCT 200 or ACCT 599 |
| ACCT 572A: Accounting for Not-for-Profit Entities | 3 | Fall | ACCT 500B |
| ACCT 580: Communication for Accountants* ^ | 3 | Fall & Spring | ACCT 500B concurrent and internal controls knowledge preferred |
| Other newly created ACCT courses as approved. | 3 |
^ MSBA/MSA dual degree students are required to take either ACCT 580 Communications for Accountants or MIS 509 Business Communications as part of their program. They may not both be taken as the content of the courses is similar.
Business Analytics Elective Courses
In order to complete the requirements of the MSA degree, students must take 12 units of Business Analytics courses that count as elective units for the MSA degree. See the MSBA Coursework section below for more detail on these courses.
For additional information about the MSA degree, visit the Master of Science in Accounting website.
MSBA Coursework
Core Business Analytics Courses
Students must take 27 units of core Business Analytics courses as indicated below. Courses that are bolded and marked with a * are eligible to be counted towards both the MSA and MSBA degrees; however, only 12 units total of Business Analytics coursework can be counted towards both degrees.
| Core Business Analytics Courses | Units | Main Campus Offering |
|---|---|---|
| MIS 578 Programming and SQL/RBD | 1 | Summer |
| BNAD 555: Introduction to Business Analytics | 2 | Summer |
| MKT 522: Introduction to Statistics | 2 | Fall |
| MIS 555A: Regression Model for Analytics | 2 | Fall |
| MIS 561: Data Visualization* | 3 | Fall |
| MIS 586 Big Data Analytics* | 3 | Fall |
| MIS 509: Business Communications* ^ | 3 | Fall |
| MKT 555B: Experimentation and Data Analysis | 2 | Spring |
| MIS 545 Data Mining and Business Intelligence* | 3 | Spring |
| MIS 587: Business Intelligence* | 3 | Spring |
| BNAD 597A: Eller Business Consulting | 3 | Spring |
^ MSBA/MSA dual degree students are required to take either ACCT 580 Communications for Accountants or MIS 509 Business Communications as part of their program. They may not both be taken as the content of the courses is similar.
Elective Courses
In addition to the 27 Core Business Analytics Courses indicated above, MSBA students must take:
- 3 units of specific core Accounting coursework that counts towards both degrees, as previously indicated under the Core Accounting Courses section
- 3 units of Business Analytics elective coursework from preapproved list (however, MIS 514 Information Technology Audit would be suggested)
Sample Plan of Study
View sample plans of study, including a sample plan that assumes the student has no background in accounting and will need to take all prerequisites to complete the MSA.