Master of Science in Accounting at SMU Cox


Expand your career while you prepare for CPA certification. Public Accounting Report ranks this nine-month program No. 3 in the U.S. among smaller schools.

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There's a reason most Cox School Master's of Science in Accounting students land jobs with top firms before they even graduate: this program has an edge.

In this nine-month program, not only do you learn technical and soft skills with award-winning professors who are always there for you, but you'll also have the option to prepare for your CPA and target your goals with electives. With Dallas on your doorstep – i.e. enviable internships and valuable connections – and a dynamic career center, you'll be ready to run with your degree.
  • The MSA is a thirty-one-credit hours degree with Full-Time and Part-Time attendance options. The Full-Time program begins in August and can be completed in nine months across two semesters if background courses have been fulfilled. The program may be completed on a Part-Time basis, but flexibility in scheduling is needed due to course availability.
  • All courses are taught on campus.
  • Candidates come from a variety of backgrounds including degrees in Accounting, Finance, and Economics. All degrees are welcome to apply.

The Cox MSA Class of 2025

68

Class Size

100%

Employment rate after program completion

3.6

Average GPA

56%

Women

90%+

Students Receiving Scholarships

2%

International Students

Former MSA student, Stephanie Lau

The MSA program prepared us so well that I passed all four parts of the CPA exam the summer before I began working full鈥恡ime.

"Each year, Professor Sommers improves the Cox MSA, updating the curriculum based on student feedback and his experience."

Stephanie Lau
Vice President of Talent, Embark

Explore SMU Cox Offerings for MS in Accounting Students

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Student Cohorts

Don't mistake the power of your class cohort. Students find that their cohorts are integral to studying for both SMU Cox classes and the subsequent CPA exams taken after graduation and before employment begins.

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Duda Family Business Library

Use the Duda Family Business Library at SMU Cox to check out technology, use computers, or find textbooks put on reserve by professors. This center, we've found, is crucial to our student's success!



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Career Management Center

Use our Career Management Center to help you meet and network with employers looking for recent graduates from Accounting programs. Some of our alumni have landed at Ernest & Young, KPMG, and BDO to name a few.

After Cox: Success Stories

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Rom茅e Blokland, MSA 2022

Auditor at EY

"Earning my MSA gave me the tools and knowledge to pass the CPA exam and to succeed in my job as an Auditor at EY. Additionally, the MSA helped me enhance my soft skills that set me up for success at the beginning of my professional career."

After completing her MSA, Blokland continues to rise at EY. She met her now husband in the MSA program, and credits her time at SMU Cox for the growth of her professional and personal skills, her network connections, and her solid foundation of this career trajectory.


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Sabrina Janski, MSA 2017

Assurance associate at PwC

When Poets&Quants featured Sabrina Janski as one of its Best and Brightest of 2016, the then SMU Cox undergrad said, “I would love to begin working as a full-time associate for Pricewaterhouse Coopers” post-graduation. Done! First, she dived deeper by studying for her MSA at Cox and interning in PwC's downtown Dallas office during her spring term. A few months later, on graduating, the company offered her a job: full-time associate.

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Eric Mercado, MSA 2016

Assurance associate at EY

Eric Mercado was one of five SMU Cox accounting students whose team won the Ernst & Young Beam Abroad Case Competition and were whisked off to London, where they visited the EY London office and shared a meal with the EY global leadership team. Connections matter. Today, Eric is working at EY in Dallas.