School Admission Requirements

Prospective students may apply online at www.unl.edu/gradstudies. The required admission test is the GMAT exam. Information on the GMAT exam can be found at www.mba.com. A typical successful applicant for the MPA program will have:

• Resume
• Graduate Studies application form
• Two letters of recommendation (at least one from a professor)
• Submit a one page statement of purpose
• One copy of your official transcript
• Acceptable GMAT score of at least 550 and a writing score of at least 4.0
• GMAT is waived if applicant is a Nebraska accounting undergraduate with either an overall grade point average of 3.4 or an accounting grade point average of at least 3.4

The entire file is considered by the admission committee; therefore, successful applicants may deviate from the profile indicated.

Important Deadlines

Semester	U.S. Students	International Students
Fall	July 1	April 1
Spring	December 1	October 1
Summer	May 1	February 1

Assistantship Deadline

To be considered for an assistantship, all MPA application materials must be received by April 1. Students who are given assistantships cannot have other employment. Students may apply by sending a resume and cover letter expressing their interest to the Director of the School of Accountancy.

MPA Program Paths

The MPA program is offered in three different packages. This allows students to pick which option will work best for them and their career goals.

Who pursues a degree in BSBA and MPA Program?

Undergraduate accounting students may enter the master’s program while in the final year of their undergraduate studies as long as they have maintained good academic standing with the university and have taken the following required courses during their undergraduate studies.

Course #	Course Title	Credit Hours
ACCT 201/202	Principles of Accounting	6
ACCT 313/314	Intermediate Accounting	6
ACCT 308	Managerial Accounting	3
ACCT 309	Accounting Systems	3
ACCT 312	Individual Tax	3

Minors or Concentrations

Typically, students complete two of the following courses during the senior year of their undergraduate studies and two of these courses can count towards the student’s undergraduate and graduate degree:

Course #	Course Title	Credit Hours
ACCT 401	Fraud/Internal Audit	3
ACCT 404**	Advanced Financial	3
ACCT 409	Accounting Information Systems (AIS)	3
ACCT 410*	Auditing	3
ACCT 413	Corporate Tax	3

*ACCT 410 is a required course for an undergraduate degree in accounting.

**If a student does not include ACCT 404/804 in their undergraduate degree. ACCT 804 will be required in their MPA program.

What are the MPA Course Requirements?

In a typical MPA program nine hours is considered full-time status and a maximum of 15 hours is permitted in the fall and spring semesters and a maximum of 12 hours is permitted during the summer sessions.

Courses	Credit Hours
ACCT 803 (Fall Only)	3
ACCT 808	3
ACCT 815, ACCT 816 or ACCT 819	3
ACCT 831	3
ACCT 850	3
ACCT or Business Elective	3
ACCT or Business Elective	3
ACCT or Business Elective	3
ACCT or Business Elective	3
ACCT or Business Elective	3*
Graduate Only ACCT or Business Elective	3**
Graduate Only ACCT or Business Elective	3**
TOTAL HOURS REQUIRED	36

*If a student does not include ACCT 404/804 in their undergraduate degree. ACCT 804 will be required in their MPA program.

**These courses have to be graduate only courses within the College of Business. They cannot have a 400 level counterpart.

Please note: Two of the senior level classes may be taken for graduate credit. Any student who has earned senior standing can register for graduate credit prior to admission to a master’s program. Students register at the 800 level by filling out a Hold of Graduate Credit form. A letter grade of B or better must be earned in any course that has a 400 level counterpart.

Who pursues a degree in the MPA Program?

Students who have already earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting or in an area outside of accounting are considered for admission into the MPA program once they have taken the GMAT exam and will need to complete the following accounting courses if not already completed prior or during their MPA program in addition to the 36 required credit hours in their MPA degree:

Course #	Course Title	Credit Hours
ACCT 201/202	Principles of Accounting	6
ACCT 313/314	Intermediate Accounting	6
ACCT 308	Managerial Accounting	3
ACCT 309	Accounting Systems	3
ACCT 312	Individual Tax	3

What are the MPA Course Requirements?

In a typical MPA program nine hours is considered full-time status and a maximum of 15 hours is permitted in the fall and spring semesters and a maximum of 12 hours is permitted during the summer sessions.

