Life as an online student at UND.
Each term, students from all across the country pursue their Master of Accountancy degree online with UND. Their goals range from wanting to become a CPA and work for one of the “Big 4” accounting firms, to entrepreneurs and small business owners who want to be self-sufficient in running their operation without contracting out accounting work.
Although our students’ goals might vary, they often chose the University of North Dakota for a lot of the same reasons, including:
- No Bridge or Prerequisite Courses. Our program is designed for those without a bachelor’s degree in accounting nor experience in the industry, but unlike similar programs for non-accounting majors, we don’t require any extra courses.
- Time to Completion. Regardless of your undergraduate background, you’ll complete just the core 30-credit curriculum and can graduate in less than two years prepared to sit for the CPA exam.
- Flexibility. Keep working while you earn your degree. Our part-time program does not require an internship and features online, asynchronous coursework so you can complete your assignments on your schedule.
- Affordability. Competitive tuition and a plethora of financial aid options make our program desirable for many students.
- Accreditation. The College of Business & Public Administration is AACSB-accredited, an esteemed designation that less than 5% of the world’s business school’s have earned. The University of North Dakota is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
Students access their courses through a user-friendly online platform called Blackboard. For a sneak peek at a couple of courses and lectures, as well as what it looks like to navigate through Blackboard, watch this brief presentation.
Where are our alumni now?
University of North Dakota MAcc graduates have gone on to become national-level leaders in their firms, CEOs of large companies, a president of a university and a founder of an S&P 500 corporation.
Our alumni are employed at some of the top firms in the world, including:
- Ernst & Young
- Deloitte
- PricewaterhouseCoopers
Our students are also completing internships at places like PwC, BDO, Eide Bailly and more.
Additionally, 89% of UND MAcc alumni report employment within their field of study within a year of graduation, with top occupations including:
- Accountant/Auditor
- Financial Analyst
- Accounting Supervisor
- Tax Analyst
Testimonials
Laura Pflucker, Online Master of Accountancy Alumna
A wife and mother of two who grew up in Peru, Laura explored several career and entrepreneurial opportunities before deciding to change careers and pursue her Master of Accountancy degree online with UND. Just a month after graduating in the Summer 2021 term, Laura was hired as an associate by Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) and is currently preparing to take the CPA exam in Florida. She met the PwC recruiter in one of UND’s virtual recruiting events.
Why did you choose UND?
“While I was pregnant with my second son, I created a two-year career plan: to pursue a master’s in accountancy in order to become a CPA before the end of 2021. And University of North Dakota was the right place to do it since they offer a program for people who did not major in accounting for their undergraduate degree, just like me. There are many factors that encouraged me to choose UND. Convenience, because as a mother of a newborn, an online part-time program allows me to work and eat from my home and with the time I have. Also flexibility, because even though there are weekly deadlines, these are still flexible. You can decide when you want to do it during the week. Prestige, of course, as I learn more about the University of North Dakota during my process of selecting a school, I learned about its prestige in the accounting world… Also, that your CPA pass rate is high.”
Tell us about your experience in our online MAcc program.
“I am so grateful to UND. It has given me so much. My voice is heard and my ability to learn is the school’s priority. I was not necessarily expecting this, to tell you the truth. I had taken a few online classes while doing my undergrad degree, and it was mainly the students who had to do everything… It is not that I am outdated. I have a few friends that have also done master’s recently, and none of them have stories like mine.”
Continue reading Laura’s story, including some of her other favorite aspects of the online MAcc program.
Gina Casciani, Online Master of Accountancy Student
Gina earned a bachelor’s degree in finance with minors in insurance, marketing and advertising. She currently works in the insurance industry in Georgia, but has dreams of opening her own bakery one day and being able to run the business from top to bottom, including accounting.
What advice do you have for students who are new to the accounting field?
“Don’t be nervous. You truly don’t need any accounting knowledge or background to come into UND program. You learn a lot of the basics in the first two courses, so it’s very important that you really grasp and understand what you learn in those two. Those prepare you with the fundamentals like balance sheets, income statements, and things like that, which are the base for everything else you’ll learn in the program. Additionally, you don’t have to be a math whiz to be good at accounting. I’m decent at math, but I was nervous at first because it had been so long since I’d taken a math class, and I associated accounting with heavy math, but most of this is basic math, not calculus or something like that.”
Continue reading Gina’s story, including what attracted her to the UND’s online MAcc program.
Dexter Kendall, Online Master of Accountancy Alumnus
A Navy veteran in Washington state who worked as an electrical engineer for 7 years after leaving the military, Dexter decided being an engineer wasn’t the career he wanted.
How did you become interested in accounting?
“I became interested in accounting because it has become very data driven. I love working with and manipulating data, and I’ve also always been interested in finance. I figured that the modern accountant would have to have a combination of data analytics skills, as well as the traditional accounting skills. So, that’s what really interested me.”
What attracted you to UND’s online Master of Accountancy program?
“I was attracted to UND’s online Master of Accountancy program mainly due to its flexibility (online format), its cost relative to other schools, and the fact that it is AACSB accredited. Those three things were what I really focused on when looking for schools.”
Continue reading Dexter’s story, including why he would recommend the online MAcc program to others.
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