Courses	Credit Hours
ACCT 803 (Fall Only)	3
ACCT 808	3
ACCT 815, ACCT 816 or ACCT 819	3
ACCT 831	3
ACCT 850	3
ACCT or Business Elective	3
ACCT or Business Elective	3
ACCT or Business Elective	3
ACCT or Business Elective	3
ACCT or Business Elective	3*
Graduate Only ACCT or Business Elective	3**
Graduate Only ACCT or Business Elective	3**
TOTAL HOURS REQUIRED	36

*If a student did not complete ACCT 404/804 (Advanced Accounting) and/or ACCT 410/810 (Auditing) or courses similar to these in their undergraduate degree, ACCT 804 and ACCT 810 will be required in their MPA program.

**These courses have to be graduate only courses within the College of Business. They cannot have a 400 level counterpart.

Please note: Two of the senior level classes may be taken for graduate credit. Any student who has earned senior standing can register for graduate credit prior to admission to a master’s program. Students register at the 800 level by filling out a Hold of Graduate Credit form. A letter grade of B or better must be earned in any course that has a 400 level counterpart.

Why pursue a joint degree in MPA AND JD?

The world of business is ever changing. We find an increasing number of accountants required to understand and apply legal concepts and lawyers needing to understand and apply financial analysis.

The MPA-JD program is a joint program offered by the School of Accountancy and the College of Law that allows the student to understand the concepts and apply the analytical methods utilized in both professions. By completing these degrees in a joint program, students gain valuable interdisciplinary insights and are better prepared to advance their careers in the business world.

How does the joint MPA-JD program work?

The program typically takes four years of full-time course work to complete. This time period is less than if the two degrees were pursued separately.

Because the program is supervised by both the School of Accountancy and the College of Law, students must apply to and be admitted by each. Accounting students may choose to enter the MPA program prior to their admission to the College of Law. Law College students would typically be admitted to the joint program after completing their first year at the College of Law.

Application Procedure

Office of Graduate Studies: Requirements

Complete the online application form https://wam.unl.edu/gradstudies/apply

After you submit your application, you will receive instructions the next day for the GAMES (Graduate Admission Management and Evaluation System) application system. https://games.unl.edu/GAMES/login.jsp

Application fee of $50.00

Transcripts

Ask each college or university that you have attended to send one official transcript to:

University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Graduate Admissions Office
1100 Seaton Hall
Lincoln, NE 68588-0619
Tel: (402) 472-2875

Recommendation for Graduate Admission

Two letters of reference are required and should be submitted through GAMES. At least one letter should be from a professor.

Statement of Purpose

Submit a statement of purpose (typically one page) through GAMES.

Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT)

You should register to take the GMAT and have the results forwarded to Nebraska. You should also submit your scores through GAMES. Recommended GMAT score of 550.

International Students should also include:

TOEFL score (minimum score of 550 written, 213 computer based or 80 iBT)
Guidelines for international students can be found at http://www.unl.edu/gradstudies/prospective/international.

Additional Information

Benefits

Internships

If a student obtains an internship while in the MPA program students can enroll in an internship course to earn 3 credit hours of coursework towards their MPA degree while completing their internship.

Financial Aid

Scholarships and Fellowships - All full-time MPA students are eligible for scholarships and fellowships except for students who are known to have a violation of the Student Code of Conduct (see Graduate Studies Bulletin).

Scholarship and fellowship awards are based on merit but attempts are made to offer as many awards as possible. In recent years 50 to 100 percent of MPA students have received awards of $1,000 or more. Awards are distributed automatically by the School of Accountancy at the beginning of each academic year. There is no application process.

Current Information on Tuition and Costs

Teaching/Research Assistantships

A limited number of assistantships are awarded each semester. Students on assistantships are assigned to work with one or two faculty members to assist them in collecting data for research and/or to assist in teaching activities (i.e., grade projects, homework and exams; lead recitation session or reviews for exams; monitor exams; etc.). Compensation is a waiver of 12 credit hours worth of tuition per semester and a cash stipend. Students who are awarded assistantships cannot have other employment. Students may apply by sending a resume and cover letter expressing their interest to the Director of the School of Accountancy.

Certified Public Accountant Examination

The School of Accountancy works diligently to provide MPA students with the resources useful to a graduate education. Our MPA program prepares students with the knowledge necessary to sit for the CPA Examination. Many students have questions about the process of becoming a Certified Public Accountant. Here are some of our most frequently asked questions. For more information you may look at the following websites.

http://nasba.org/
http://www.nasba.org/files/2012/01/Candidate_Bulletin.pdf
http://www.nbpa.ne.gov/cpa.html